The  person  charging  this  material  is  re- 
sponsible for  its  return  to  the  library  from 
which  it  was  withdrawn  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

Theft,  mutilation,  and  underlining  of  books  are  reasons 
for  disciplinary  action  and  may  result  in  dismissal  from 
the  University. 

To  renew  call  Telephone  Center,  333-8400 

UNIVERSITY  OF   ILLINOIS   LIBRARY  AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


DEC  0  5 


m 


FEB  5!  7  1984 
NOV  0  9  1983 


L161— O-1096 


JOURNAL 

OF  THE 

General  Conference 

OF  THE 

Methodist  Episcopal 
Church 

HELD  IN 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  May  1-28, 1896 

EDITED  BY 

REV.  DAVID  S.  MONROE,  D.D. 

Secretary  of  the  Conference 


NEW  YORK:  EATON  &  MAINS 
CINCINNATI:  CURTS  &  JENNINGS-' 


♦ 


ORDER  OF  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE. 


Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Conference  be  instructed  to 
have  the  Journal  of  this  General  Conference  printed  and  bound  and 
certified  by  him  to  be  correct ;  and  that  the  printed  copy  so  certified 
shall  be  the  Official  Journal  of  this  General  Conference. 


SECRETARY'S  CERTIFICATE. 


/  hereby  certify  that  the  following  pages,  from  J  to  308,  contain 
a  correct  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Twejity-second  Delegated 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  held  in  the 
city  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  M ay  first  to  May  twenty -eighth,  Anno  Domini 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six  ;  and  that  the  Appendix  contains  cor- 
rect lists  of  Committees,  Reports,  and  other  documents  referred  to  in 
said  proceedings. 


9±»vo0 


s 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  BY  CONFERENCES 

Elected  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896. 


1.  Alabama. — Ministerial:  George  E.  Ackerman.  Reserve:  James 
Williams. 

Lay :  Asaph  H.  Gibbs.    Reserve :  Homer  W.  Perrin. 

2.  Arkansas. — Ministerial:  Andrew  J.  Taylor.  Reserve:  R.  W. 
McMaster. 

Lay :  James  H.  Clendenning.    Reserve :  David  D.  Cole. 

3.  Austin. — Ministerial:  Oscar  L.  Fisher.    Reserve:  Harvey  Webb. 
Lay :  Ebenezer  B.  Ailing.    Reserve :  Silas  H.  Smith. 

4.  Baltimore. — Ministerial :  John  F.  Goucher,  John  Lanahan,  Luther 
B.  Wilson,  William  S.  Edwards.  Reserves :  Henry  R.  Naylor,  C.  Herbert 
Richardson. 

Lay:  William  A.  Leitch,  Alexander  Ashley.  Reserves:  Lewis  M. 
Bacon,  George  W.  F.  Swartzell. 

5.  Bengal-Burmal!. — Ministerial:  Frank  W.  Warne.  Reserve:  H. 
Jackson. 

Lay:  C.  J.  Pritchard.    Reserve :  Robert  Laidlaw. 

6.  Blue  Ridge. — Ministerial :  Adolphus Graybeal.  Reserve:  Thomas 
W.  Brown. 

Lay :  Henry  F.  Ketron.    Reserve :  T.  Baxter  White. 

7.  Bombay. — Ministerial:  Daniel  O.  Fox.  Reserve:  Thomas  S. 
Johnson. 

Lay :  James  Morris.    Reserve :  E.  H.  Hamilton. 

8.  California. — Ministerial:  Arnold  T.  Needham,  Milton  D.  Buck, 
Elbridge  R.  Willis,  John  Coyle,  John  Kirby.  Reserves :  John  D.  Ham- 
mond, Westwood  W.  Case. 

Lay :  James  W.  Whiting,  Henry  French.  Reserves:  Walter  T.  Lewis, 
George  D.  Kellogg. 

9.  California  German. — Ministerial:  George  Guth.  Reserve: 
Frederick  Bonn. 

Lay :  John  Furrer.    Reserve :  Fritz  Kuchenbeiser. 

10.  Central  Alabama. — Ministerial:  Edward  M.  Jones.  Reserve: 
Alfred  W.  McKinney. 

Lay :  Philip  P.  Wright.    Reserve :  Washington  G.  Allen. 

11.  Central  German. — Ministerial :  Albert  J.  Nast,  Jacob  Roth- 
weiler,  Joseph  Kern.    Reserves :  John  G.  Schaal,  John  H.  Horst. 

Lay:  Jacob  Haensler,  Victor  Wilker.  Reserves:  John  G.  Schlee, 
Louis  Schneck. 

12.  Central  Illinois. — Ministerial :  Hyre  D.  Clark,  Jervice  G.  Evans, 
Samuel  Van  Pelt,  James  W.  Haney,  Marion  V.  Crumbaker.  Reserves: 
Thomas  Doney,  George  J.  Luckey. 


4 


List  of  Delegates  by  Conferences 


Zap:  Charles  H.  Long,  William  H.  Logan.  Reserves:  John  S. 
Thompson,  John  Prickett. 

13.  Central  Missouri.— Ministerial :  John  W.  Jackson,  Richard 
E.  Gillum.    Reserves :  Justin  H.  Higgs,  Jordon  W.  Hughes. 

Lay:  Henry  L.  Billups,  James  H.  Diggs.  Reserves:  James  M. 
Arbuckle,  Benjamin  F«  Adams. 

14.  Central  New  York  —Ministerial :  Carlton  C.  Wilbor,  John  C. 
Nichols,  Edmund  M.  Mills,  R.  De  Witt  Munger,  Theron  R.  Green. 
Reserves :  Theron  Cooper,  James  V.  Benham. 

Lay ;  Francis  J.  Cheney,  Edwin  Nottingham.  Reserves :  George  N. 
Neuberry,  James  H.  Hoskins. 

15.  Central  Ohio.— Ministerial :  Elias  D.  Whitlock,  Josiah  L. 
Albritton,  Leroy  A.  Belt,  Wesley  G.  Waters.  Reserves:  William  G. 
Williams,  James  H.  Fitzwater. 

Lay :  Edward  T.  Nelson,  Frank  H.  Tanner.  Reserves :  Samuel  Case, 
John  Edwards. 

16.  Central  Pennsylvania.— Ministerial:  William  W.  Evans, 
Edward  J.  Gray,  Silas  C.  Swallow,  David  S.  Monroe,  Ezra  H.  Yocum, 
William  M.  Frysinger.    Reserves :  Milton  K.  Foster,  John  B.  Polsgrove. 

Lay :  Thomas  H.  Murray,  John  Patton.  Reserves  :  John  R.  Rote, 
S.  Wilson  Murray. 

17.  Central  Swedish.— Ministerial:  James  T.  Wigren.  Reserve: 
Martin  Hess. 

Lay  :  John  R.  Lindgren.    Reserve :  Andrew  B.  Anderson. 

18.  Central  Tennessee. — Ministerial :  Joseph M.  Carter.  Reserve: 
William  P.  Banks. 

Lay :  Philonzo  D.  Carr.    Reserve :  Thomas  F.  McCreary. 

19.  Chicago  German. — Ministerial :  Bartholomew  LamjDert,  Henry 
Lemcke.    Reserves :  Jacob  Berger,  Ferdinand  C.  Morf . 

Lay :  Charles  E.  Mueller,  Emil  Karpowsky.  Reserves:  Louis  Appel, 
Fred  Ackerman. 

20.  Cincinnati. — Ministerial:  Adna  B.  Leonard,  Charles  H.  Payne, 
James  W.  Bashford,  Frank  G.  Mitchell,  Henry  C.  Weakley.  Reserves: 
John  Pearson,  Richard  H.  Rust. 

Lay:  George  B.  Johnson,  Charles  W.  Bennett.  Reserves:  Alexander 
Boxwell,  Phineas  P.  Mast. 

21.  Colorado. — Ministerial :  Earl  Cranston,  Daniel  L.  Rader.  Re- 
serves: Nathaniel  Chamberlain,  Robert  A.  Carmine. 

Lay:  Zachariah  X.  Snyder,  Joseph  W.  Gilluly.  Reserves:  John  R. 
Robinson,  Barnard  L.  Olds. 

22.  Columbia  River. — Ministerial :  George  M.  Booth,  William  W. 
Van  Dusen.    Reserves:  Volney  C.  Evers,  Trinity  A.  Towner. 

Lay:  Isaac  C.  Libby,  Herbert  C.  Clark.  Reserves:  John  W.  Riter, 
Samuel  C.  Cosgrove. 

23.  Delaware. — Ministerial:  Henry  A.  Monroe,  James  H.  Scott. 
Reserves :  Alfred  R.  Shockley,  Joseph  R.  Waters. 


Elected  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896. 


5 


Lay :  Benjamin  O.  Bird,  Stanford  L.  Parker.  Reserves :  Zachariah  T. 
Dunn,  William  Simmons. 

24.  Des  Moines. — Ministerial:  Emory  Miller,  William  H.  W. 
Reese,  William  E.  Hamilton,  DeWitt  C.  Franklin,  William  T.  Smith. 
Reserves :  William  F.  Bartholomew,  Thomas  McK.  Stuart. 

Lay :  James  M.  Kittleman,  Leslie  M.  Shaw.  Reserves :  John  Gibson, 
Everett  A.  Rea. 

25.  Detroit. — Ministerial:  Joseph  F.  Berry,  Camden  M.  Cobern, 
William  H.  Shier,  John  Sweet,  Charles  T.  Allen,  Edward  W.  Ryan,  Lewis 
R.  Fiske.    Reserves :  Lewis  P.  Davis,  Arthur  Edwards. 

Lay:  George  O.  Robinson,  Roy  S.  Copeland.  Reserves:  Arthur  H. 
Swarthout,  Myron  H.  French. 

26.  East  German. — Ministerial:  John  C.  Deininger.  Reserve: 
Charles  Reuss. 

Lay :  Charles  C.  Zoller.    Reserve  :  Egbert  Winkler. 

27.  Bast  Maine. — Ministerial:  J.  Frank  Haley,  William  L.  Brown. 
Reserves :  A.  Fitzroy  Chase,  Herbert  E.  Foss. 

Lay:  Abram  W.  Harris,  J.  Fred  Hall.  Reserves:  Everett  W.  Lord, 
Veranus  C.  Plummer. 

28.  East  Ohio. — Ministerial:  Darius  H.  Muller,  Lemuel  H.  Stewart, 
Earl  D.  Holtz,  Eugene  P.  Edmonds,  John  I.  Wilson,  David  C.  Osborne. 
Reserves :  Tamerlane  P.  Marsh,  Robert  M.  Freshwater. 

Lay:  John  A.  Mansfield,  Warren  F.  Walworth.  Reserves:  John  M. 
Stull,  Joseph  D.  Taylor. 

29.  East  Tennessee. — Ministerial:  Judson  S.  Hill.  Reserve: 
Robert  J.  Buckner. 

Lay:  James  R.  Johnson.    Reserve:  Andrew  F.  Fulton. 

30.  Erie. — Ministerial :  Jason  N.  Fradenburgh ,  Silas  H.  Prather, 
Andrew  J.  Merchant,  John  C.  Scofield,  Robert  S.  Borland.  Reserve: 
Francis  H.  Beck,  Homer  H.  Moore. 

Lay :  Harvey  J.  Gidley,  Henry  P.  Sullivan.  Reserves :  Charles  W. 
Nichols,  Gordon  B.  Chase. 

31.  Florida. — Ministerial:  Stephen  A.  Hugar.  Reserve:  Peter 
Swearingen. 

Lay :  Robert  Ayers.    Reserve :  Robert  R.  Robinson. 

32.  Foo-Chow. — Ministerial :  Myron  C.  Wilcox.  Reserve :  William 
H.  Lacy. 

Lay :  Lydia  A.  Trimble.    Reserve  :  Mabel  C.  Hartford. 

33.  Genesee. — Ministerial :  Sandford  Hunt,  John  E.  Williams, 
James  E.  Bills,  S.  Abishai  Morse,  Henry  C.  Woods,  Ebenezer  H.  Latimer. 
Reserves :  Charles  W.  Winchester,  Thomas  J.  Bissell. 

Ijiy:  John  F.  Romer,  Alexander  M.  Holden.  Reserves:  Richard  J. 
Walker,  C.  Henry  Meade,  Henry  H.  Otis. 

34.  Georgia. — Ministerial :  James  L.  Fowler.  Reserve:  Asbury  F. 
Ellington. 

Lay:  William  T.  Morris.    Reserve:  Rouse  S.  Egleston. 


6 


List  of 'Delegates  by  Conferences 


35.  Holston. — Ministerial:  Richard  J.  Cooke,  James  A.  Ruble. 
Reserves :  James  J.  Robinette,  Thomas  B.  Russell. 

Lay :  John  W.  Adams,  James  A.  Fowler.  Reserves :  George  A. 
Bailey,  Charles  P.  Cass. 

36.  Idaho.— Ministerial :  Charles  R.  Kellerman.  Reserve  :  John  S. 
Anderson. 

Lay :  John  D.  McCully.    Reserve :  Junius  B.  Wright. 

37.  Illinois.— Ministerial :  William  K  McElroy,  William  H.  Wilder, 
Chris  Galeener,  John  T.  McFarland,  John  A.  Kumler,  John  B.  Wolfe, 
Horace  Reed.  Reserves:  George  E.  Scrimger,  William  H.  Webster, 
Alexander  C.  Byerly. 

Lay:  Joseph  O.  Cunningham,  Herbert  G.  Whitlock.  Reserves: 
Leonidas  H.  Kerrick,  Milton  Johnson. 

38.  Indiana. — Ministerial:  William  R.  Halstead,  Henry  J.  Talbott, 
John  H.  Martin,  Merimon  S.  Heavenridge,  Tilghman  H.  Willis,  Henry  A. 
Buchtel,  James  A.  Sargent.  Reserves:  Edward  A.  Campbell,  John  H. 
Doddridge. 

Lay :  Benjamin  F.  Adams,  William  Newkirk.  Reserves :  William 
Freidley,  Ella  K.  Rankin. 

39.  Iowa. — Ministerial :  Charles  L.  Stafford,  Thomas  J.  Myers, 
Morris  Bamford,  Isaac  P.  Teter.  Reserves:  James  C.  W.  Coxe,  William 
G.  Wilson. 

Lay :  Christopher  Haw,  James  Harlan.  Reserves:  Charles  P.  Axtell, 
Dillon  H.  Payne. 

40.  Italy. — Ministerial :  William  Burt.  Reserve :  N.  Walling  Clark. 
Lay:  Luigi  Mando.    Reserve:  Pietro  G.  Ballerini. 

41.  Japan.- — Ministerial :  Yoitsu  Honda.    Reserve :  Julius  Soper. 
Lay :.  Taro  Ando.    Reserve :  Ei ji  Asada. 

42.  Kansas. — Ministerial :  Aleric  S.  Embree,  John  A.  Motter, 
William  H.  Underwood.  Reserves:  James  W.  Alderman,  Robert  E. 
McBride. 

Lay:  James  M.  Miller,  William  Fryhofer.  Reserves:  Frederick  D. 
Fuller,  Robert  McGinity. 

43.  Kentucky. — Ministerial:  Daniel  Stevenson,  John  D.  Walsh. 
Reserves :  Amon  Boreing,  James  W.  Turner. 

Lay :  Robert  T.  Miller,  Vincent  Boreing.  Reserves :  Joshua  P.  Shaw, 
Laban  T.  McClure. 

44.  Lexington. — Ministerial:  Edward  W.  S.  Hammond,  Joseph 
Courtney.    Reserves :  Lewis  M.  Hagood,  George  A.  Sissle. 

Lay :  Robert  F.  Broaddus,  Isaac  N.  McCullough.  Reserves :  Lewis 
Robinson,  Charlotte  T.  Eidson. 

45.  Liberia. — Ministerial:  James  H.  Deputie.  Reserve:  William  T. 
Hagan. 

Lay  :  Ashford  L.  Sims.    Reserve :  Wilmot  E.  Dennis. 


Elected  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896. 


7 


46.  Little    Rock. — Ministerial:   William    O.    Emory.  Reserve: 
William  R.  R.  Duncan. 

Lay :  James  M.  Cox.    Reserve :  William  H.  Strickland. 

47.  Louisiana. — Ministerial:  Joseph  C.  Hartzell,  Aristides  E.  P. 
Albert,  Julian  F.  Marshall.    Reserves :  Pierre  Landry,  Stephen  Duncan. 

Lay :  Charles  C.  Morse,  George  F.  Huntley.    Reserves :  Joseph  A. 
Reddix,  Rene  C.  Metoyer. 

48.  Maine. — Ministerial:   George  D.   Lindsay,  Wilbur  F.  Berry. 
Reserves :  David  B.  Holt,  Everett  S.  Stackpole. 

Lay :  William  W.  Merrill,  William  H.  Miles.    Reserves :  A.  W.  Water- 
house,  C.  R.  Drummond. 

49.  Mexico. — Ministerial:   John   W.  Butler.    Reserve:  Pedro  F. 
Yalderrama. 

Lay  :  Cristobal  Ludlow.    Reserve :  George  Manning. 

50.  Michigan. — Ministerial:  Amos  M.  Gould,  James  H.  Potts,  James 
I.  Buell,  Patrick  J.  Maveety,  Levi  Master,  Marshall  M.  Callen,  James 
Hamilton.    Reserves:  Lambert  E.  Lennox,  George  S.  Hickey. 

Lay:  Samuel  Dickie,  Elvin  Swarthout.    Reserves:  Henry  A.  Potter, 
John  H.  Grant. 

51.  Minnesota. — Ministerial :  Henry  C.  Jennings,  George  H.  Bridg- 
man,  John  Stafford.  Reserves:  Edward  P.  Robertson,  Ezra  R. 
Lathrop. 

Lay:  Hascall   R.    Brill,    Galen  A.  Merrill.    Reserves:   Charles  H. 
Wagner,  Matthew  G.  Norton. 

52.  Mississippi. — Ministerial:   James   M.    Shumpert,   Samuel  A. 
Cowan.    Reserves:  Alfred  D.  Payne,  Augustus  M.  Trotter. 

Lay :  George  W.  Stith,  Thomas  J.  Keys.    Reserves :  Milas  S.  Love,  J. 
A.  Robinson. 

53.  Missouri. — Ministerial:  John  H.  Poland,  Isaac  S.Ware,  Jairus 
J.  Bentley.    Reserves:  Edwin  B.  Lytle,  William  B.  Clayton. 

Lay  :  Charles  D.  Morris,  William  J.  Gibson.    Reserves:  Thomas  B. 
Valentine,  Dennison  D.  Burch. 

54.  Montana. — Ministerial:   Jacob   Mills.     Reserve:   Francis  A. 
Riggin. 

Lay:  Fred  Gamer.    Reserve:  John  E.  Rickards. 

55.  Nebraska. — Ministerial:  Charles  C.  Lasby,  De  WittC.  Hunting- 
ton, Isaac  Crook.    Reserves:  Henry  T.  Davis,  Wharton  B.  Alexander. 

Lay :  John  H.  Mickey,  Lucius  O.  Jones.  Reserves :  Bartlett  O.  Paine,  * 
John  Davis. 

56.  Newark. — Ministerial:  Henry  A.  Buttz,  Sandford  Van  Benscho- 
ten,  Stephen  L.  Baldwin,  Henry  Spellmeyer,  George  W.  Smith.  Re- 
serves: Charles  S.  Ryman,  Daniel  R.  Lowrie. 

Lay :  William  H.  Murphy,  Robert  R.  Doherty.    Reserves:  Henry  K. 
Carroll,  Oscar  Jeffrey. 


8 


List  of  Delegates  by  Conferences 


57.  New  England. — Ministerial:  John  W.  Hamilton,  Samuel  F. 
Upham,  Edward  R.  Thorndike,  William  N.  Brodbeck,  Edward  M.  Taylor, 
William  F.  Warren.    Reserves:  Charles  F.  Rice,  George  F.  Eaton. 

Lay :  Charles  R.  Magee,  Albert  B.  F.  Kinney.    Reserves :  William  H. 
Hutchinson,  Bradley  D.  Rising. 

58.  New  England  Southern.— Ministerial :  Stephen  O.  Benton, 
George  H.  Bates,  Thomas  J.  Everett,  Micah  J.  Talbot.  Reserves: 
Edward  C.  Bass,  Daniel  A.  Whedon. 

Lay:  David  Gordon,  Joseph  E.  C.  Farnham.    Reserves:  George  W. 
Lothrop,  Jr.,  Robert  F.  Raymond. 

59.  New  Hampshire.—  Ministerial:  Silas  E.  Quimby,  Charles  D. 
Hills,  Oliver  S.  Baketel.  Reserves:  William  H.  Hutchin,  George  M. 
Curl. 

Lay :  Ira  Colby,  Edward  F.  Child s.    Reserves:  Charles  E.  Foote,  John 
Young. 

60.  New  Jersey. — Ministerial :  Jacob  B.  Graw,  James  R.  Mace, 
George  B.  Wight,  Joseph  L.  Roe,  George  Reed.  Reserves:  Thomas 
Hanlon,  William  P.  C.  Strickland. 

Lay :  Clement  W.  Shoemaker,  James  F.  Rusling.    Reserves :  William 
H.  Skirm,  Caleb  H.  Butterworth. 

61.  New  York. — Ministerial:  .James  R.  Day,  Charles  C.  McCabe, 
Elias  S.  Osbon,  James  M.  King,  Abraham  J.  Palmer,  Andrew  Schriver. 
Reserves :  Morris  D'C.  Crawford,  William  H.  Mickle,  Charles  W.  Millard. 

Lay :  John  E.  Andrus,  Albert  D.  Peake.    Reserves :  John  Beattie,  J.  B. 

Foote. 

62.  New  York  East. — Ministerial :  James  M.  Buckley,  William  V.  - 
Kelley,  George  P.  Mains,  George  E.  Reed,  Charles  S.  Wing,  James  S. 
Chadwick,  Crandall  J.  North.    Reserves :  George  Van  Alstyne,  John  W. 
Beach,  David  G.  Downey. 

Lay :  John  H.  Sessions,  John  French.    Reserves :  John  T.  Manson, 
John  M.  Price. 

63.  North  Carolina. — Ministerial:    Elias  M.   Collett.  Reserve: 
Jordan  D.  Chavis. 

Lay :  Wade  H.  Thomas.    Reserve :  Willis  Graves. 

64.  North  China. — Ministerial :  Hiram  H.  Lowry.    Reserve :  James 
H.  Pyke. 

Lay :  Julian  F.  Scott. 

65.  North  Dakota. — Ministerial :  David  C.  Plannette.    Reserve : 
Samuel  E.  Ryan. 

Lay  :  John  D.  Wallace.    Reserve  :  Frank  P.  Lynch. 

66.  Northern  German. — Ministerial:  Franz  L.  Nagler.  Reserve: 
August  H.  Koerner. 

Lay :  Henry  Bendixen.    Reserve:  Charles  H.  Meyer. 


Elected  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896. 


9 


67.  Northern  Minnesota. — Ministerial :  Robert  Forbes,  James  F. 
Chaffee,  Joseph  B.  Hingeley.  Reserves :  Robert  N.  McKaig,  William  A. 
Shannon. 

Lay  :  Jacob  F.  Force,  Leonidas  Merritt.  Reserves :  Alva  W.  Bradley, 
George  P.  Wilson. 

68.  Northern  New  York. — Ministerial:  H.  Eugene  Waugh, 
William  D.  Marsh,  David  F.  Pierce,  Charles  J.  Little,  Josiah  C.  Darling. 
Reserves:  Charles  C.  Townsend,  Sidney  O.  Barnes. 

Lay:  S.  Mortimer  Coon,  Harvey  E.  Dingley.  Reserves:  William  L. 
Turhune,  Lincoln  E.  Rowley. 

69.  North  Germany. — Ministerial:  Carl  Schell.  Reserve:  Gustav 
Hempel. 

Lay :  Peter  Rasmusen.    Reserve :  Henrich  During. 

70.  North  India.,— Ministerial :  Edwin  W.  Parker,  Thomas  J.  Scott. 
Reserves:  John  C.  Butcher,  Thomas  Craven. 

Lay:  Lois  S.  Parker,  Ada  C.  Butcher.    Reserve:  Ganga  Nath. 

71.  North  Indiana. — Ministerial:  Horace  N.  Herrick,  Frank  G. 
Browne,  Augustus  E.  Mahin,  William  D.  Parr,  George  H.  Hill.  Re- 
serves: Charles  G.  Hudson,  Jacomiah  H.  Jackson. 

Lay :  John  S.  Patterson,  Christian  B.  Stemen.  Reserves :  James  H. 
Dehority,  William  A.  Thompson. 

72.  North  Nebraska. — Ministerial:  Alfred  Hodgetts,  John  B. 
Maxfield.    Reserves:  Daniel  K.  Tindall,  David  Marquette. 

Lay :  John  D.  King,  Trevanyon  L.  Matthews.  Reserves :  John  G. 
Cortelyon,  John  Dale. 

73.  North  Ohio. — Ministerial:  Newell  S.  Albright,  William  Kepler, 
William  F.  Whitlock,  John  Mitchell.  Reserves:  George  Mather,  Francis 
S.  Hoyt. 

Lay:  Lewis  C.  Laylin,  John  M.  Naylor.  Reserves:  Horace  Benton, 
Erastus  E.  Cunningham. 

74.  Northwest  German.— Ministerial:  Edward  W.  Henke.  Re- 
serve :  William  Koerner. 

Lay  :  Henry  A.  Salzer.    Reserve :  George  Witter. 

75.  Northwest  India. — Ministerial:  Jefferson  E.  Scott.  Reserve: 
Robert  Hoskins. 

Ijiy :  William  H.  Daniels.    Reserve :  Thomas  L.  Ingram. 

76.  Northwest  Indiana— Ministerial :  William  H.  Hickman,  Hil- 
lary A.  Gobin,  Allen  Lewis.    Reserves:  Delos  M.  Wood,  John  H.  Cissel. 

Lay:  Richard  S.  Tennant,  Abraham  R.  Colburn.  Reserves:  Thomas 
J.  Wood,  Lewellyn  W.  McClure. 

77.  Northwest  Iowa. — Ministerial:  John  W.  Walker,  John  B. 
Trimble,  Robert  Smylie,  John  W.  Lothian.  Reserves :  William  A.  Black, 
George  W.  Pratt. 

Lay:  Clarence  P.  Kilborne,  Oscar  P.  Miller.  Reserves:  Charles  E. 
Lane,  Herman  J.  Klemme. 


10 


List  of  Delegates  by  Conferences 


78.  Northwest  Kansas. — Ministerial :  William  H.  Sweet,  Edward 
W.  Allen.    Reserves:  Fletcher  D.  Baker,  Benjamin  T.  Stauber. 

Lay:  Edward  S.  Chenoweth,   John  B.  Morrison.     Reserves:  John 
Fulcomer,  Edward  L.  Getty. 

79.  Northwest  Nebraska. — Ministerial:   Allen  R.  Julian.  Re- 
serve :  Oscar  T.  Moore. 

Lay  :  George  E.  Gorton.    Reserve :  Thomas  M.  Huntington. 

80.  Norway. — Ministerial:  Andres  Olsen.    Reserve:  Ole  Olsen. 
Lay  :  Toger  Pederson.    Reserve:  Oskar  Paulsen. 

81.  Norwegian  and  Danish. — Ministerial :   Nels  E.  Simonsen. 

Reserve :  Carl  F.  Eltzholtz. 

Lay :  Marius  J.  Phil.    Reserve:  Arrie  Field. 

82.  Ohio. — Ministerial :  David  H.  Moore,  David  Y.  Murdoch,  William  • 
H.  Lewis,  William  D.  Cherington,  John  C.  Arbuckle.    Reserves:  William 
V.  Dick,  William  W.  Davies. 

Lay:  Morris  Sharp,  Jane  F.  Bashford.    Reserves:  John  W.  McCor- 
mick,  Charles  W.  Seward. 

83.  Oklahoma. — Ministerial:  John  F.  Palmer.    Reserve:  Lucian 
W.  B.  Long. 

Lay :  James  F.  Holden.    Reserve :  William  F.  Wolfe. 

84.  Oregon. — Ministerial :  John  Parsons,  George  W.  Gue.    Reserves : 
John  M.  Denison,  Thomas  L.  Jones. 

Lay:  John  F.  Caples,  Robert  A.  Booth.    Reserves:  Joseph  K.  Gill, 
Samuel  Layman. 

85.  Philadelphia. — Ministerial:  Thomas  B.  Neely,  Samuel  W. 
Gehrett,  William  M.  Swindells,  Samuel  W.  Thomas,  William  M.  Ridg- 
way,  Jacob  S.  Hughes.  Reserves :  William  L.  McDowell,  Joseph  R.  T. 
Gray. 

Lay:  John  E.  James,  John  Field.    Reserves:  William  H.  Maxwell, 
John  D.  Patterson. 

86.  Pittsburg—  Ministerial :  Charles  W.  Smith,  Robert  T.  Miller, 
Thomas  H.  Woodring,  Jesse  F.  Core.  Reserves:  John  Conner,  Asbury 
L.  Petty. 

Lay:  John  E.  Rigg,  Theodore  B.  Noss.    Reserves:  Hudson  Samson, 
Samuel  L.  Wood. 

87.  Puget   Sound.— Ministerial :   Thomas  B.  Ford,  Thomas  J. 
Massey.    Reserves :  Spencer  S.  Sulliger,  George  C.  Wilding. 

Lay:  Calvin  S.  Barlow,  Rufus  Willard.    Reserves:  Joseph  W.  Range, 
John  S.  Taylor. 

88.  Rock  River.— Ministerial :  Frank  M.  Bristol,  Lewis  Curts, 
Henry  G.  Jackson,  Martin  E.  Cady,  Polemus  H.  Swift,  William  A. 
Spencer,  John  W.  Richards.  Reserves:  Herbert  F.  Fisk,  Franklin  A. 
Hardin,  Matthew  M.  Parkhurst. 

Lay:  James  B.  Hobbs,  Nicholas  G.  Van  Sant.    Reserves:  Delonas  W. 
Potter,  Charles  M.  Whipple. 


Elected  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896. 


11 


89.  St.  John's -River. — Ministerial:  Luther  S.  Rader.  Reserve: 
James  T.  Lewton. 

Lay:  Alexander  W.  Biddle.    Reserve:  Charles  W.  Kinne. 

90.  St.  Louis. — Ministerial :  Jesse  B.  Young,  Enoch  J.  Hunt, 
William  A.  Quayle.    Reserves :  William  J.  Simmons,  Oliver  M.  Stewart. 

Lay:  Thomas  J.  Langston,  William  W.  Kendall.  Reserves:  Elijah 
E.  Johnson,  Samuel  H.  Pye. 

91.  Saint  Louis  German.  —  Ministerial :  William  Koeneke, 
William  Schutz,  John  Schlagenhauf.  Reserves:  Philip  W.  Jacoby, 
George  B.  Addicks. 

Lay :  Herman  C.  Grawe,  Fredrich  H.  A.  Koch.  Reserves :  Jacob  P. 
Rinkle,  Henry  Vosholl. 

92.  Savannah. — Ministerial :  Madison  C.  B.  Mason,  Matthew  M. 
Alston.    Reserves :  George  W.  Arnold,  John  P.  Wragg. 

Lay:  Luther  J.  Price,  Guy  H.  Bowen.  Reserves:  John  L.  Bowdoin, 
G.  L.  Johnson. 

93.  South  America. — Ministerial:  Charles  W.  Drees.  Reserve: 
Ira  H.  La  Fetra. 

Lay  :  Justo  Cubilo.    Reserve :  Nicholas  Lowe. 

94.  South  Carolina. —  Ministerial:  Benjamin  F.  Witherspoon, 
Joshua  E.  Wilson,  Thomas  J.  Clarke.  Reserves:  Louis  M.  Dunton, 
Alonzo  G.  Townsend.' 

Lay :  William  L.  Bulkley,  Edward  J.  Sawyer.  Reserves :  Mark  H. 
Gassaway,  Thomas  McG.  Carr. 

95.  South  Dakota. — Ministerial:  William  H.  Jordan,  Charles  B. 
Clark.    Reserves:  Joshua  S.  Akers,  Cyrus  E.  Hager. 

Loy :  Reuben  N.  Kratz,  William  F.  T.  Bushnell.  Reserves :  Andrew 
N.  Van  Camp,  Alice  M.  A.  Pickler. 

96.  Southern  California. — Ministerial:  Samuel  A.  Thomson, 
Winfield  S.  Matthew,  William  A.  Knighten.  Reserves:  George  W. 
White,  William  A.  Wright. 

Lay:  William  T.  Randall,  Joseph  A.  Williams.  Reserves:  Charles  M. 
Parker,  Francis  A.  Seymour. 

97.  Southern  German. — Ministerial:  Henry  Dietz.  Reserve: 
Emil  C.  Draeger. 

Lay:  Charles  F.  Blumberg.    Reserve:  Jacob  Martin. 

98.  Southern  Illinois.—  Ministerial:  Joseph  W.  Van  Cleve,  Wil- 
liam Wallis,  Owen  H.  Clark,  Leonidas  W.  Thrall.  Reserves :  John  W. 
Flint,  James  G.  Dee. 

Lay:  MoKondree  H.  Chamberlain,  Harvey  H.  Crozier.  Reserves: 
Thomas  S.  Marshall,  David  A.  Watts. 


12 


List  of  Delegates  by  Conferences 


99.  South  Germany. — Ministerial:  A.  Gerhard  Bruns.  Reserve: 
Ernst  H.  Gebhardt. 

Lay :  Fredrich  Gutekunst.    Reserve :  Henrich  Klein. 

100.  South  India. — Ministerial :  Albert  H.  Baker.  Reserve :  George 
K.  Gilder. 

Lay:  John  H.  Stephens.    Reserve:  Charles  J.  Muller. 

101.  South  Kansas. — Ministerial:  John  W.  Stewart,  Samuel  S. 
Murphy,  Jefferson  E.  Brant.    Reserves :  John  H.  Price,  Hugh  McBirney. 

Lay :  George  W.  Bowen,  James  E.  Hair.  Reserves :  John  M.  Dicker- 
son,  Wiley  Bollinger. 

102.  Southwest  Kansas. — Ministerial:  William  J.  Martindale, 
Granville  Lowther,  William  H.  Rose.  Reserves:  Emory  C.  Beach, 
George  W.  Howes. 

Lay :  James  Allison,  Tom  M.  Hutto.  Reserves:  William  C.  Robinson, 
Ezra  R.  Burkholder. 

103.  Sweden. — Ministerial:  Jacob  M.  Erikson,  Johan  E.  Edman. 
Reserves:  Johan  P.  Larsson,  Bengt  A.  Carlson. 

Lay:  Johan  A.  Anderson,  Jacob  T.  Jacobeson.  Reserves:  August 
Flink,  Hjalmar  Soderberg. 

104.  Switzerland. — Ministerial:  Johannes  Wuhrman.  Reserve: 
Leonhard  Peter. 

Lay  :  Gideon  Gisler.    Reserve :  Johannes  Schroeder. 

105.  Tennessee. — Ministerial :  Hillery  W.  Key.  Reserve,;  Crawford 
B.  Wilson. 

Lay  :  David  W.  Byrd.    Reserve :  Daniel  W.  Fields. 

106.  Texas. — Ministerial:  Isaiah  B.  Scott,  Wade  H.  Logan,  Frank 
Gary.    Reserves:  William  Bartley,  Edward  Lee. 

Lay:  Thomas  A.  Fortson,  John  W.  Jamison.  Reserves:  Robert  B. 
Smith,  Simeon  S.  Reid. 

107.  Troy. — Ministerial:  John  H.  Coleman,  Homer  Eaton,  James  H. 
Brown,  George  A.  Barrett,  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer,  William  H.  Hughes.  Re- 
serves :  John  J.  Noe,  Thomas  A.  Griffin. 

Lay :  Daniel  Hayes,  Charles  D.  Hammond.  Reserves:  John  D.  Wen- 
dell, Charles  Gibson. 

108.  Upper  Iowa  —Ministerial :  Alpha  J.  Kynett,  J.  Burleigh 
Albrook,  William  F.  Barclay,  William  F.  King,  Stephen  N.  Fellows. 
Reserves :  Julius  A.  Ward,  Francis  M.  Coleman. 

Lay :  Albert  C.  Ross,  Thomas  B.  Taylor.  Reserves :  Samuel  S.  Troy, 
Elihu  J.  Wood. 

109.  Upper  Mississippi. — Ministerial:  Richard  Sewell,  Perry  O- 
Jamison.    Reserves :  Benjamin  H.  S.  Ferguson,  Thomas  W.  Davis. 

Lay :  Ephraim  H.  McKissack,  Joseph  H.  Phillips.  Reserves :  Joseph 
W.  Longstreet,  Tenant  Weatherly. 


Elected  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896. 


13 


110.  Vermont. — Ministerial:  Alfred  J.  Hough,  Joel  O.  Sherburn. 
Reserves :  Wilbur  S.  Smithers,  Leslie  O.  Sherburn. 

Lay:  Zopher  M.  Mansur,  Moses  P.  Perley.  Reserves:  H.  N.  Turner, 
George  H.  Blake. 

111.  Virginia. — Ministerial:  Stephen  P.  Shipman.  Reserve:  Daniel 
C.  Hedrick. 

Lay :  Chester  C.  Gaver.    Reserve :  William  Y.  Swiggett. 

112.  Washington. — Ministerial :  John  W.  E.  Bowen,  William  H. 
Brooks,  Isaac  L.  Thomas.  Reserves:  Edward  W.  S.  Peck,  John  A. 
Holmes. 

Lay :  Charles  F.  Vodery,  Irvin  G.  Penn.  Reserves :  Isam  C.  Cabell, 
Rudolph  W.  Rose. 

113.  Western  Norwegian-Danish. — Ministerial :  Carl  J.  Lar- 
son.   Reserve:  Martin  Hansen. 

Lay:  None  elected. 

114.  Western  Swedish. — Ministerial:  Oscar  J.  Swan.  Reserve: 
Harold  L.  Linquist. 

Lay  :  Charles  O.  Lobeck.    Reserve:  John  W.  Israelson. 

115.  West  German. — Ministerial :  Charles  Harms,  Jacob  Tanner. 
Reserves :  John  Demand,  Charles  Ott. 

Lay  :  John  A.  Kost,  William  F.  Muenzenmayer.  Reserves :  Jacob  R. 
Bader,  Samuel  J.  Kleinschmidt. 

116.  West  Nebraska. — Ministerial:  Erastus  Smith,  Charles  A. 
Hale.    Reserves :  Orlando  R.  Beebe,  James  Leonard. 

Lay:  Jasper  L.  McBrien,  William  J.  Cruzen.  Reserves:  Walter  F. 
Dale,  Thomas  Scott. 

117.  West  Texas. — Ministerial:  Harry  Swann,  Moses  Smith.  Re- 
serve: Mack  Henson. 

Lay :  Greene  J.  Starnes,  G.  Reid  Townsend.  Reserves :  Robert  L. 
Smith,  Granville  R.  Smith. 

118.  West  Virginia. — Ministerial:  Asbury  Mick,  David  L.  Ash, 
John  H.  Hess,  David  S.  Hammond.  Reserves :  Christopher  B.  Graham, 
Charles  R.  Shackleford. 

Lay :  Thomas  P.  Jacobs,  George  C.  Sturgiss.  Reserves :  Marcellus  A. 
Kendall,  Samuel  Woods. 

119.  West  Wisconsin. — Ministerial :  Samuel  W.  Trousdale,  John 
Holt,  William  J.  McKay.    Reserves:  Henry  Goodsell,  John  Tresidder. 

Lay:  William  T.  Jennings,  Henry  P.  Magill.  Reserves:  Frank  W. 
Hall,  Fred  W.  Dustan. 

120.  Wilmington.— Ministerial :  Merritt  Hulburd,  Alfred  Smith, 
Louis  E.  Barrett,  Wilbur  F.  Corkran.  Reserves:  Walter  E.  Avery, 
Vaughn  S.  Collins, 

Lay:  William  L.  Gooding,  William  H.Jackson.  Reserves:  Thomas 
J.  Truxton,  George  F.  Jones. 


14 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 


121.  Wisconsin. — Ministerial:  William  P.  Stowe,  Milton  S.  Terry, 
George  H.  T.rever,  Ephraim  L.  Eaton.  Reserves :  Edward  S.  McChesney, 
Henry  P.  Haylett. 

Lay:  William  H.  Stevens,  Leander  Ferguson.  Reserves:  Edgar  M. 
Beach,  Willis  W.  Cooper. 

122.  Wyoming. — Ministerial:  John  G.  Eckman,  Manley  S.  Hard, 
Austin  Griffin,  Levi  L.  Sprague,  Asa  J.  Van  Cleft.  Reserves :  Edwin  B. 
Olmstead,  Henry  M.  Crydenwise. 

Lay:  George  S.  Bennett,  Abram  I.  Decker.  Reserves:  William  J. 
Welsh,  William  Connell. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  MINISTERIAL  DELEGATES 

ELECTED. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

1  Ackerman,  George  E  Alabama. 

2  Albert,  Aristides  E.  P  Louisiana. 

3  Albright,  Newell  S  North  Ohio. 

4-  Albritton,  Josiah  L  Central  Ohio. 

5  Albrook,  J.  Burleigh  Upper  Iowa. 

6  Allen,  Charles  T  Detroit. 

7  Allen,  Edward  W  Northwest  Kansas. 

8  Alston,  Matthew  M  Savannah. 

9  Arbuckle,  John  C  Ohio. 

10  Ash,  David  L  West  Virginia. 

11  Baker,  Albert  H  South  India. 

12  Baketel,  Oliver  S  New  Hampshire. 

13  Baldwin,  Stephen  L  Newark. 

14  Bamford,  Morris  Iowa. 

15  Barclay,  William  F  Upper  Iowa. 

16  Barrett,  George  A  Troy. 

17  Barrett,  Louis  E  Wilmington. 

18  Bashford,  James  W   Ohio. 

19  Bates,  George  H  New  England  Southern. 

20  Belt,  Leroy  A  Central  Ohio. 

21  Bentley,  Jairus  J  Missouri. 

22  Benton,  Stephen  O  New  England  Southern. 

23  Berry,  Joseph  F  Detroit. 

24  Berry,  Wilbur  F  Maine. 

25  Bills,  James  E  Genesee. 

26  Booth,  George  M  Columbia  River. 

27  Borland,  Robert  S  Erie. 

28  Bowen,  John  W.  E  Washington. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

29  Brant,  Jefferson  E  South  Kansas. 

30  Bridgman,  George  H  Minnesota. 

31  Bristol,  Frank  M  Rock  River. 

32  Brodbeck,  William  N  New  England. 

33  Brooks,  William  H  Washington. 

34  Brown,  James  H   Troy. 

35  Brown,  William  L  East  Maine. 

36  Browne,  Frank  G  North  Indiana. 

37  Bruns,  A.  Gebhard  South  Germany. 

38  Buchtel,  Henry  A   Indiana. 

39  Buck,  Milton  D  California. 

40  Buckley,  James  M  New  York  East. 

41  Buell,  James  I  Michigan. 

42  Burt,  William  Italy. 

43  Butler,  John  W  Mexico. 

44  Buttz,  Henry  A  Newark. 

45  Cady,  Martin  E  Rock  River. 

46  Callen,  Marshall  M  Michigan. 

47  Carter,  Joseph  M  Central  Tennessee. 

48  Chadwick,  James  S  New  York  East. 

49  Chaffee,  James  F  Northern  Minnesota. 

50  Cherington,  William  D  Ohio. 

51  Clark,  Charles  B  South  Dakota. 

52  Clark,  Hyre  D  Central  Illinois. 

53  Clark,  Owen  H  Southern  Illinois. 

54  Clark,  Thomas  J  South  Carolina. 

55  Cobern,  Camden  M  Detroit. 

56  Cook,  Richard  J  Holston. 

57  Coleman,  John  H  Troy. 

58  Collett,  Elias  M  North  Carolina. 

59  Core,  Jesse  F  Pittsburg. 

60  Corkran,  Wilbur  F  Wilmington. 

61  Courtney,  Joseph  Lexington. 

62  Cowan,  Samuel  A  Mississippi. 

63  Coyle,  John  California. 

64  Cranston,  Earl  Colorado. 

65  Crook,  Isaac  Nebraska. 

66  Crumbaker,  Marion  V  Central  Illinois. 

67  Curts,  Lewis  Rock  River. 

68  Darling,  Josiah  C  Northern  New  York. 

69  Day,  James  R  New  York. 

70  Deininger,  John  C  East  German. 

71  Deputie,  James  H  Liberia. 

72  Dietz,  Henry  Southern  German. 

73  Drees,  Charles  W  South  America. 

2 


16 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

74  Eaton,  Ephraim  L  Wisconsin. 

75  Eaton,  Homer  Troy. 

76  Eckman,  John  GT  Wyoming. 

77  Edman,  Johan  E  Sweden. 

78  Edmonds,  Eugene  P  East  Ohio. 

79  Edwards,  William  S  Baltimore. 

80  Embree,  Aleric  S  Kansas. 

81  Emory,  William  O  Little  Rock. 

82  Erikson,  Jacob  M  Sweden. 

83  Evans,  Jervice  G  Central  Illinois. 

84  Evans,  William  W  Central  Pennsylvania. 

85  Everett,  Thomas  J  New  England  Southern. 

86  Fellows,  Stephen  N  Upper  Iowa. 

87  Fisher,  Oscar  L  Austin. 

88  Fiske,  Lewis  R  Detroit. 

89  Forbes,  Robert  Northern  Minnesota. 

90  Ford,  Thomas  B  Puget  Sound. 

91  Fowler,  James  L  Georgia. 

92  Fox,  Daniel  O  Bombay. 

93  Fradenburgh,  Jason  N  Erie. 

94  Franklin,  De  Witt  C  Des  Moines. 

95  Frysinger,  William  M  Central  Pennsylvania. 

96  Galeener,  Christie  Illinois. 

97  Gary,  Frank  Texas. 

98  Gehrett,  Samuel  W  Philadelphia. 

99  Gillum,  Richard  E  Central  Missouri. 

100  Gobin,  Hillary  A  Northwest  Indiana. 

101  Goucher,  John  F  Baltimore. 

102  Gould,  Amos  M  Michigan. 

103  Graw,  Jacob  B  New  Jersey. 

104  Gray,  Edward  J   Central  Pennsylvania. 

105  Graybeal,  Adolphus  Blue  Ridge. 

106  Green,  Theron  R  Central  New  York. 

107  Griffin,  Austin   Wyoming. 

108  Gue,  George  W  Oregon. 

109  Guth,  George  California  German. 

110  Hale,  Charles  A  West  Nebraska. 

111  Haley,  J.  Frank  East  Maine. 

112  Halstead,  William  R  Indiana. 

113  Hamilton,  James  Michigan. 

114  Hamilton,  John  W  New  England. 

115  Hamilton,  William  E  Des  Moines. 

116  Hammond,  David  S   West  Virginia. 

117  Hammond,  Edward  W.  S  Lexington. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

118  Haney,  James  W  Central  Illinois. 

119  Hard,  Manley  S  Wyoming. 

120  Harms,  Charles  West  German. 

121  Hartzell,  Joseph  C  Louisiana. 

122  Heavenridge,  Merimon  S  Indiana. 

123  Henke,  Edward  W  Northwest  German. 

124  Herrick,  Horace  N  North  Indiana. 

125  Hess,  John  H  West  Virginia. 

126  Hickman,  William  H  Northwest  Indiana. 

127  Hill,  George  H  North  Indiana. 

128  Hill,  Judson  S  East  Tennessee. 

129  Hills,  Charles  D  New  Hampshire. 

130  Hingeley,  Joseph  B  Northern  Minnesota. 

131  Hodgetts,  Alfred  North  Nebraska. 

132  Holt,  John  West  Wisconsin. 

133  Holtz,  Earl  D  East  Ohio. 

134  Honda,  Toitsu  Japan. 

135  Hough,  Albert  J  Vermont. 

136  Hugar,  Stephen  A  Florida. 

137  Hughes,  Jacob  S  Philadelphia. 

138  Hughes,  William  H  Troy. 

139  Hulburd,  Merritt  Wilmington. 

140  Hunt,  Enoch  J  St.  Louis. 

141  Hunt,  Sandford  Genesee. 

142  Huntington,  De  Witt  C  Nebraska. 

143  Jackson,  Henry  G  Rock  River. 

144  Jackson,  James  W  Central  Missouri. 

145  Jamison,  Perry  O  Upper  Mississippi. 

146  Jennings,  Henry  C  Minnesota. 

147  Jones,  Edwin  M  Central  Alabama. 

148  Jordan,  William  H  South  Dakota. 

149  Julian,  Allen  R  Northwest  Nebraska. 

150  Kellerman,  Charles  R  Idaho. 

151  Kelley,  William  V  New  York  East. 

152  Kepler,  William  North  Ohio. 

153  Kern,  Joseph  Central  German. 

154  Key,  Hillary  W  Tennessee. 

155  King,  James  M  New  York. 

156  King,  William  F  Upper  Iowa. 

157  Kirby,  John  California. 

158  Knighton,  William  A  Southern  California. 

159  Koeneke,  William  St.  Louis  German. 

160  Kumler,  John  A  Illinois. 

161  Kynett,  Alpha  J  Upper  Iowa. 


18  Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 

Delegates.  Conferences. 

162  Lampert,  Bartholomew  Chicago  German. 

163  Lanahan,  John   . .  .Baltimore. 

164  Larson,  Carl  J  W.  Norwegian-Danish. 

165  Lasby,  Charles  C  Nebraska. 

166  Latimer,  Ebenezer  H  Genesee. 

167  Lemcke,  Henry  Chicago  German. 

168  Leonard,  Adna  B. . .  Cincinnati. 

169  Lewis,  Allen  Northwest  Indiana. 

170  Lewis,  William  H  Ohio. 

171  Lindsay,  George  D  Maine. 

172  Little,  Charles  J  Northern  New  York. 

173  Logan,  Wade  H  Texas. 

174  Lothian,  John  W  Northwest  Iowa. 

175  Lowther,  Granville  Southwest  Kansas. 

176  Lowry,  Hiram  H  North  China. 

177  Mace,  James  R  New  Jersey. 

178  Mahin,  Augustus  E  North  Indiana. 

179  Mains,  George  P  New  York  East. 

180  Marsh,  William  D  Northern  New  York. 

181  Marshall,  Julian  F  Louisiana. 

182  Martin,  John  H  Indiana. 

183  Martindale,  William  J  Southwest  Kansas. 

184  Mason,  Madison  C.  B   .Savannah. 

185  Massey,  Thomas  J  Puget  Sound. 

186  Master,  Levi  ,  Michigan. 

187  Matthew,  Winfield  S  Southern  California. 

188  Maveety,  Patrick  J  Michigan. 

189  Maxfield,  John  B  North  Nebraska. 

190  McCabe,  Charles  C  New  York. 

191  McElroy,  William  N  Illinois. 

192  McFarland,  John  T  Illinois. 

193  McKay,  William  J  West  Wisconsin. 

194  Merchant,  Andrew  J  Erie. 

195  Mick,  Asbury  West  Virginia. 

196  Miller,  Emory  Des  Moines. 

197  Miller,  Robert  T  Pittsburg. 

198  Mills,  Edmund  M  Central  New  York. 

199  Mills,  Jacob  Montana. 

200  Mitchell,  Frank  G  Cincinnati. 

201  Mitchell,  John  North  Ohio. 

202  Monroe,  David  S  Central  Pennsylvania. 

203  Monroe,  Henry  A  Delaware. 

204  Moore,  David  H  Ohio. 

205  Morse,  S.  Abishai  Genesee. 

206  Motter,  John  A  Kansas. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

207  Muller,  Darius  H  East  Ohio. 

208  Munger,  R.  De  Witt  Central  New  York. 

209  Murdoch,  David  Y  Ohio. 

210  Murphy,  Samuel  S  South  Kansas. 

211  Myers,  Thomas  J  Iowa. 

212  Nagler,  Franz  L  North  Germany. 

213  Nast,  Albert  J  Central  German. 

214  Needham,  Arnold  T  California. 

215  Neely,  Thomas  B  Philadelphia. 

216  Nichols,  John  C  Central  New  York. 

21*7  North,  Crandall  J  =  New  York  East. 

218  Olsen,  Andres  Norway. 

219  Osbon,  Elias  S  New  York. 

220  Osborne,  David  C  East  Ohio. 

221  Palmer,  Abraham  J  New  York. 

222  Palmer,  John  F  Oklahoma. 

223  Parker,  Edwin  W  North  India. 

224  Parr,  William  D  North  Indiana. 

225  Parsons,  John  Oregon. 

226  Payne,  Charles  H  Cincinnati. 

227  Pierce,  David  F  Northern  New  York. 

228  P.lannette,  David  C  North  Dakota. 

229  Poland,  John  H  Missouri. 

230  Potts,  James  H  Michigan. 

231  Prather,  Silas  H  Erie. 

232  Quayle,  William  A  St.  Louis. 

233  Quimby,  Silas  E  New  Hampshire. 

234  Rader,  Daniel  L  Colorado. 

235  Rader,  Luther  S  St.  John's  River. 

236  Reed,  George  New  Jersey. 

237  Reed,  George  E  New  York  East. 

238  Reed,  Horace  Illinois. 

239  Rees,  William  H.  W  Des  Moines. 

240  Richards,  John  W  Rock  River. 

241  Ridgway,  William  M  Philadelphia. 

242  Roe,  Joseph  L  New  Jersey. 

243  Rose,  William  H  ,  .  Southwest  Kansas. 

244  Rothweiler,  Jacob  Central  German. 

245  Ruble,  James  A  Holston. 

246  Ryan,  Edward  W  Detroit. 

247  Sargent,  James  A  Indiana. 

248  Sawyer,  J.  E.  C  Troy. 


20 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

249  Schell,  Carl  North  Germany. 

250  Schlagenhauf ,  John  St.  Louis  German. 

251  Scofield,  John  C  Erie. 

252  Schriver,  Andrew  New  York. 

253  Schutz,  William  St.  Louis  German. 

254  Scott,  Isaiah  B  Texas. 

255  Scott,  James  H   Delaware. 

256  Scott,  Jefferson  E  Northwest  India. 

257  Scott,  Thomas  J  North  India. 

258  Sewell,  Richard  Upper  Mississippi. 

259  Sherburn,  Joel  P  Vermont. 

260  Shier,  William  H  Detroit. 

261  Shipman,  Stephen  G  Virginia. 

262  Shumpert,  James  M  Mississippi. 

263  Simonsen,  Nels  E  Norwegian  and  Danish. 

264  Smith,  Alfred  Wilmington. 

265  Smith,  Charles  W  Pittsburg. 

266  Smith,  Erastus  West  Nebraska. 

267  Smith,  George  W  Newark. 

268  Smith,  Moses  West  Texas. 

269  Smith,  William  T  Des  Moines. 

270  Smylie,  Robert  Northwest  Iowa. 

271  Spellmeyer,  Henry  Newark. 

272  Spencer,  William  A  Rock  River. 

273  Sprague,  Levi  L   Wyoming. 

274  Stafford,  Charles  L  Iowa. 

275  Stafford,  John  Minnesota. 

276  Stewart,  John  W  South  Kansas. 

277  Stewart,  Lemuel  H  East  Ohio. 

278  Stevenson,  Daniel  ..Kentucky. 

279  Stowe,  William  P  Wisconsin. 

280  Swallow,  Silas  C  Central  Pennsylvania. 

281  Swan,  Oscar  J  Western  Swedish. 

282  Swann,  Harry   West  Texas. 

283  Sweet,  John  Detroit. 

284  Sweet,  William  H  Northwest  Kansas. 

285  Swindells,  William  M  Philadelphia. 

286  Swift,  Polemus  H  Rock  River. 

287  Talbot,  Micah  J  New  England  Southern. 

288  Talbott,  Henry  J  Indiana. 

289  Tanner,  Jacob  West  German. 

290  Taylor,  Andrew  J  Arkansas. 

291  Taylor,  Edward  M  New  England. 

292  Terry,  Milton  S  Wisconsin. 

293  Teter,  Isaac  P  Iowa. 

294  Thomas,  Isaac  L  Washington. 


Aphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

295  Thomas,  Samuel  W  Philadelphia. 

296  Thomson,  Samuel  A  Southern  California. 

297  Thorndike,  Edward  R  New  England. 

298  Thrall,  Leonidas  W  Southern  Illinois. 

299  Trever,  George  H  Wisconsin. 

300  Trimble,  John  B  Northwest  Iowa. 

301  Trousdale,  Samuel  W  West  Wisconsin. 

302  Underwood,  William  H  Kansas. 

303  Upham,  Samuel  F  New  England. 

304  Van  Benschoten,  Sandford  Newark. 

305  Van  Cleft,  Asa  J  Wyoming. 

306  Van  Cleve,  Joseph  W  ,  Southern  Illinois. 

307  Van  Duesen,  William  W  Columbia  River. 

308  Van  Pelt,  Samuel  Central  Illinois. 

309  Walker,  John  W  Northwest  Iowa. 

310  Wallis,  William  r  Southern  Illinois. 

311  Walsh,  John  D  Kentucky. 

312  Ware,  Isaac  S  Missouri. 

313  Warne,  Frank  W  Bengal-Burmah. 

314  Warren,  William  F  New  England. 

315  Waters,  Wesley  G  Central  Ohio. 

316  Waugh,  H.  Eugene  Northern  New  York. 

317  Weakley,  Henry  C  Cincinnati. 

318  Whitlock,  Elias  D  Central  Ohio. 

319  Whitlock,  William  F   North  Ohio. 

320  Wight,  George  B  New  Jersey. 

321  Wigren,  James  T  Central  Swedish. 

322  Wilbor,  Carlton  C  Central  New  York. 

323  Wilcox,  Myron  C  Foo-Chow. 

324  Wilder,  William  H  Illinois. 

325  Williams,  John  E  Genesee. 

326  Willis,  Elbridge  R  California. 

327  Willis,  TilghmanH  Indiana. 

328  Wilson,  John  I    East  Ohio. 

329  Wilson,  Joshua  E  South  Carolina. 

330  Wilson,  Luther  B  Baltimore. 

331  Wing,  Charles  S  New  York  East. 

332  Witherspoon,  Benjamin  F  South  Carolina. 

333  Wolfe,  John  B  Illinois. 

334  Woodring,  Thomas  H  Pittsburg. 

335  Woods.  Henry  C  Genesee. 

336  Wuhrman,  Johannes  Switzerland. 

337  Yocum,  Ezra  H  Central  Pennsylvania. 

338  Young,  Jesse  B  St.  Louis. 


22 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Delegates. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  LAY  DELEGATES  ELECTED. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

1  Adams,  Benjamin  F  Indiana. 

2  Adams,  John  W  Holston. 

3  Ailing,  Ebenezer  B  Austin. 

4  Allison,  J ames  Southwest  Kansas. 

5  Anderson,  Johan  A  Sweden. 

6  Ando,  Taro  Japan. 

7  Andrus,  John  E  New  York. 

8  Ashley,  Alexander  Baltimore. 

9  Ayres,  Robert  Florida. 

10  Barlow,  Calvin  S  Puget  Sound. 

11  Bashford,  Jane  F  Ohio. 

12  Bendixen,  Henry  Northern  German. 

13  Bennett,  Charles  W  Cincinnati. 

14  Bennett,  George  S  . . ,  Wyoming. 

15  Biddle,  Alexander  W  St.  John's  River. 

16  Billups,  Henry  L  Central  Missouri. 

17  Bird,  Benjamin  O  Delaware. 

18  Blumberg,  Charles  F  South  Germany. 

19  Booth,  Robert  A  Oregon. 

20  Boreing,  Vincent   Kentucky. 

21  Bowen,  George  W  South  Kansas. 

22  Bowen,  Guy  H  Savannah. 

23  Brill,  Hascall  R  Minnesota. 

24  Broaddus,  Robert  F  Lexington. 

25  Bulkley,  William  L  South  Carolina. 

26  Bushnell,  William  F.  T  South  Dakota. 

27  Butcher,  Ada  C  North  India. 

28  Byrd,  David  W  Tennessee. 

29  Caples,  John  F  Oregon. 

30  Carr,  Phylonzo  D  Central  Tennessee. 

31  Chamberlin,  McKendree  H  Southern  Illinois. 

32  Cheney,  Francis  J  Central  New  York. 

33  Chenoweth,  Edward  S  Northwest  Kansas. 

34  Childs,  Edward  F  New  Hampshire. 

35  Clark,  Herbert  C  Columbia  River. 

36  Clendenning,  James  H  Arkansas. 

37  Colbern,  Abraham  R  Northwest  Indiana. 

38  Colby,  Ira  New  Hampshire. 

39  Coon,  S.  Mortimer  Northern  New  York. 

40  Copeland,  Roy  S  Detroit. 

41  Cox,  James  M  Little  Rock. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Delegates. 


23 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

42  Crozier,  Harvey  H  Southern  Illinois. 

43  Cruzen,  William  J  West  Nebraska. 

44  Cubilo,  Justo  South  America. 

45  Cunningham,  Joseph  O  Illinois. 

46  Daniels,  William  N  Northwest  India. 

47  Decker,  Abram  I  Wyoming. 

48  Dickie,  Samuel  .Michigan. 

49  Diggs,  James  H  Central  Missouri. 

50  Dingley,  Harvey  E  Northern  New  York. 

51  Doherty,  Robert  R  Newark. 

52  Farnham,  Joseph  E.  C  New  England  Southern. 

53  Ferguson,  Leander  Wisconsin. 

54  Field,  John  Philadelphia. 

55  Force,  Jacob  F  Northern  Minnesota. 

56  Fortson,  Thomas  A  Texas. 

57  Fowler,  James  A  Holston. 

58  French,  Henry  California. 

59  French,  John  New  York  East. 

60  Fryhofer,  William  P  Kansas. 

61  Furer,  John  t.  California  German. 

62  Gamer,  Fred  Montana. 

63  Gaver,  Chester  C  Virginia. 

64  Gibbs,  Asaph  H  Alabama. 

65  Gibson,  William  J  Missouri. 

66  Gidley,  Harvey  J  Erie. 

67  Gilluly,  Joseph  W  Colorado. 

68  Gisler,  Gideon  Switzerland. 

69  Gooding,  William  L  Wilmington. 

70  Gordon,  David  New  England  Southern. 

71  Gorton,  George  E  Northwest  Nebraska. 

72  Grawe,  Herman  C  St.  Louis  German. 

73  Gutekunst,  Frederick  South  Germany. 

74  Haensler,  Jacob  Central  German. 

75  Hair,  James  E  South  Kansas 

76  Hall,  J.  Fred  East  Maine. 

77  Hammond,  Charles  D  Troy. 

78  Harlan,  James  Iowa. 

79  Harris,  Abraham  W  East  Maine. 

80  Haw,  Christopher. . ,  Iowa. 

81  Hays,  Daniel  Troy. 

82  Hobbs,  James  B  Rock  River. 

83  Holden,  Alexander  M  Genesee. 

84  Holden,  James  F   Oklahoma. 

85  Huntley,  George  F  Louisiana. 


24 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

86  Hutto,  Tom  M  Southwest  Kansas. 

87  Jackson,  William  H  Wilmington. 

88  Jacobs,  Thomas  P  West  Virginia. 

89  Jacobson,  Jacob  F  Sweden. 

90  James,  John  E  Philadelphia. 

91  Jamison,  John  W  Texas. 

92  Jennings,  William  T  West  Wisconsin. 

93  Johnson,  George  B  Cincinnati. 

94  Johnson,  James  R  East  Tennessee. 

95  Jones,  Lucius  O  Nebraska. 

96  Karpowsky,  Emil  Chicago  German. 

97  Kendall,  William  H  St.  Louis. 

98  Ketron,  Henry  F  , . .  .Blue  Ridge. 

99  Keys,  Thomas  J  Mississippi. 

100  Kilbourne,  Clarence  P  Northwest  Iowa. 

101  King,  John  D.  North  Nebraska. 

102  Kinney,  Albert  B.  F  New  England. 

103  Kittleman,  James  M  Des  Moines. 

104  Koch,  Frederick  H.  A  St.  Louis  German. 

105  Kost,  John  A  West  German. 

106  Kratz,  Reuben  N..«  South  Dakota. 

107  Langston,  Thomas  J  St.  Louis. 

108  Layliu,  Lewis  C  ...North  Ohio. 

109  Leitch,  William  A  Baltimore. 

110  Libby,  Isaac  C  Columbia  River. 

111  Lindgren,  John  R  Central  Swedish. 

112  Lobeck,  Charles  O  Western  Swedish. 

113  Logan,  William  H  Central  Illinois. 

114  Long,  Charles  H  Central  Illinois. 

115  Ludlow,  Cristobal  Mexico.  » 

116  Magee,  Charles  R  New  England. 

117  Magill,  Henry  P  West  Wisconsin. 

118  Mando,  Luigi  Italy. 

119  Mansfield,  John  A  East  Ohio. 

120  Mansur,  Zophar  M  Vermont. 

121  Matthews,  Trevanyon  L  North  Nebraska. 

122  McBrien,  Jasper  L  West  Nebraska. 

123  McCullough,  Isaac  N  Lexington. 

124  McCully,  John  D    Idaho. 

125  McKissack,  Ephraim  H  Upper  Mississippi. 

126  Merrill,  Galen  A  Minnesota. 

127  Merrill,  William  W  Maine. 

128  Merritt,  Leonidas  Northern  Minnesota. 

129  Mickey,  John  H  Nebraska. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Delegates. 


25 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

130  Miles,  William  H  Maine. 

131  Miller,  James  M  Kansas. 

132  Miller,  Oscar  P  Northwest  Iowa. 

133  Miller,  Robert  T  Kentucky. 

134  Morris,  Charles  D  Missouri. 

135  Morris,  James  Bombay. 

136  Morris,  William  T  Georgia. 

137  Morrison,  John  B  Northwest  Kansas. 

138  Morse,  Charles  C  Louisiana. 

139  Mueller,  Charles  E  Chicago  German. 

140  Muenzenmayer,  William  T  West  German. 

141  Murphy,  William  H  Newark. 

142  Murray,  Thomas  H  Central  Pennsylvania. 

143  Naylor,  John  M  North  Ohio. 

144  Nelson,  Edward  T  Central  Ohio. 

145  Newkirk,  William  Indiana. 

146  Noss,  Theodore  B  Pittsburg. 

147  Nottingham,  Edwin  Central  New  York. 

148  Parker,  Lois  S  North  India. 

149  Parker,  Stanford  L  Delaware. 

150  Patterson,  John  S  North  Indiana. 

151  Patton,  John  Central  Pennsylvania. 

152  Peake,  A.  D  New  York. 

153  Pederson,  Toger  Norway. 

154  Penn,  Irvin  G  Washington. 

155  Perley,  Moses  P  Vermont. 

156  Phillips,  Joseph  H  Upper  Mississippi. 

157  Pihl,  Marius  J  Norwegian  and  Danish. 

158  Price,  Luther  J  Savannah. 

159  Pritchard,  C.  J  Bengal-Burmah. 

160  Randall,  William  T  Southern  California. 

161  Rasmusen,  Peter  North  Germany. 

162  Rigg,  John  E  Pittsburg. 

163  Robinson,  George  O  Detroit. 

164  Romer,  John  L    Genesee. 

165  Ross,  Albert  C  Upper  Iowa. 

166  Rusling,  James  F  New  Jersey. 

167  Salzer,  Henry  A  Northwest  German. 

168  Sawyer,  Edward  J  South  Carolina. 

169  Scott,  Julian  F  North  China. 

170  Sessions,  John  H  New  York  East. 

171  Sharp,  Morris  Ohio. 

172  Shaw,  Leslie  M  Des  Moines. 

173  Shoemaker,  Clement  W  New  Jersey. 


26      Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Reserve  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

174  Sims,  Ashford  L  Liberia. 

175  Snyder,  Zachariah  X  Colorado. 

176  Starnes,  Greene  J  "West  Texas. 

177  Stemen,  Christian  B  .  North  Indiana. 

178  Stephens,  John  H  South  India. 

179  Stevens,  William  H  Wisconsin. 

180  Stith,  George  W  Mississippi. 

181  Sturgiss,  George  C  West  Virginia. 

182  Sullivan,  Henry  P  Erie. 

183  Swarthout,  Elvin  Michigan. 

184  Tanner,  Frank  H  Central  Ohio. 

185  Taylor,  Thomas  B  Upper  Iowa. 

186  Tennant,  Richard  S  Northwest  Indiana. 

187  Thomas,  Wade  H  North  Carolina. 

188  Townsend,  G.  Reid  West  Texas. 

189  Trimble,  Lydia  A  Foo-Chow. 

190  Van  Sant,  Nicholas  G  Rock  River. 

191  Vodery,  Charles  F  Washington. 

192  Wallace,  John  D  North  Dakota. 

193  Walworth,  Warren  F  East  Ohio. 

194  Whiting,  James  W  California. 

195  Whitlock,  Herbert  G  Illinois. 

196  Wilker,  Victor   Central  German. 

197  Willard,  Rufus  S  Puget  Sound. 

198  Williams,  Joseph  A  Southern  California. 

199  Wright,  Philip  P  Central  Alabama. 

200  Zoller,  Charles  E  East  German. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  MINISTERIAL  RESERVE 
DELEGATES  ELECTED. 

Delegates.  Conferences. 

1  Addicks,  George  B  St.  Louis  German. 

2  Akers,  Joshua  S  South  Dakota. 

3  Alderman,  James  W  Kansas. 

4  Alexander,  Wharton  B  Nebraska. 

5  Anderson,  John  S  Idaho. 

6  Arnold,  George  W  Savannah. 

7  Avery,  Walter  E  Wilmington. 

8  Baker,  Fletcher  D  Northwest  Kansas. 

9  Banks,  William  P  Central  Tennessee. 

10  Barnes,  Sidney  O  Northern  New  York. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Reserve  Delegates.  27 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

11  Bartholomew,  William  F  Des  Moines. 

12  Bartley,  William  Texas. 

13  Bass,  Edward  C  New  England  Southern. 

14  Beach,  Emory  C  Southwest  Kansas. 

15  Beach,  John  W  New  York  East. 

16  Beck,  Francis  H  Erie. 

17  Beebe,  Orlando  R  West  Nebraska. 

18  Benham,  James  V  Central  New  York. 

19  Berger,  Jacob  Chicago  German. 

20  Bissell,  Thomas  J  Genesee. 

21  Black,  William  A  Northwest  Iowa. 

22  Bonn,  Frederick  California  German. 

23  Boreing,  Amon  Kentucky. 

24  Brown,  Thomas  W  Blue  Ridge. 

25  Buckner,  Robert  J  East  Tennessee. 

26  Butcher,  John  C  North  Indiana. 

27  Byerly,  Alexander  C  Illinois. 

28  Campbell,  Edward  A  Indiana. 

29  Carlson,  Bengt  A  Sweden. 

30  Carmine,  Robert  A  Colorado. 

31  Case,  Westwood  W  California. 

32  Chamberlain,  Nathaniel  Colorado. 

33  Chase,  A.  Fitzroy  East  Maine. 

34  Chavis,  Jordan  D  North  Carolina. 

35  Cissel,  John  H  Northwest  Indiana. 

36  Clark,  N.  Walling  Italy. 

37  Clayton,  William  B  Missouri. 

38  Coleman,  Francis  M  Upper  Iowa. 

39  Collins,  Vaughan  S  Wilmington. 

40  Conner,  John  Pittsburg. 

41  Cooper,  Theron  Central  New  York. 

42  Coxe,  James  C.  W  Iowa. 

43  Craven,  Thomas  North  India. 

44  Crawford,  Morris  D'C  New  York. 

45  Crydenwise,  Henry  M  Wyoming. 

46  Curl,  George  M  New  Hampshire. 

47  Davies,  William  W  Ohio. 

48  Davis,  Henry  T  Nebraska. 

49  Davis,  Lewis  P  Detroit. 

50  Davis,  Thomas  W  Upper  Mississippi. 

51  Dee,  James  G  Southern  Illinois. 

52  Demand,  John  Western  German. 

53  Dennison,  John  M  Oregon. 

54  Dick,  William  V  Ohio. 

55  Doddridge,  John  H  Indiana. 


28     Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Reserve  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

56  Doney,  Thomas  Central  Illinois. 

57  Downey,  David  G  New  York  East. 

58  Draeger,  Emil  C  .   Southern  German. 

59  Duncan,  Stephen  Louisiana. 

60  Duncan,  William  R,  R   Little  Rock. 

61  Dunton,  Louis  M  South  Carolina. 

62  Eaton,  George  F  New  England. 

63  Edwards,  Arthur  Detroit. 

64  Ellington,  Asbury  F  Georgia. 

65  Eltzholtz,  Carl  F  Norwegian  and  Danish. 

66  Evers,  Volney  C  Columbia  River. 

67  Ferguson,  Benjamin  H.  S  Upper  Mississippi. 

68  Fisk,  Herbert  F  Rock  River. 

69  Fitzwater,  James  H  Central  Ohio. 

70  Flint,  John  W  Southern  Illinois. 

71  Foss,  Herbert  E  East  Maine. 

72  Foster,  Milton  K  Central  Pennsylvania. 

73  Freshwater,  Robert  M  East  Ohio. 

74  Gebhardt,  Ernst  H  South  Germany. 

75  Gilder,  George  K  South  India. 

76  Goodsell,  Henry.... r  West  Wisconsin. 

77  Graham,  Christopher  B   .West  Virginia. 

78  Gray,  Joseph  R.  T  Philadelphia. 

79  Griffin,  Thomas  A  Troy. 

80  Hagan,  William  T  Liberia. 

81  Hager,  Cyrus  E  South  Dakota. 

82  Hagood,  Lewis  M  Lexington. 

83  Hammond,  John  D  California. 

84  Hanlon,  Thomas  New  Jersey. 

85  Hansen,  Martin  W.  Norwegian-Danish. 

86  Hardin,  Franklin  A  Rock  River. 

87  Haylett,  Henry  P  Wisconsin. 

88  Hedrick,  Daniel  C  Virginia. 

89  Hempel,  Gustave  North  Germany. 

90  Hensen,  Mack  West  Texas. 

91  Hess,  Martin  Central  Swedish. 

92  Hickey,  George  S   Michigan. 

93  Higgs,  Justin  H  ,  Central  Missouri. 

94  Holmes,  John -A  Washington. 

95  Holt,  David  B  Maine. 

96  Horst,  John  H  Central  German. 

97  Hoskins,  Robert  Northwest  India. 

98  Howes,  George  W  Southwest  Kansas. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Reserve  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 
99  Hoyt,  Francis  S  North  Ohio. 

100  Hudson,  Charles  G  North  Indiana. 

101  Hughes,  Jordan  W  Central  Missouri. 

102  Hutchins,  William  H  New  Hampshire. 

103  Jackson,  H  Bengal-Burmah. 

104  Jackson,  Jacomiah  H  North  Indiana. 

105  Jacoby,  Philip  W  St.  Louis  German. 

106  Johnson,  Thomas  S   .Bombay. 

107  Jones,  Thomas  L  Oregon. 

108  Koerner,  August  H  Northern  German. 

109  Koerner,  William  „  Northwest  German. 

110  Lacy,  William  H  Foo-Chow. 

111  La  Fetra,  Ira  H   South  America. 

112  Landry,  Pierre  Louisiana. 

113  Larson,  Johan  P  Sweden. 

114  Lathrop,  Ezra  R  Minnesota. 

115  Lee,  Edward  Texas. 

116  Lennox,  Lambert  E  Michigan. 

117  Leonard,  James  West  Nebraska. 

118  Lewton,  James  T  St.  John's  River. 

119  Linquist,  Harold  L  Western  Swedish. 

120  Long,  Lucian  W.  B  Oklahoma. 

121  Lowrie,  Daniel  R  Newark. 

122  Luckey,  George  J  Central  Illinois. 

123  Lytle,  Edwin  B  Missouri. 

124  Marquette,  David  North  Nebraska. 

125  Marsh,  Tamerlane  P  East  Ohio. 

126  Mather,  George  North  Ohio. 

127  McBirney,  Hugh.\  South  Kansas. 

128  McBride,  Robert  E  Kansas. 

120  McChesney,  Edward  S  Wisconsin. 

130  McDowell,  William  L   .Philadelphia. 

131  McKaig,  Robert  N  Northern  Minnesota. 

132  McKinney,  Alfred  W  Central  Alabama. 

133  McMaster,  R.  W   .  Arkansas. 

134  Mickle,  William  H  ,  New  York. 

135  Millard,  Charles  W   New  York. 

136  Moore,  Homer  H  Erie. 

137  Moore,  Oscar  T  Northwest  Nebraska. 

138  Morf,  Ferdinand  C  Chicago  German. 


139  Naylor,  Henry  R 

140  Noe,  John  J  


Baltimore. 
Troy. 


30     Alphabetical  List  of  Ministerial  Reserve  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

141  Olmstead,  Edwin  B  Wyoming. 

142  Olsen,  Ole  Norway. 

143  Ott,  Charles  West  German. 

144  Parkhurst,  Matthew  M  Rock  River. 

145  Payne,  Alfred  D  .*  Mississippi. 

146  Pearson,  John  Cincinnati. 

147  Peck,  Edward  W.  S  Washington. 

148  Peter,  Leonhard  Switzerland. 

149  Petty,  Asbury  L  Pittsburg. 

150  Polsgrove,  John  B  Central  Pennsylvania. 

151  Pratt,  George  W  Northwest  Iowa. 

152  Price,  John  H  South  Kansas. 

153  Pyke,  James  H  North  China. 

154  Reuss,  Charles  East  German. 

155  Rice,  Charles  F  ,  New  England. 

156  Richardson,  C.  Herbert.  Baltimore. 

157  Riggin,  Francis  A  Montana. 

158  Robertson,  Edward  P  Minnesota. 

159  Robinette,  James  J  Holston. 

160  Russell,  Thomas  B  Holston. 

161  Rust,  Richard  H  Cincinnati. 

162  Ryan,  Samuel  E.  North  Dakota. 

163  Ryman,  Charles  S   .Newark. 

164  Schaal,  John  G  Central  German. 

165  Scrimger,  George  E  Illinois. 

166  Shackleford,  Charles  R  West  Virginia. 

167  Shannon,  William  A  Northern  Minnesota. 

168  Sherburn,  Leslie  O  Vermont. 

169  Shockley,  Alfred  R  Delaware. 

170  Simmons,  William  J  St.  Louis. 

171  Sissle,  George  A  Lexington. 

172  Smithers,  Wilbur  S  Vermont. 

173  Soper,  Julius  Japan. 

174  Stackpole,  Everett  S  Maine. 

175  Stauber,  Benjamin  T  Northwest  Kansas. 

176  Stewart,  Oliver  M  St.  Louis. 

177  Strickland,  William  P.  C  New  Jersey. 

178  Stuart,  Thomas  McK  Des  Moines. 

179  Sulliger,  Spencer  S  Puget  Sound. 

180  Swearingen,  Peter  Florida. 

181  Tindall,  Daniel  K  North  Nebraska. 

182  Townsend,  Alonzo  G  South  Carolina. 

183  Townsend,  Charles  C  Northern  New  York. 

1 84  Tresidder,  John  West  Wisconsin. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Reserve  Delegates.  31 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

185  Trotter,  Augustus  M  Mississippi. 

186  Turner,  James  W  Kentucky. 

187  Towner,  Trinity  A  Columbia  River. 

188  Valderrama,  Pedro  F  Mexico. 

189  Van  Alstyne,  George   .New  York  East. 

190  Ward,  Julius  A  Upper  Iowa. 

191  Waters,  Joseph  R  Delaware. 

192  Webb,  Harvey  Austin. 

193  Webster,  William  H  Illinois. 

194  Whedon,  Daniel  A  New  England  Southern. 

195  White,  George  W  Southern  California. 

196  Wilding,  George  C  Puget  Sound. 

197  Williams,  James  Alabama. 

198  Williams,  William  G  Central  Ohio. 

199  Wilson,  Crawford  B  Tennessee. 

200  Wilson,  William  G  Iowa. 

201  Winchester,  Charles  W  Genesee. 

202  Wood,  Delos  M  Northwest  Indiana. 

203  Wragg,  John  P  Savannah. 

204  Wright,  William  A  Southern  California. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  LAY  RESERVE  DELEGATES 

ELECTED. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

1  Ackerman,  Fred  Chicago  German. 

2  Adams,  Benjamin  F   Central  Missouri. 

3  Allen,  Washington  G  Central  Alabama. 

4  Anderson,  Andrew  B  Central  Swedish. 

5  Appel,  Louis  Chicago  German. 

6  Asada,  Eiji    Japan. 

7  Arbuckle,  James  M  Central  Missouri. 

8  Axtell,  Charles  P  Iowa. 

9  Bacon,  Lewis  M  Baltimore. 

10  Bader,  Jacob  R  West  German. 

11  Bailey,  George  A  '. .  .Holston. 

12  Ballerini,  Pietro  G  Italy. 

13  Beach,  Edgar  M  Wisconsin. 

14  Beattie,  John  New  York. 

15  Benton,  Horace  North  Ohio. 

10  Blake,  George  H  Vermont. 


32 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Reserve  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

17  Bolinger,  Wiley  South  Kansas. 

18  Bowdoin,  John  L  Savannah. 

19  Boxwell,  Alexander  Cincinnati. 

20  Bradley,  Alva  W    Northern  Minnesota. 

21  Burch,  Dennison  D  Missouri. 

22  Burkholder,  Ezra  R  Southwest  Kansas. 

23  Butterworth,  Caleb  H  New  Jersey. 

24  Cabell,  Isam  C  "Washington. 

25  Carr,  Thomas  McG  South  Carolina. 

26  Carroll,  Henry  K  Newark. 

27  Case,  Samuel  Central  Ohio. 

28  Cass,  Charles  P  Holston. 

29  Chase,  Gordon  B  Erie. 

30  Cole,  David  D  Arkansas. 

31  Connell,  William  Wyoming. 

32  Cooper,  Willis  W  Wisconsin. 

33  Cortelyon,  John  G-  North  Nebraska. 

34  Cosgrove,  Samuel  C  Columbia  River. 

35  Cunningham,  Erastus  E  North  Ohio. 

36  Dale,  John  North  Nebraska. 

37  Dale,  Walter  F  West  Nebraska. 

38  Davis,  John  Nebraska. 

39  Dehority,  James  H  North  Indiana. 

40  Dennis,  Wilmot  E  Liberia. 

41  Dickerson,  John  M  South  Kansas. 

42  Drummond,  C.  R  Maine. 

43  Dunn,  Zachariah  T  Delaware. 

44  During,  Henrich  North  Germany. 

45  Dustan,  Fred  W  West  Wisconsin. 

46  Edwards,  John  Central  Ohio. 

47  Egleston,  Rouse  S  Georgia. 

48  Eidson,  Charlotte  Lexington. 

49  Field,  Arrie  Norwegian  and  Danish. 

50  Fields,  Daniel  W  -  Tennessee. 

51  Flink,  August..  Sweden. 

52  Foote,  Charles  E  New  Hampshire. 

53  Foote,  J.  B  New  York. 

54  Freidley,  William  Indiana. 

55  French,  Myron  H  Detroit. 

56  Fulcomer,  John  Northwest  Kansas. 

57  Fuller,  Frederick  D  Kansas. 

58  Fulton,  Andrew  F  East  Tennessee. 

59  Gassaway,  Mark  H  South  Carolina. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Reserve  Delegates.  33 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

60  Getty,  Edward  L  Northwest  Kansas. 

61  Gibson,  Charles  Troy. 

62  Gibson,  John  Des  Moines. 

63  Gill,  Joseph  K   Oregon. 

64  Grant,  John  H  Michigan. 

65  Graves,  Willis  North  Carolina. 

66  Hall,  Frank  W  West  Wisconsin. 

6?  Hamilton,  E.  H  Bombay. 

68  Hartford,  Mabel  C  Foo-Chow. 

69  Hoskins,  James  H  Central  New  York. 

70  Huntington,  Thomas  M  Northwest  Nebraska. 

71  Hutchinson,  William  H  New  England. 

72  Ingram,  Thomas  L  Northwest  India. 

73  Israelson,  John  W  Western  Swedish. 

74  Jeffrey,  Oscar  Newark. 

75  Johnson,  Elijah  E  St.  Louis. 

76  Johnson,  G.  L  Savannah. 

77  Johnson,  Milton  Illinois. 

78  Jones,  George  F  Wilmington. 

79  Kellogg,  George  D  California. 

80  Kendall,  Marcellus  A  West  Virginia. 

81  Kerrick,  Leonidas  H  Illinois. 

82  Kinne,  Charles  W  St.  John's  River. 

83  Klein,  Henrich  South  Germany. 

84  Kleinschmidt,  Samuel  J  West  German. 

85  Klemme,  Harman  J  Northwest  Iowa. 

86  Kuchenbeiser,  Fritz  California  German. 

87  Laidlaw,  Robert  Bengal-Burmah. 

88  Lane,  Charles  E  Northwest  Iowa. 

89  Layman,  Samuel  Oregon. 

90  Lewis,  Walter  T  California. 

91  Longstreet,  Joseph  W  Upper  Mississippi. 

92  Lord,  Everett  W  East  Maine. 

93  Lothrop,  Jr.,  George  W  New  England  Southern. 

94  Love,  Milas  S  Mississippi. 

95  Lowe,  Nicholas  South  America. 

96  Lynch,  Frank  P  North  Dakota. 

97  Manning,  George  Mexico. 

98  Manson,  John  T  New  York  East. 

99  Marshall,  Thomas  S  Southern  Illinois. 

100  Martin,  Jacob  Southern  German. 

101  Mast,  Phineas  P  Cincinnati. 

102  Maxwell,  William  H  Philadelphia. 


34  Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Reserve  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

103  McClure,  Laban  T  Kentucky. 

104  McClure,  Lewellyn  W  Northwest  Indiana. 

105  McCormick,  John  W  Ohio. 

106  McCreary,  Thomas  F  Central  Tennessee. 

107  McGinity,  Robert  Kansas. 

108  Meade,  C.  Henry  Genesee. 

109  Metoyer,  Rene  C  ,  Louisiana. 

110  Meyer,  Charles  H  Northern  German. 

111  Muller,  Charles  J  South  India. 

112  Murray,  S.  Wilson  ,  Central  Pennsylvania. 

113  Nath,  Gunga  North  India. 

114  Neuberry,  George  N   .Central  New  York. 

115  Nicholls,  Charles  W  Erie. 

116  Norton,  Matthew  G  Minnesota. 

117  Olds,  Barnard  L  Colorado. 

118  Otis,  Henry  H  Genesee. 

119  Paine,  Bartlett  O  Nebraska. 

120  Parker,  Charles  M  Southern  California, 

121  Patterson,  John  D  Philadelphia. 

122  Paulsen,  Oskar  Norway. 

123  Payne,  Dillon  H  Iowa. 

124  Perrin,  Homer  W  Alabama. 

125  Pickler,  Alice  M.  A  South  Dakota. 

126  Plummer,  Veranus  C  East  Maine. 

127  Potter,  Delenos  W  Rock  River. 

128  Potter,  Henry  A  Michigan. 

129  Price,  John  M  New  York  East. 

130  Prickett,  John,  Central  Illinois. 

131  Pye,  Samuel  H  St.  Louis. 

132  Range,  Joseph  W  Puget  Sound. 

133  Rankin,  Ella  K  Indiana. 

134  Raymond,  Robert  F  New  England  Southern. 

135  Rea,  Everett  A  Des  Moines. 

136  Reddix,  Joseph  A  Louisiana. 

137  Reid,  Simon  S  Texas. 

138  Rickards,  John  E  Montana. 

139  Rinkle,  Jacob  P  St.  Louis  German. 

140  Rising,  Bradley  D  New  England. 

141  Riter,  John  W  Columbia  River. 

142  Robinson,  J.  A  Mississippi. 

143  Robinson,  John  R  Colorado. 

144  Robinson,  Lewis  Lexington. 

145  Robinson,  Robert  R  Florida. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Beserve  Delegates.  35 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

146  Robinson,  William  C  ...  Southwest  Kansas. 

147  Rose,  Rudolph  W  Washington. 

148  Rote,  John  R  Central  Pennsylvania. 

149  Rowley,  Lincoln  E  Northern  New  York. 

150  Samson,  Hudson  Pittsburg. 

151  Schlee,  John  G  Central  German. 

152  Schneck,  Louis  Central  German. 

io3  Schroeder,  Johannes  Switzerland. 

154  Scott,  Thomas  West  Nebraska. 

155  Seward,  Charles  W  Ohio. 

156  Seymour,  Francis  A  Southern  California. 

157  Shaw,  Joshua  P  Kentucky. 

158  Simmons,  William  Delaware. 

159  Skirm,  William  H  New  Jersey. 

160  Smith,  Granville  R  West  Texas. 

161  Smith,  Robert  B  Texas. 

162  Smith,  Robert  L  West  Texas. 

163  Smith,  Silas  H  Austin. 

164  Soderberg,  Hjalmar  Sweden. 

165  Strickland,  William  H  Little  Rock. 

166  Stull,  John  M  East  Ohio. 

167  Swarthout,  Arthur  H  Detroit. 

168  Swartzell,  George  W.  F  Baltimore. 

169  Swiggett,  William  Y  Virginia. 

170  Taylor,  John  S  Puget  Sound. 

171  Taylor,  Joseph  D  East  Ohio. 

172  Thompson,  John  S  Central  Illinois. 

173  Thompson,  William  A  North  Indiana. 

174  Troy,  Samuel  8...,  Upper  Iowa. 

175  Truxton,  Thomas  J  Wilmington. 

176  Turhune,  William  L  Northern  New  York. 

177  Turner,  H.  N  Vermont. 

178  Valentine,  Thomas  B  Missouri. 

179  Van  Camp,  Andrew  N  South  Dakota. 

180  Vosholl,  Henry  St.  Louis  German. 

181  Wagner,  Charles  H  Minnesota. 

182  Walker,  Richard  J  Genesee. 

183  Waterhouse,  A.  W  Maine. 

184  Watts,  David  A  Southern  Illinois. 

185  Weatherly,  Tenant  Upper  Mississippi. 

186  Welsh,  William  J  Wyoming. 

187  Wendell,  John  A  Troy. 

188  Whipple,  Charles  M  Rock  River. 


36 


Alphabetical  List  of  Lay  Reserve  Delegates. 


Delegates.  Conferences. 

189  White,  T.Baxter  Blue  Ridge. 

190  Wilson,  George  P  Northern  Minnesota. 

191  Winkler,  Egbert  East  German. 

192  Witter,  George. .   Northwest  German. 

193  Wolfe,  William  F  Oklahoma. 

194  Wood,  Elihu  J  Upper  Iowa. 

195  Wood,  Samuel  L  Pittsburg. 

196  Wood,  Thomas  J  Northwest  Indiana. 

197  Woods,  Samuel  West  Virginia. 

198  Wright,  Junius  B  .  Idaho. 

199  Young,  John  New  Hampshire. 


RECAPITULATION. 

Ministerial  Delegates   338 

Lay  Delegates   200 

  538 

Ministerial  Reserve  Delegates   204 

Lay  Reserve  Delegates   199 

—  403 

Total  .   941 


ADDRESS  OF  THE  BISHOPS. 


Brethren  Beloved,  Elect  of  the  Churches,  Servants  op 
God,  Called  to  be  Saints  and  Sanctified  in  Jesus  Christ: 

We  greet  you  in  the  name  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  and 
welcome  you  to  this  27th  quadrennial  council  concerning  the  great- 
est interests  of  earth  and  heaven.  When  the  next  General  Con- 
ference shall  meet  we  shall  be  entering  the  portals  of  the  twentieth 
century.  We  desire  to  close  these  nineteen  centuries  of  work  for 
the  race  in  a  manner  helpful  to  men  and  satisfactory  to  our  Lord. 
There  is  nowhere  any  greater  privilege.  The  serious  responsi- 
bility is  as  great  as  the  privilege  is  glorious.  We  recall  the  solemn 
admonitions  under  which  many  of  us  were  ordained.  "If  it  shall 
happen  that  the  Church  or  any  member  thereof  do  take  any  hurt 
or  hindrance  by  reason  of  your  negligence,  ye  know  the  greatness 
of  the  fault  and  also  the  fearful  punishment  that  will  ensue." 

We  beseech  you,  therefore,  first  of  all  that  you  join  us  in  a  most 
earnest  endeavor  to  secure  a  personal  fitness  to  be  a  proper  medium 
in  this  Conference,  through  which  God  can  express  his  will  con- 
cerning the  churches  ;  that  laying  aside  all  unworthy  ambitions 
we  shall  sincerely  seek  to  know  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  realizing 
that  any  personal  advantage  that  is  not  for  the  good  of  the  Church 
is  for  the  damage  of  the  individual.  The  words  of  the  Master  are 
of  perpetual  application,  "  Watch  and  pray,  therefore,  lest  ye 
enter  into  temptation." 

It  cannot  be  too  deeply  impressed  upon  our  minds  that  in  all 
ages  the  Church  has  fallen  far  short  of  the  divine  ideal,  both  in 
purity  and  power.  God's  thought  and  plans  for  his  Church  are 
as  high  above  ours  as  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth.  His  Scrip- 
tures are  full  of  promises.  His  skies  are  full  of  Pentecosts.  "Ask 
what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you,"  is  the  limitless  divine 
promise.  Heaven  and  earth  are  put  in  pledge  for  fulfillment. 
Both  shall  pass  away  sooner  than  one  jot  or  tittle  of  his  word  can 
fail.  When  we  look  at  his  ideal,  promise,  provision,  and  power, 
at  the  humiliation  and  exaltation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  at  the 
unwordable  groan  ings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  seems  as  if  provision 
and  performance  were  scarcely  at  all  related. 
God's  ideal  for  his  Church  is  that  both  as  individuals  and  as  a 
whole  it  be  without  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing,  a  pure 


38 


Address  of  the  BisJiops. 


bride,  fit  for  the  spotless  Lamb,  and  therefore  strong  enough  to 
cope  with  any  evil.  As  a  Church,  we  have  taught  from  the  be- 
ginning that  believers  have  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  be 
made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature.  We  have  insisted  on  the 
glorious  privilege  and  duty  of  all  men  becoming  saints,  of  imme- 
diately being  made  perfect  in  love,  and  of  gradually  ripening  into 
Christian  maturity  in  all  faculties.  This  doctrine  was  nevermore 
definitely  stated,  clearly  perceived,  nor  consistently  lived  by 
greater  numbers  than  now.  But  how  lamentably  the  Church 
falls  short  of  the  divine  possibility  !  God  is  always  able  to  do  for 
us  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  even  think. 
The  reason  of  our  impotence  is  not  in  God,  but  in  ourselves. 
God  teaches  us  that  we  should  present  our  souls  and  bodies  a  live 
sacrifice,  every  faculty,  power,  and  possession  devoted  to  his  serv- 
ice. Our  Master  gave  us  such  an  example  of  fervor  that  he 
caused  men  to  remember  the  ancient  saying,  "  The  zeal  of  thine 
house  hath  eaten  me  up."  Paul  wrote  himself  down  as  the  slave 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  said  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long. 
These  are  examples  of  consecration  of  all  powers  and  possibilities. 
How  few  attain  it!  To  consecrate  a  segment  of  one's  faculties,  a 
fragment  of  one's  time,  a  fraction  of  one's  property,  is  a  keeping 
back  of  a  part  of  the  price  as  did  Ananias,  and  to  be  shorn  of 
power  as  was  Peter  on  the  day  of  his  denial.  Many  consecrate 
all  that  they  do  consecrate  to  God  rather  than  to  Satan  or  self; 
but  how  few  consecrate  all  of  their  all!  God  waits  through  cen- 
turies to  show  what  he  can  do  with  perfectly  and  completely 
consecrated  men.  And  the  whole  creation  also  waiteth  for  the 
Apocalypse  of  a  full  son  of  God. 

The  infinite  Christ  stands  in  all  the  sad  and  sin-cursed  ages 
saying  to  his  Church  concerning  every  weariness,  want,  deficiency, 
and  hunger  of  the  world's  great  multitudes,  "  Give  ye  them  to 
eat."  The  multiplied  bread  from  his  creative  fingers  is  abundant, 
enough  and  to  spare;  basketfuls  are  left  over,  and  yet  whole  races 
get  scarcely  a  crumb. 

We  come  into  possession  of  his  breadth  of  ideas,  or  rather 
his  ideas  come  into  possession  of  us  so  slowly.  After  ten  years 
Peter  said  that  he  perceived  of  a  truth  that  God  was  no  respecter 
of  persons,  but  desired  all  men  everywhere  to  repent  and  believe 
the  Gospel.  But  the  Church  almost  lost  that  perception  in  the 
whole  course  of  its  history  till  a  century  ago.  Then  a  new  per- 
ception of  the  will  and  wish  of  God  fell  like  a  new  Pentecost  on 
the  world. 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


39 


But  what  is  now  perceived  is  only  a  part  of  what  God  has  put 
into  his  holy  word  for  his  Church.  There  is  yet  more  light  to 
break  out  of  that  which  the  Infinite  has  spoken.  The  past  cen- 
tury has  found  the  works  of  God  incredibly  rich  in  knowledge 
and  power;  the  word  of  God  is  far  more  so  to  those  who  fit 
themselves  to  discover  that  richness. 

Work  of  the  Bishops. 

As  the  Board  of  Bishops,  we  are  happy  to  report  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  that  by  the  abundant  blessing  of  Almighty  God 
we  have  been  able  in  health  and  strength  to  do  the  work  as- 
signed us.  We  have  appointed  the  committees,  commissions,  and 
fraternal  visitors  to  other  Churches,  as  requested.  We  have  an- 
nually attended  the  one  hundred  and  forty-one  Conferences  and 
Mi-sions,  except  West  China,  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  Conference  in  Mexico  has  been  regularly  attended  by 
Bishops  Foss,  FitzGerald,  Joyce,  and  Newman.  South  America 
has  been  visited  by  Bishops  Newman  and  FitzGerald.  Our  nine 
Conferences  and  Missions  in  Europe  have  been  superintended  suc- 
cessively by  Bishops  Joyce,  Vincent,  Newman,  and  FitzGerald. 
Our  six  Conferences  and  Missions  in  China,  Japan,  and  Korea  have 
been  visited,  except  West  China,  by  Bishops  Mallalieu,  Foster, 
Ninde,  and  Walden.  This  involves  a  great  amount  of  travel.  But 
this  is  necessary,  for  we  superintend  the  expenditure  of  millions 
of  dollars;  the  precious  unity  of  the  Church  is  conserved  by  our 
semiannual  meetings  for  the  consideration  of  the  w^ork  as  a  whole; 
the  results  of  such  consideration  are  carried  to  every  part  of  the 
field;  the  Church  has  general  superintendents  who  study  and 
compare  every  phase  of  the  work,  in  every  land;  there  is  no  need 
of  sending  out  special  commissions  to  obtain  knowledge  of  the 
state  of  any  part  of  our  world-wide  parish;  our  missionary  money 
can  be  distributed  with  a  real  knowledge  of  the  comparative 
needs  of  each  part  of  the  work,  and  all  this:  is  obtained  at  a  very 
small  expense.  The  great  law  of  itinerancy  that  pervades  the 
entire  Church  is  especially  exemplified  by  the  general  superin- 
tendents. Besides,  we  have  given  much  time  each  year  to  the  . 
interests  of  our  great  benevolences,  conducted  a  very  extensive 
correspondence  touching  the  interests  of  hundreds  of  preachers 
and  churches,  have  held  Judicial  Conferences,  dedicated  churches, 
helped  to  save  churches  and  colleges  that  were  imperiled,  and 
now  and  hereby  submit  our  work  to  the  considerate  judgment  of 
the  General  Conference. 


40 


Address  of  the  JBishojis. 


Bishops  Taylor  and  Thoburn  will  report  on  the  work  especially 
assigned  to  them. 

The  Bishops  have  submitted  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  during 
the  quadreimium,  seven  propositions  for  changes  in  constitution, 
three  of  them  originating  in  the  General  Conference  of  1892,  and 
four  originating  in  as  many  Annual  Conferences.  The  tabulated 
statement  of  the  vote  thereon  will  be  submitted  to  you.  It  ap- 
pears that  only  one  of  them,  namely,  the  proposition  originating 
in  the  West  Wisconsin  Conference,  to  change  the  date  of  the 
meeting  of  the  General  Conference  from  the  first  day  of  May  to 
the  first  Wednesday  in  May,  has  been  recommended  by  three 
fourths  of  all  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences  present  and 
voting,  and  is  thus  before  this  body  for  its  action. 

In  this  connection  the  Bishops  solicit  the  judgment  of  the 
General  Conference  on  the  question  whether  an  Annual  Confer- 
ence may  properly  originate  and  request  the  Bishops  to  submit 
in  the  Annual  Conferences  a  proposition  the  adoption  of  which 
the  said  Annual  Conference  does  not  recommend  by  three-fourths 
vote  of  its  members  present  and  voting.  The  Bishops  have  held 
the  opinion  that  this  is  not  permissible.  But  the  question  is  of 
sufficient  gravity  to  warrant  an  authoritative  statement  from  the 
General  Conference. 

Success  of  the  Quadrennium. 

We  most  heartily  congratulate  the  Church  on  the  success  of 
the  last  four  years.  The  country  has  been  depressed.  The 
world  has  been  in  financial  straits.  Vast  railway  systems  have 
gone  into  the  hands  of  receivers.  Great  corporations  have  been 
wrecked.  Fortunes  have  disappeared  like  mist.  Men's  hearts 
have  failed  them  for  fear.  But  the  Church  of  the  living  God  has 
moved  right  on  to  certain  victory.  The  King  of  kings  annually 
makes  a  draft  on  our^ recruiting  office  in  the  Church  militant  for 
a  reinforcement  of  the  Church  triumphant.  This  draft  takes 
from  us  about  33,000  members  a  year.  Our  Church  records  also 
suffer  from  the  enterprise  of  our  itinerant  people,  thousands  going 
into  new  States  and  Territories  where  their  names  are  lost  to  us. 
But  notwithstanding  this  our  gain  in  lay  membership  in  the 
quadrennium  has  been  386,000,  making  a  total  membership,  in- 
cluding probationers,  of  2,766,656.  We  are  largely  indebted 
under  God  to  the  fervor,  zeal,  fresh  spiritual  insight,  and  faith- 
fulness even  unto  death  of  humble  men  toiling  in  lowly  fields, 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


41 


often  hungry  and  cold,  enduring  hardships  known  only  to  them- 
selves and  God. 

We  congratulate  the  Church  that  it  is  so  virile  and  produc- 
tive, that  its  spirit  is  so  intense,  that  there  are  never  wanting 
candidates  for  ministers  and  missionaries.  In  response  to  the 
Lord's  call,  "  Whom  shall  I  send  ?  "  we  get  the  word,  "  Here  am  I 
send  me,"  more  frequently  than  we  have  the  means  of  sending. 
We  find  our  Conferences  more  and  more  crowded  every  year. 

One  reason  for  this  abundance  and  excellence  of  ministerial 
candidates  is  that  we  have  in  our  colleges  and  schools  an  army  of 
43,322  students.  Of  this  army  there  has  been  a  gain  of  over 
1,000  the  past  year  and  a  steady  increase  for  twelve  years. 

The  Sunday  schools  of  the  churches  numbered  in  1895  30,259, 
a  gain  of  2,766  in  the  quadrennium.  The  number  of  teachers 
and  scholars  is  2,938,305,  a  gain  in  the  past  four  years  of  280,858. 
The  total  number  of  conversions  reported  in  the  Sunday  schools 
in  four  years  is  533,486.  May  the  time  soon  come  when  all  God's 
children  over  the  whole  earth  shall  be  taught  the  things  of  the 
Lord  ! 

The  quadrennium  has  abundantly  demonstrated  that  the  Church 
is  divinely  appointed  to  evangelize  the  world.  Christ's  mission 
was  to.  give  his  life  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  And  the  great 
mission  of  the  Church  is  the  proclamation  of  that  fact  to  every 
creature.  Missions  are  the  soul  of  the  Church,  one  of  the  chief 
reasons  for  its  continuance  on  earth.  We  find  the  methods  that 
are  most  owned  of  heaven  for  this  work  are  those  that  were  prac- 
ticed by  the  Son  of  God.  His  methods  were  healing  of  the 
body,  teaching  of  the  mind,  and  the  impartation  of  his  Spirit, 
by  dwelling  personally  among  and  in  men.  Our  analogous  meth- 
ods are  hospitals,  schools,  and  preaching  for  the  conversion  of 
men  by  the  power  of  God.  This  power  is  as  present  to  save  as 
when  Christ  was  on  the  earth.  It  saves  as  quickly  now  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Philippian  jailer,  as  thoroughly  as  in  the  case  of  Paul. 
Missionaries  are  often  delighted  to  find  in  their  heathen  converts 
a  simplicity  of  faith,  a  spiritual  insight,  and  a  heroism  in  enduring 
persecution  that  must  undeniably  have  been  given  of  God.  The 
conversion  of  India  is  both  more  thorough  and  more  rapid  than 
was  the  conversion  of  Europe.  There  is  a  power  turning  the 
world  upside  down  that  cannot  be  expressed  in  the  language  of 
civilization  and  secularism.  Besides  preaching  the  Gospel  in  fif- 
teen languages  in  the  United  States,  our  beloved  Church  has 
150,000  communicants  and  as  many  adherents  outside  the  coun- 


42 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


try;  40,000  students  in  training  schools,  and  150,000  in  Sunday 
schools.  During  the  quadrennium  we  have  been  able  to  send 
out  but  fifteen  more  American  missionaries,  but  the  native  or- 
dained missionaries  have  increased  fifty  per  cent,  the  unordained 
forty  per  cent,  and  the  self-support  sixty  per  cent.  We  could 
double  our  foreign  membership  in  the  next  four  years  if  we  had 
the  money  to  send  the  teachers.  We  make  no  estimate  of  time, 
but  after  a  more  perfect  consecration  of  believers,  a  deeper  ex- 
perimental study  of  the  laws  of  spirit  forces,  we  shall  be  ready 
to  join  in  the  song  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven,  "  The  kingdoms 
of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

Financial  Growth. 

A  few  material  facts  deserve  statement.  During  this  time  of 
financial  depression  we  have  not  only  kept  good  and  preserved 
our  $113,000,000  worth  of  church  and  parsonage  property,  but 
we  have  gained  $1 1,600,000  more.  In  pastoral  support  the  gain 
has  been  over  $500,000.  This  has  not  been  so  much  a  gain  to 
individual  pastors,  but  a  gain  in  consequence  of  1,400  more  pas- 
tors in  the  growing  field. 

The  income  of  the  Missionary  treasury  from  the  contributions 
of  the  people  through  the  Conferences  in  1891  was  $1,078,541 ;  the 
gain  on  that  in  1892  was  $41,355;  in  1893,  $20,916;  in  1894,%9,645; 
the  loss  in  1895  was  $5,551,  leaving  a  total  gain  of  gifts  to  this 
cause  in  the  quadrennium  of  $65,356. 

The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  and  the  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society  are  among  the  best  outcomes  of  the 
Christianity  of  our  century.  They  are  the  spirit  of  Christ  em- 
bodying and  organizing  itself  for  the  noblest  work.  The  income 
for  the  quadrennium  for  the  first  has  been  $1,143,797,  a  gain  in 
the  amount  given  every  year  over  what  was  given  in  1891, 
amounting  in  all  to  $88,957. 

The  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  had  an  income  last 
year  of  cash,  $126,690,  and  of  supplies,  $55,363,  a  total  of  $786,= 
265  for  the  quadrennium. 

As  a  result  of  new  organizations  and  greater  efficiency  of  old 
ones  we  are  giving  for  missionary  purposes  $932,000  a  year  more 
than  we  were  twelve  years  ago. 

The  Deaconess  Work 
in  its  ideals  of  service  of  all  sorts  to  the  needy  of  all  sorts  is  a 
close  imitation  of  the  work  of  our  blessed  Lord,  who  "  went  about 


Address  of  the  JB  is  hops. 


43 


doing  good."  No  Church  can  be  lacking  in  love  to  God  and  man 
when  the  loftiest  and  best  life  gladly  consecrates  itself  to  the 
service  of  the  lowliest  and  worst. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  51  deaconess  homes,  hos- 
pitals, and  orphanages,  of  which  15  are  in  foreign  lands.  There 
are  574  deaconesses,  of  whom  90  are  in  our  foreign  work;  100  are 
trained  nurses.  The  organization  has  $641,850  worth  of  property, 
which  has  been  mostly  given  during  the  past  quadrennium,,  Dur- 
ing the  past  year  the  deaconesses,  who  work  without  salary,  have 
made  262,416  calls,  held  11,060  religious  meetings,  and  helped  to 
care  for  6,209  sick  people  either  in  hospitals  or  their  own  homes. 

Church  Extension. 
The  Board  of  Church  Extension  is  organized  on  the  principle 
that  the  strong  ought  to  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak.  During 
thirty  years  it  has  administered  nearly  $5,500,000,  aiding  about 
10,000  churches.  Besides  the  aid  given  outright  it  has  a. fund  of 
nearly  $1,000,000,  which  is  constantly  loaned  to  churches  at  a 
low  rate  of  interest,  to  be  soon  returned  and  loaned  out  again 
and  again  to  help  other  churches. 

Feeedmen's  Aid. 
The  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  is  of  the 
greatest  service  to  the  Negroes  and  whites  in  the  South.  It  has 
been  in  existence  for  thirty  years,  and  during  that  time  has  ex- 
pended $4,000,000  in  establishing  and  sustaining  institutions  of 
Christian  learning  in  the  South.  It  has  taught  industry  and  let- 
ters, trades  and  learned  professions.  Ttaere  has  not  been  a  time 
in  the  past  thirty  years,  and  we  judge  will  not  be  in  many  a  year 
to  come,  when  we  can  withdraw  our  aid  from  these  people  who 
suffer  so  many  disabilities.  Every  interest  of  needy  humanity 
and  every  consideration  of  national  safety  demand  that  we  should 
continue  this  work.  A  nation  cannot  be  fully  trained  and  edu- 
cated in  one  century.  "We  settle  the  Negro  problem  by  the  simple 
assertion  that  there  is  no  problem.  There  are  certain  millions  of 
American-born  citizens  and  brothers  whose  rights  to  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  must  be  maintained  at  any  cost, 
leaving  the  question  of  personal  association  where  it  is  left  with 
other  races — to  the  personal  preferences  of  each  individual. 

Book  Concern. 
In  the  midst  of  the  severe  stringency  of  the  times,  and  the  pros- 
tration of  nearly  all  kinds  of  business,  our  Book  Concern,  besides 


44 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


the  necessary  additions  to  its  permanent  capital,  has  gone  on  pay- 
ing its  dividends,  from  actual  business  done,  amounting  to  $460,- 
000,  for  the  aid  of  necessitous  cases  among  our  effective  preachers, 
whose  salaries  are  deficient,  and  to  assist  in  supporting  our  vet- 
erans, worn  out  in  the  service,  and  their  widows  and  orphans. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  Church  of  God,  dependent  on  the 
free  gifts  of  the  people,  is  the  most  substantial,  most  firmly 
founded,  and  best  supported  business  establishment  in  this  coun- 
try. 

Harmony  in  Doctrine. 

We  congratulate  the  Church  that  within  the  past  four  years, 
as  in  all  its  previous  history,  there  has  come  into  it  no  division 
of  sentiment  with  regard  to  its  fundamental  doctrines.  This  does 
not  imply  lack  of  thought.  It  implies  that  the  truth  has  been 
rightly  apprehended,  that  it  authenticates  itself  to  the  mind  and 
heart  and  employs  all  its  adherents  in  rapid  progress. 

Whatever  discussions  and  rendings  of  the  Church  might  have 
come  into  missions  in  foreign  lands,  where  abstruse  doctrines 
were  made  too  prominent,  our  missions  have  most  happily 
escaped. 

The  fundamental  truth  of  Christianity  is  the  affirmation,  "  God 
is  love,"  and  they  that  dwell  in  love  dwell  in  God  and  God  in 
them.  The  sunrise  of  our  Methodist  day  was  not  in  the  studies 
of  Lincoln  College,  not  in  the  Holy  Club,  not  in  the  fastings  nor 
in  the  prayers  and  labors  for  the  poor  and  imprisoned,  but  m 
Wesley  himself,  when  his  heart  was  "strangely  warmed.''  Love 
is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  Love  is  the  mainspring  of  the  uni- 
verse. Let  this  fact  be  fundamental  in  any  man's  experience  and 
he  can  follow  his  individual  inclinations  with  perfect  liberty.  Let 
love  be  basal  and  there  is  no  fear  of  a  man's  going  far  astray. 

The  working  out  of  this  truth  in  the  lives  of  men  must  be  a 
blessing.  Hence  out  of  Methodist  hearts  "  strangely  warmed  " 
have  come  some  of  the  greatest  movements  of  our  day.  And 
many  more  will  come. 

Out  of  Methodist  hearts  "  strangely  warmed  "  with  a  thorough 
comprehension  of  the  breadth  and  length  and  depth  and  height 
of  the  love  of  Christ  can  come  a  thousand  rendings  of  the  veil  of 
sectarian  and  racial  narrowness,  a  thousand  open  visions  into  the 
mind  of  God,  a  thousand  new  agencies  for  the  spread  of  his 
truth. 

Our  great*  anxiety  is  to  care  for  and  intensify  the  spiritual  life 
of  the  Church.    We  know  that  all  our  sufficiency  is  of  God. 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


45 


Without  him  we  can  do  nothing.  How  to  increase  his  abiding 
and  control  in  the  living  heart  must  be  our  constant  study.  That 
brings  in  a  new  realm  of  power.  That  and  that  alone  makes  one 
Peter  at  Pentecost  mightier  than  all  the  hosts  of  civil  and  mili- 
tary power  at  Jerusalem.  That  and  that  alone  makes  common  men 
able  to  turn  the  world  upside  down.  That  and  that  alone  can  make 
our  Church  anything  more  than  one  ordinary  organization  among  a 
thousand  others,  one  argument  among  a  thousand  opinions.  That 
-and  that  alone  can  make  it  a  great  agency  of  God  for  conquering 
this  world  for  Chriat. 

Epworth  League. 

Among  the  great  agencies  for  the  increase  of  spiritual  life  we 
cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the  Epworth  League.  In  it  are  en- 
rolled 1,350,000  of  our  young  people  organized  into  over  21,000 
chapters.  They  are  turning  away  from  amusements  of  a  perni- 
cious character,  which  are  always  the  peril  of  advancing  wealth 
and  consequent  idleness,  and  are  facing  earnest  and  intelligent 
work  to  bring  this  world  to  Christ.  This  vast  army  of  young  peo- 
ple is  being  trained  by  appropriate  courses  of  reading,  by  100,000 
copies  of  the  Epworth  Herald  issued  weekly,  by  taking  part  in 
religious  and  social  assemblies,  and  by  personal  work  in  the  De- 
partment of  Mercy  and  Help,  to  become  active,  intelligent,  and 
devoted  members  of  our  own  Church.  We  especially  commend 
the  attendance  of  these  young  people  on  the  public  preaching  serv- 
ices, because  no  devotion  to  any  single  department,  however  ex- 
cellent, can  be  as  productive  of  a  well-rounded  Christian  charac- 
ter as  attendance  on  all  the  means  of  grace. 

We  are  impressed  with  the  importance  of  mcouraging  our 
pastors  and  young  .people  to  establish  and  maintain  Epworth 
Leagues  rather  than  other  societies,  in  order  that  they  may  have 
the  benefit  of  our  literature  and  be  trained  to  be  loyal  and  intel- 
ligent Methodists. 

City  Evangelization. 
Another  cheering  evidence  of  the  right  direction  of  the  spir- 
itual power  of  the  Church  is  seen  in  the  wider  and  more  intense 
interest  in  city  evangelization.  The  separate  organizations  in 
Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  Baltimore,  Cincin- 
nati, Cleveland,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Kansas  City,  Denver,  and  a 
half  dozen  other  cities  have  associated  together  in  the  National 
City  Evangelization  Union. 


46 


Address  of  the  Bisho2ys. 


These  thirty  different  organizations  report  $175,000  as  raised 
in  a  single  year.  They  reinvigorate  churches  from  which  the 
former  members  have  moved  away,  select  new  sites,  open  Sunday 
schools  and  missions,  and  give  to  undeveloped  Christian  forces 
an  ample  field  of  work.  They  have  spiritual  life  enough  to  at- 
tack the  worst  places  and  attempt  the  most  difficult  things  for 
Christ.  There  are  centers  of  crime  and  sinks  of  iniquity  so 
wicked  that  the  average  church  does  not  touch  them.  Think  of 
a  square  mile  of  a  city  that  has  1,000  saloons,  nearly  800 
brothels,  where  3,000  girls  live  in  these  vestibules  of  hell  that 
have  no  backward  swinging  door,  to  whom  in  their  average  life 
of  four  years  no  hand  reaches  sympathy  and  help,  but  to  whom 
many  a  hand  offers  absinthe,  delirium,  and  death.  Few  churches 
have  fastings  and  prayer  enough  to  be  able  to  cast  out  such  kinds 
of  devils.  The  problem  of  our  cities  is  the  problem  of  our  na- 
tional existence.  To  deal  successfully  with  this  is  to  save  our 
national  life.  There  is  no  power  but  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation that  can  do  it. 

A  Larger  Faith. 
Not  only  do  we  recognize  many  signs  of  advancing  spiritual  life 
in  our  own  Church,  but  with  "devout  thanksgiving  to  Almighty 
God  we  recognize  that  the  trend  of  all  the  Churches  and  of  the 
thought  of  our  age  is  in  the  direction  of  a  larger  and  intenser  faith. 
There  have  been  godless  theories  in  science,  a  fashion  of  despair 
in  poetry,  agnostic  tendencies  in  philosophy,  assumptions  that  the 
intellect  is  superior  to  religious  sentiment,  assertions  that  science 
and  faith  are  forever  sundered,  criticisms  of  the  word  of  God  that 
were  destructive  of  belief  ;  we  have  had  scoffers  willingly  igno- 
rant, saying  on  many  a  platform,  Where  is  the  promise  of  God's 
coming,  and  the  evidence  of  his  working  in  the  world  ?  But, 
thank  God,  that  midnight  is  passed.  The  aurora  of  a  better  day 
gleams  in  our  sky.  All  those  malign  influences  have  done  their 
worst,  but  the  word  of  God  still  standeth  sure.  The  period  of 
destruction  has  been,  the  period  of  construction  has  begun.  There 
never  was  a  time  when  in  the  ranks  of  science  itself  there  were 
not  seven  thousand  men  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.  In 
every  department  there  is  now  a  return  to  faith,  a  clearer  recog- 
nition of  psychic  forces  and  of  a  necessity  for  thinking  that  God 
upholdeth  all  material  things  by  the  word  of  his  power.  And  now 
even  "  science  walks  with  humble  feet  to  seek  the  God  that  faith 
has  found." 


Address  of  the  Bishops0 


47 


Christian  Unity. 

We  devoutly  thank  God  with  you  that  we  are  in  the  most 
friendly  relations  with  all  other  Churches.  We  believe  that  the 
intense  longing  of  the  heart  of  Christ  as  expressed  in  his  great 
high-priestly  prayer,  "  That  they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou,  Father, 
art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us,"  is 
being  fulfilled.  Our  message  of  love  means  oneness  of  spirit. 
Though  there  are  differences  of  operation,  it  is  the  same  God  who 
worketh  all  in  all.  We  neither  want  other  Churches  to  accept  our 
episcopate,  nor  surrender  anything  of  their  own.  We  are  not  talk- 
ing about  unity,  because  we  are  not  conscious  of  any  diversity  of 
Christian  purpose.  We  say  to  any  Church  that  goes  back  to 
Christ  and  reproduces  the  early  Church,  in  its  faith,  in  its  ordi- 
nances and  life,  "  Your  heart  is  as  my  heart,  give  me  your  hand." 
We  have  always  practiced  these  four  great  elements  of  Christian 
unity  : 

1.  A  recognition  and  acceptance  of  the  members  of  every  evan- 
gelical Church  on  the  presentation  of  letters  of  membership,  and 
a  commendation  of  our  own  members  to  other  Churches. 

2.  A  cordial  welcome  of  members  of  other  Churches  to  the  Holy 
Communion  of  their  Lord  as  administered  by  us,  and  a  glad  going 
to  the  communion  of  our  Lord  as  administered  by  them. 

3.  A  free  and  cordial  exchange  of  pulpits. 

4.  A  practical  cooperation  with  other  Churches  in  all  Christian 
work.  We  know  no  rivalry,  except  such  as  one  army  corps  feels 
for  another  to  do  the  quickest,  bravest,  and  most  effectual  work 
against  the  common  foe.  Our  ideal  is  not  organic  union  of 
Churches,  but  fraternal  union  of  spirit.  And  this  we  believe  to 
be  the  only  unity  known  to  the  apostolic  and  post-apostolic 
Churches. 

While  we  rejoice  in  these  blessed  fraternal  relations  with  all 
Churches  of  Christ,  we  especially  appreciate  and  reciprocate  all 
evidences  of  Christian  fellowship  and  cooperation  from  our  sister 
Methodist  Churches  throughout  the  world. 

Continual  Approval  of  Our  Polity. 

We  congratulate  you  and  the  Church  you  represent  that  our 
peculiar  polity  has  received  another  four  years'  indorsement  as 
God's  plan  for  the  working  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
As  we  strive  to  find  out  the  wishes  both  of  the  churches  and  of 
tbe  preachers,  as  we  endeavor  to  take  these  two  interested  parties 
4 


4S 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


into  our  councils,  it  seems  to  us  that  both  are  more  trustful  of  the 
system  and  its  administration  than  ever  before.  In  over  50,000 
appointments  during  the  quadrennium  the  cases  of  friction  and 
discontent  have  been  extremely  few.  Both  preachers  and  people 
have  been  loyal  to  the  itinerant  system  and  cooperative  there- 
with. 

The  people  recognize  that  the  system  of  regular  annual  appoinf  • 
ments  gives  them  a  stated  pastor  all  the  time  without  long  intervals 
of  anxious  seeking  after  supplies,  and  that  it  economizes  the  re- 
sources of  the  Church  by  obviating  the  necessity  of  one  church 
bidding  against  another  to  offer  a  man  a  higher  call  than  the 
place  he  now  fills.  The  preachers  recognize  the  fact  that  it  gives 
them  regular  work,  and  a  salary  without  anxiety,  during  the 
whole  period  of  their  effective  strength.  And  both  churches  and 
pastors  see  that  in  these  regular  and  necessitated  changes  the  able 
and  young  ministers  have  facilities  to  rise  to  positions  of  greater 
usefulness. 

We  do  not  recommend  any  material  change  in  the  time  limit, 
or  in  the  mode  of  making  appointments ;  but  suggest  that  your 
wisdom  might  provide  some  method  by  which,  under  ample  safe- 
guards, the  pastoral  term  might  be  extended  to  meet  very  rare 
cases  of  manifest  and  grave  emergency.  And  we  do  earnestly 
pray  that  our  itinerant  system,  so  venerable  in  its  history,  so  il- 
lustrious for  unparalleled  success,  so  dear  to  millions  who  have 
been  saved  under  its  operations,  and  so  manifestly  owned  of  God 
for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  may  not  be  subjected  to  sub- 
versive utterances  from  platform  or  press,  nor  be  handed  over 
while  yet  so  virile  and  strong  to  the  dissecting  tables  of  doctors 
who  are  not  yet  wise  from  experience  nor  philosophy,  but  that  it 
may  be  held  by  you  in  grateful  reverence  and  handed  down  in 
unimpaired  efficiency  till  God's  Church  militant  be  merged  into 
the  Church  triumphant. 

Quarterly  Conferences. 
From  observation  and  trustworthy  information  the  question  is 
pressed  upon  us  whether  the  time  has  not  come  for  considering 
the  possibility  and  expediency  of  substituting  our  Quarterly  Con- 
ferences by  Local  Conferences,  to  meet  semiannually,  in  which 
the  presiding  elder  can  be  more  generally  present  than  is  possible 
in  quarterly  meetings.  The  frequent  meetings  of  these  bodies  in 
the  absence  of  the  responsible  presiding  officers  is  not  conducive 
to  harmonious  and  consistent  administration,  nor  does  it  tend  to 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


40 


-elevate  the  views  of  the  people  with  regard  to  the  value  of  the 
services  of  that  officer  in  the  Church.  Much  of  the  business  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference  has  already  been  transferred  to  the  Official 
Boards  and  the  District  Conferences,  and  its  composition  has 
undergone  such  changes  that  it  is  no  longer  fitted  for  the  most 
important  duties  with  which  it  is  charged.  With  its  mixed  mem- 
bership, consisting  of  men  and  women,  old  and  young,  it  is  unbe- 
coming that  it  should  act  as  a  court  for  the  trial  of  accused  local 
preachers,  and  it  is  equally  unsuitable  for  acting  as  an  appellate 
court  for  hearing  all  classes  of  appeals  of  private  members.  In  our 
judgment  a  better  tribunal  for  both  these  purposes  can  be  easily 
constituted.  Let  the  Local  Conference  of  each  circuit  and  station, 
whether  it  meet  quarterly  or  semiannually,  at  its  first  session 
select  two  or  more  men,  to  be  known  as  triers,  and  authorize  the 
presiding  elder  to  summon  a  suitable  number  of  these  from  any 
part  of  his  district,  to  convene  when  needed  to  try  local  preachers 
or  to  hear  appeals  from  private  members.  We  commend  the  sub- 
ject to  your  attention,  but  leave  the  details  to  your  wisdom. 

District  Conferences. 
The  District  Conference  has  not  been  as  serviceable  as  was  ex- 
pected when  provision  was  made  for  it  in  1872.  This  provision 
differed  from  other  features  of  our  polity  in  that  it  left  the  adop- 
tion and  continuation  of  this  Conference  optional  with  each  dis- 
trict. Its  general  introduction  seems  to  have  been  hindered  by 
the  transfer  to  it  of  so  many  functions  of  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence, and  by  the  fact  that  it  meets  only  in  part  the  demand  for  a 
Conference  in  which  the  laity  in  each  pastoral  charge  may  be 
fully  represented.  Were  the  disciplinary  provision  for  the  Dis- 
trict Conference  so  modified  as  to  include  a  larger  representation 
from  the  laity,  and  give  prominence  to  the  consideration  of  Church 
matters  within  the  district  and  of  our  general  and  connectional 
work,  we  judge  that  its  meetings,  one  or  two  each  Conference 
year,  would  soon  come  to  be  largely  attended  by  its  ministerial 
and  lay  members.  Such  a  Conference  would  promote  all  local 
and  general  interests  of  our  Church  and  strengthen  its  connectional 
spirit.  With  this  larger  presence  of  the  office  bearers  of  the  dis- 
trict, this  Conference  would  also  give  the  bishops,  so  far  as  other 
duties  would  allow,  a  desirable  and  welcome  opportunity  to  meet 
with  the  laity  as  the  Annual  Conference  does  to  meet  with  the 
traveling  preachers.  We  commend  the  matter  to  your  careful 
consideration. 


50 


Address  of  the  Bishops, 


Conference  Studies. 

The  conditions  of  admitting  preachers  to  our  Conferences  are- 
based  on  a  state  of  things  that  existed  many  years  ago,  when  cir- 
cumstances were  very  different.  Our  whole  system  has  been  based 
on  gifts,  graces,  and  usefulness  developed  by  a  course  of  study 
pursued  amid  the  difficulties  of  regular  work  by  junior  preachers 
under  a  senior.  As  a  regular  drill  in  practical  work  it  could  not 
be  easily  surpassed.  But  it  is  not  now  practicable  to  so  relate 
junior  and  senior  preachers,  and  the  course  of  study  is  much  bet- 
ter pursued  in  our  colleges  and  theological  seminaries.  Besides, 
nearly  all  candidates  for  the  ministry  while  pursuing  their  theo- 
logical studies  preach  under  the  drill  and  criticism  of  the  pro- 
fessors and  the  presiding  elder.  We  believe  the  time  has  fully 
come  when  the  Church  should  recognize  in  the  conditions  to  ad- 
mission on  trial  to  our  Conferences  the  preparation  gained  in  the 
theological  schools.  The  Church  has  already  advanced  one  step 
in  this  direction  by  ordaining  as  deacons  those  who  have  been 
local  preachers,  have  been  students  for  two  years  in  one  of  our 
regular  theological  seminaries,  and  have  completed  the  first  two 
years  of  the  Conference  Course  of  Study.  We  now  recommend 
that  the  Church  take  one  more  step  in  advance  and  enact  that  any 
student  shall  be  credited  on  the  Conference  Course  of  Study  with 
examinations  in  any  of  the  books  of  the  first  two  years  of  the 
Conference  Course  which  any  theological  school,  whose  professors 
are  nominated  or  confirmed  by  the  bishops,  shall  certify  that  he 
has  satisfactorily  passed.  Colleges  and  universities  everywhere 
accept  certificates  of  proficiency  from  comparatively  unknown 
academies  and  high  schools.  Methodist  Conferences  should  accept 
certificates  of  their  own  schools.  Let  the  Conferences  continue  to 
examine  rigidly  in  all  matters  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  but  in 
literary  work  accept  the  certificates  of  institutions  so  well  able  to 
judge. 

Aid  for  Necessitous  Cases. 

While  we  indorse  and  gladly  further  every  provision  for  the 
aid  of  our  worn-out  preachers,  their  widows  and  orphans,  wre  sug- 
gest that  the  principle  of  fixing  their  claim  on  the  basis  of  years 
of  service,  rather  than  on  the  basis  of  pressing  and  imminent  need, 
is  not  promotive  of  the  divine  charity  which  prompts  the  giving, 
and  tends  to  defeat  our  cherished  purpose  of  helping  those  who  have 
been  worn  out  in  the  service.  We  think  the  matter  of  payments 
according  to  years  in  the  Conference  should  be  left  to  the  Mutual 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


51 


Aid  Societies,  which  naturally  consider  the  number  of  payments 
made. 

Constitutional  Commission. 
Among  the  matters  requiring  your  careful  consideration  is  the 
report  of  the  Constitutional  Commission  referred  to  this  General 
Conference  by  that  of  1892.  This  commission  was  ordered  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1888,  to  consist  of  seven  ministers, 
seven  laymen,  and  three  general  superintendents,  to  "  define  and 
•determine  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Conference,  to  state  of 
whom  it  shall  be  composed,  and  by  what  method  it  shall  be  or- 
ganized, to  declare  what  shall  be  the  powers  thereof,  and  in  what 
manner  they  shall  be  exercised,  and  to  provide  the  process  by 
which  the  Constitution,  or  any  part  thereof,  shall  be  amended, 
and  report  to  the  General  Conference  of  1892."  That  report 
was  made,  and  after  a  careful  consideration  of  a  part  of  it  the 
General  Conference  of  1892  adopted  a  resolution  declaring  that 
certain  specified  paragraphs  of  the  Discipline  have  "  the  nature 
and  force  of  a  Constitution."  It  did  not,  however,  take  up  for 
immediate  action  the  new  form  for  an  amended  Constitution  pre- 
sented by  the  commission.  We  commend  that  form  to  your  early 
and  careful  consideration,  believing  that  its  adoption  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  of  this  General  Conference,  after  such  amendments 
as  you  may  think  wise,  and  by  a  three-fourths  vote  of  the  An- 
nual Conferences,  would  in  many  ways  be  a  great  advantage  to 
the  Church. 

Amusements. 

A  spiritual  Church  must  always  be  opposed  to  amusements  that 
are  dissipating  rather  than  recreative.  To  all  such  pleasures  the 
Church  must  oppose  itself*  or  dwindle  as  a  spiritual  force. 
Churches  do  not  perish  by  sacrifices  or  self-denial.  Persecution 
from  without  often  makes  them  flourish  within.  But  Churches 
have  perished  by  indulgence  in  what  seemed  to  be  at  first  inno- 
cent delights,  but  grew  at  length  into  destructive  habits.  There 
are  amusements  that  deaden  all  spiritual  life,  leave  one  without  a 
sense  of  power  with  God,  cause  men  to  lose  their  first  love,  and 
leave  them  only  a  name  to  live  while  they  are  dead.  With  an 
intense  and  ever-growing  aversion  to  all  that  deteriorates  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  Church,  we  lift  up  a  voice  of  warning  against 
the  increasing  prevalence  of  amusements  that  are  deleterious  to 
•our  spiritual  power.  The  constant  and  rigid  adherence  to  the 
principle  which  is  embodied  in  our  General  Rules,  a  part  of  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  Church,  which  requires  us  to  avoid  "  tak- 


52 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


ing  such  diversions  as  cannot  be  used  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,"  cannot  be  too  earnestly  insisted  upon,  and  should  be  en- 
forced by  the  godly  example  of  all  spiritually-minded  people. 
We  sincerely  desire  that  the-  action  of  this  General  Conference 
may  be  such  as  to  awaken  the  conscience  of  the  whole  Church  to 
the  perils  rising  from  inconsiderate  indulgences  in  harmful  pleas- 
ures. The  press  of  the  Church  should  speak  out  on  this  subject, 
and  the  ministers  should  lay  down  the  law  of  the  Church,  the 
teaching  of  Scripture,  and  the  sad  illustrations  of  history  till  the 
whole  Church  shall  be  sensitively  alive  on  the  subject. 

Intoxicants. 

The  Church  has  no  new  word  to  utter  nor  ne  w  position  to  take  in 
regard  to  those  seductive  but  deadly  poisons  that  blight  and  destroy 
all  that  is  great  and  holy  in  human  life.  The  accursed  influence 
of  intoxicating  drinks  and  drugs  on  every  interest  of  man,  the 
family,  social  life,  politics,  and  religion,  is  earthly,  sensual,  and 
devil-possessed.  By  the  power  of  heredity  it  lays  on  children  to 
the  third  or  fourth  generation  the  curse  of  physical  deterioration, 
deficiency,  and  idiocy.  It  hurries  men  into  insanity  with  dread- 
ful rapidity. 

The  ideal  legislation,  the  enactment  of  which  is  to  be  constantly 
sought,  for  the  utter  destruction  of  this  monstrous  crime,  is  total 
prohibition.  And  while  we  are  seeking  the  enactment  and  en- 
forcement of  this  ideal  legislation  we  must  seek  to  annihilate  this 
archenemy  by  every  available  weapon.  Any  law  that  shuts  the 
saloon  on  Sunday,  or  on  election  day,  keeps  it  a  certain  distance 
from  a  church  or  school,  that  restricts  the  places  where  or  the 
classes  to  whom  this  fiery  death  may  be  sold,  should  be  executed 
to  the  full. 

The  position  of  our  Church  in  regard  to  political  parties  is 
clearly  stated  in  the  Bishops'  Address  of  1892,  thus:  "With  re- 
gard to  politics,  the  attitude  of  our  Church  is  strenuously  non- 
partisan and  nonsectional.  It  acknowledges  no  allegiance  to  any 
political  creed  or  association.  It  urges  all  its  members  who  have 
the  right  to  vote  to  discharge  that  duty;  but  it  leaves  every  voter 
absolutely  free  from  ecclesiastical  interference  to  determine  for 
himself  for  whom  his  ballot  shall  be  cast.  The  right  of  suffrage, 
or  the  franchise,  we  regard  as  a  great  and  responsible  trust, 
which  should  in  all  cases,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  be  exercised 
conscientiously,  but  in  absolute  personal  freedom.  When  moral 
issues  are  before  the  public  our  people  are  invariably  found  on. 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


53 


the  side  of  the  highest  standard;  but  even  then  they  choose  their 
own  party  affiliations,  and  refuse  to  be  dictated  to  as  to  the  mat- 
ter of  their  votes." 

We  recommend  that  this  General  Conference  make  an  earnest 
appeal  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  to  so  adjust  its 
internal  revenue  laws  as  not  to  seem  to  legalize  the  traffic  in 
ardent  spirits  in  sections  of  the  Union  where  prohibitory  laws 
exist.  A  popular  government  should  not  aid  in  forcing  an  in- 
famous traffic  on  unwilling  people. 

We  are  glad  that  awakened  public  sentiment  has  made  it  re- 
spectable to  decline  to  drink,  and  to  urge  others  to  refrain,  glad 
that  great  railroads  and  factories  have  concluded  that  men  can- 
not be  trusted  with  material  interests  and  precious  human  lives 
who  are  addicted  to  intoxicating  drink,  glad  that  life  insurance 
companies  and  mutual  benefit  societies  have  learned  that  all 
drinkers  of  intoxicants  are  deteriorated  risks,  and  especially  glad 
that  the  closing  of  the  saloon  on  the  Lord's  Day  has  been  effected 
in  the  great  city  of  New  York. 

Disciplinary  Changes. 

The  duties  assigned  to  the  bishops  in  connection  with  the  in- 
terpretation and  administration  of  the  law  of  the  Church  have 
brought  to  their  notice  many  minor  defects  in  our  Discipline  to 
which  we  respectfully  ask  the  attention  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence. We  find  that  in  some  cases  the  provisions  of  the  law  are 
contradictory;  that  in  other  cases  the  law  is  ambiguous  or  other- 
wise wanting  in  clearness;  that  a  number  of  established,  ap- 
proved, and  important  usages  among  us,  usages  involving  the 
exercise  of  authority,  have  no  explicit  warrant  of  law ;  that  ad- 
ministrators are  often  perplexed  for  the  lack  of  due  provision  for 
conditions  that  should  have  been  foreseen  by  the  law;  and  that  in 
not  a  few  cases  the  statement  of  the  law,  though  not  likely  to 
mislead,  is  awkward  and  imperfect.  The  committee  appointed 
by  the  General  Conference  of  1892  to  revise  the  Discipline  w^as 
wisely  restricted  by  that  body  to  changes  in  the  arrangement 
and  language  of  the  law.  Thus  it  could  not  deal  with  its  sub- 
stance in  any  degree.  We  therefore  beg  leave  to  submit  to  the 
General  Conference  in  another  paper  a  number  of  proposed 
changes,  none  of  them  in  any  degree  affecting  the  general  policy 
of  the  Church,  some  of  them  of  comparatively  small  importance, 
but  all  of  them,  as  we  believe,  leading  to  an  improved  body  of 
law  for  the  Church.    These  proposed  changes  are  grouped  in 


54 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


such  a  way  as  to  be  readily  referred  to  appropriate  committees 
of  your  body. 

Education. 

Among  the  greatest  victories  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
have  been  those  achieved  in  the  field  of  education.  Insisting  on 
a  Gospel  that  teaches  a  loftiness  of  ideals  for  man  which  has  else- 
where found  no  higher  expression,  and  intimately  relating  the 
attainment  of  those  ideals  to  human  endeavor,  the  Church  was 
logically  compelled  to  give  every  one  of  its  members  the  best 
possible  means  of  development.  Hence  it  has  founded  schools  by 
the  hundred,  sometimes  more  than  could  be  maintained,  just  as 
God's  overflowing  exuberance  of  life  makes  a  thousand  seeds  for 
every  one  that  grows.  No  one  of  these  schools  has  ever  lived  in 
vain.  We  owe  very  much  of  our  present  greatness  to  our  oldest 
university,  founded  by  Wilbur  Fisk. 

In  this  connection  we  would  express  our  distinct  approval  of 
the  work  of  the  University  Senate. 

The  American  University. 

The  American  University,  located  in  Washington,  D.  C,  came 
before  the  Church  four  years  ago  as  an  applicant  for  its  indorse- 
ment in  the  proposed  work  of  furnishing  postgraduate  and  pro- 
fessional instruction.  The  General  Conference  of  1892  indorsed 
this  proposition,  approved  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  commended 
the  proposed  University  to  the  favor  of  the  Church.  The  officers 
of  the  institution  report  in  assets  $1,040,000,  consisting  Of  real 
estate,  reliable  subscriptions,  and  funds  in  bank.  In  view  of  the 
opening  of  the  immense  scientific  collection,  by  act  of  Congress, 
to  all  students  for  special  investigation,  and  in  view  of  the  grow- 
ing popular  appreciation  of  the  necessity  of  a  central  Protestant 
University  in  the  national  capital,  we  heartily  commend  to  the 
prayers,  the  sympathies,  and  the  generous  gifts  of  our  people  the 
American  University,  which  by  its  charter  and  its  pledges  is  at 
once  emphatically  American  and  Christian. 

The  Woman's  College  in  Baltimore  deserves  especial  mention 
for  its  uniqueness,  completeness,  and  for  affording  opportunity 
for  any  of  our  people  who  prefer  the  education  of  young  women 
in  schools  exclusively  for  their  own  sex  to  acquire  a  complete 
college  education  under  the  best  of  religious  influences. 

We  are  glad  to  call  attention  to  the  contribution  which  the 
Chautauqua  system  has  made  to  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  life 
of  our  own  people,  and  of  many  beyond  our  bounds.   The  system 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


55 


sprung  from  our  Methodist  ministry  and  laity.  It  has  quickened 
and  stimulated  many  to  a  higher  and  broader  range  of  reading 
and  study,  has  inspired  many  of  its  students  to  seek  a  collegiate 
education,  keep  science  and  religion  and  all  knowledge  in  most 
harmonious  relations,  and  from  its  central  fire  has  kindled  many 
■other  fires  throughout  this  and  other  lands.  We  trust  that  the 
Chautauqua  system  will  always  and  everywhere  combine  an  un- 
questioned loyalty  to  Christ  with  an  open  mind  for  all  the  revela- 
tion of  God  in  his  own  word  and  works. 

God  sees  no  perfect  individual  nor  perfect  service  of  him  that 
does  not  include  both  mind  and  heart.  He  does  not  want  his 
Church  nor  his  heaven  an  asylum  for  feeble-minded  children. 

Our  system  requiring  that  a  sermon  be  preached  on  education 
every  year,  and  a  collection  taken  in  both  church  and  Sunday 
school  for  the  aid  of  schools  and  students,  makes  it  possible  that 
every  determined  person  who  exercises  his  free  will  in  that  direc- 
tion may  acquire  a  liberal  education. 

But  for  the  proper  and  needed  development  of  our  schools  we 
need  at  least  81,000,000  in  gifts  every  year. 

Relation  to  Property. 

t 

The  .Church  must  always  antagonize  the  tendency  in  human 
nature  to  assert  and  maintain  that  all  of  the  earth  it  can  seize  by 
honest  labor  or  bloody  violence  and  hold  by  any  means,  fair  or 
foul,  is  its  own.  Men  call  their  lands  by  their  own  names  To 
defend  their  possessions  they  organize  armies  and  shed  much 
blood.  How  different  are  God's  ideas  !  He  asserts  himself  to  be 
the  creator,  upholder,  and  owner  of  all  things.  The  earth  is  the 
Lord's,  and  the  fullness  thereof.  All  the  silver  and  gold  is  his, 
and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills.  Man  is  a  tenant  at  will,  a 
steward  for  a  limited  time,  a  lessee  of  the  world's  mines  of  force 
and  value  for  the  development  of  both  the  mine  and  the  man,  a 
partner  working  together  with  God  in  the  field  and  the  forces  he 
has  provided.  God  never  surrenders  his  claim  to  a  seventh  of 
the  time  he  has  given,  nor  to  a  percentage  of  the  values  he  has 
made  possible.  In  his  sight  men  must  have  a  moral  as  well  as  a 
legal  right  to  property  in  order  to  possess  it.  It  is  the  emptiest 
of  delusions  to  think  we  can  accept  Christ  as  Saviour  and  not 
obey  him  as  King.  These  claims  are  as  old  as  time  and  values, 
and  as  absolute  as  any  other  law.  He  enforced  them  in  Eden, 
and  when  he  set  apart  a  nation  to  show  forth  once  more  the 
ibilities  of   man  in   partnership  with  God,  he  reenacted 


56 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


the  old  law  for  a  seventh  of  the  time,  and  not  for  one  tithe 
merely,  but  several  of  all  gain  in  property.  These  were  not  new 
laws  made  for  the  Jews,  but  old  laws  made  for  man.  They  were 
not  abrogated  when  the  Church  in  Judea  was  enlarged  to  univer- 
sality. For  Christ,  speaking  of  tithing  such  things  as  mint,  anise, 
and  cummin,  said,  "These  things  ought  ye  to  have  done."  To 
get  and  to  keep  is  not  the  supreme  law  of  Christian  society,  but 
to  get  and  give.  Christ  set  the  peerless  example  of  giving  all  his 
things,  all  his  life,  all  of  himself.  And  in  his  early  Church,  in 
the  flush  and  glory  of  Pentecostal  baptism  no  man  counted  aught 
that  he  possessed  as  his  own,  but  as  God's,  to  be  held,  managed, 
multiplied,  or  surrendered,  according  to  the  plans  of  God,  imma- 
nently  abiding  in  this  world. 

The  Church  has  yet  to  learn  that  national  prosperity,  business 
success,  and  rich  personal  experience  depend  largely  on  a  just  ac- 
counting of  material  things,  strictly  rendering  unto  God  the 
things  that  are  God's.  Will  a  man  rob  God  and  hope  for  pros- 
perity and  best  success?  A  just  accounting  for  one  tenth  merely 
is  enough  to  open  the  windows  of  heaven  for  the  pouring  out  of 
unreceivable  deluges  of  blessing.  After  that  giving  begins  and 
rises  to  any  measure  that  is  promoted  by  our  abounding  love. 
And  giving  in  our  measure  brings  giving  back  m  God's  measure, 
good  measure,  pressed  down,  shaken  together,  and  running  over. 
For  God  having  given  us  his  Son  shall  also  with  him  freely 
give  us  all  things. 

This  doctrine  of  partnership  with  God  in  daily  business  once 
learned  and  thoroughly  practiced  would  give  his  Church  all  the 
necessary  sinews  of  war  to  push  the  battle  through  all  the  gates 
of  sin  and  Satan  in  this  world.  The  most  vivid  imagination  fails 
to  picture  the  realities  of  church  building,  of  missionaries  outgo- 
ing to  every  land,  of  educational  institutions  for  the  uplifting  of 
the  whole  race,  of  relief  to  the  poor,  and  of  great  tides  of  spirit- 
ual joy  in  the  hearts  of  believers  if  any  one  Church  would  respond 
to  God's  ideas  for  his  cooperation  with  his  children.  One  of  our 
most  broad-minded,  statesmanlike  laymen  has  said,  "  Give  me  the 
money  needed  and  I  will  make  New  York  a  Christian  city  in 
twenty  years." 

We  are  glad  in  this  connection  to  notice  a  growing  recognition 
among  our  people  of  the  fact  that  some  phases  of  God's  work  are 
among  man's  legitimate  heirs.  Many  a  man  needs  his  funds  to 
carry  on  his  business  during  life,  but  dying,  needs  them  no  more. 
If  he  has  been  liberal  in  life  he  can  work  in  this  world  after  he 


Address  of  the  Hishops. 


57 


has  left  it  more  than  while  in  it.  The  endowment  of  a  single 
chair  for  educational  purposes  keeps  a  trained,  cultured,  pious 
man  teaching  the  best  things  through  all  the  centuries  in  the 
name  and  by  the  agency  of  him  that  endows.  The  outcome  of  a 
whole  life  can  thus  be  funded  into  Christian  work  at  its  close. 
Probably  not  one  tenth  of  one  per  cent  of  those  who  make  wills 
remember  the  causes  that  ought  to  be  dearer  to  them  than  life. 
The  proportion  might  be  profitably  reversed. 

Christian  Citizenship. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  Christians  seek  a  better  country,  even 
a  heavenly.  But  it  is  now  the  supreme  duty  of  every  man  to 
make  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
God  and  of  his  Christ.  Once  it  was  supposed  that  a  patriot  was 
a  warrior  in  the  field,  ready  to  die  for  his  country.  But  men 
and  women  can  be  as  patriotic  in  the  quiet  walks  of  everyday 
Christian  life  as  in  the  fierce  excitements  of  doubtful  battle.  The 
time  has  come  when  every  Christian  should  assume  the  duties  and 
bear  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  true  citizenship.  This 
world  belongs  to  Christ.  He  made  it,  upholds  it,  owns  it,  and 
will  judge  it.  His  purpose  in  this  world  is  not  merely  the  regen- 
eration of  the  individual.  He  also  desires  the  regeneration  of 
the  State.  The  State  is  as  truly  divine  as  the  Church.  Nay,  the 
State  is  the  designed  outcome  of  the  perfected  Church.  A  man 
may  be  as  much  a  missionary  of  God  in  the  politics  of  America 
as  in  the  forests  of  Africa.  Every  man  owes  it  to  God  and  his 
country  to  be  possessed  of  a  sound,  unbribable  manhood,  of  a 
personal  righteousness,  and  a  perpetual,  persistent,  aggressive 
activity,  to  bring  honesty  into  all  dealings,  justice  between  man 
and  man,  and  purity  into  politics.  We  count  it  among  the 
auspicious  signs  of  the  time  that  Christian  men  are  able  to  forego 
the  allurements  of  gain  and  even  of  ease,  and  descend  into  the 
arena  of  political  life.  Never  has  better  work  been  done  for 
clean  municipal  administration  than  in  recent  campaigns  from 
one  side  of  the  continent  to  the  other.  It  has  not  been  done  in 
the  interest  of  any  party  nor  through  any  party,  but  for  the  sake 
of  decency  and  right.  Let  the  pulpit  make  manhood  eminent,  a 
desire  to  save  one's  country  supreme,  and  that  intensest  force 
will  find  its  own  way  of  working.  Men  must  be  willing  to  serve 
on  juries,  work  on  committees,  for  the  public  welfare,  put  their 
standing  and  property  in  peril,  and  defy  the  vilification  of  a 
corrupt  press  in  daring  to  enforce  laws  unpopular  with  those 


38 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


who  feel  the  halter  draw.  For  the  country  must  be  saved  by 
the  victories  of  peace  no  less  than  by  those  of  war.  There  are 
certain  things  in  this  country  so  outrageous  that  every  Church 
that  ever  holds  a  great  gathering  should  utter  ringing  protests 
against  them.  Divorce  has*  been  made  so  easy  in  some  States 
that  all  the  sacred  interests  of  the  home  are  put  in  peril.  The 
Churches  should  demand  and  secure  one  national  law  to  cover 
all  States  alike. 

But  no  follower  of  Him  who  is  the  Redeemer  of  all  mankind 
can  limit  his  view  to  any  one  country.  We  see  in  Armenia  such 
atrocities  as  we  never  deemed  possible  of  execution  in  this  age. 
We  are  no  more  appalled  at  the  ravage,  rapine,  and  murder  of  a 
hundred  thousand  by  the  Turks  than  at  the  apathy  and  inaction 
of  the  so-called  civilized  nations.  Through  our  whole  history  and 
national  polity  we  have  kept  aloof  from  European  and  Asian  com- 
plications. But  we  believe  that  the  whole  diplomatic  and  moral 
power  of  our  government  should  be  put  forth  to  bring  these  gi- 
gantic wrongs  to  a  sudden  end. 

Arbitration. 

For  the  settlement  of  disputes  between  different  organizations 
of  men,  between  money-capital  and  labor-capital  and  between  the 
different  nations  of  the  earth,  we  believe  that  the  spirit  of  our 
Saviour  as  set  forth  by  our  Church  demands  that  the  great  prin- 
ciple of  arbitration  shall  be  tried  to  its  utmost,  and  that  the  vast 
majority  of  disputes  can  be  happily  settled  in  that  way.  The* 
United  States  has  already  set  an  example  to  the  world  by  deco- 
rously submitting  to  arbitration  nearly  fifty  occasions  of  differ- 
ences with  other  nations. 

Capital  and  Labor. 

In  the  progress  of  our  liberties  and  the  widening  of  our  de- 
velopment we  have  come  upon  perils  unknown  in  the  earlier 
periods  of  our  history.  Classes  are  arrayed  against  each  other 
with  mutual  misunderstandings.  A  ripple  has  come  upon  our 
shores  from  the  far-off  tidal  wave  of  the  French  Revolution  de- 
claring that  all  property  is  theft;  that  men  may  be  as  much  en- 
slaved by  laws  as  by  force,  deprived  of  their  rights  by  trusts 
and  combines  as  by  arms.  In  these  misunderstandings,  and,  it 
may  be,  great  wrongs,  the  Church  must  not  be  silent.  It  is  her 
very  nature  to  defend  and  care  for  the  poor.  Like  her  Master, 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  her  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 


Address  of  the  Bishojis. 


59 


the  poor.  Peculiarly  is  this  true  of  our  Church.  It  began  its 
ministry  to  the  wretched  prisoners  in  Britain,  continued  it 
among  the  poor  colliers,  has  always  sought  the  sorrowing, 
wretched,  wandering,  and  lost.  It  has  never  pandered  to  the 
rich,  nor  been  silent  at  injustice. 

In  this  seething  discussion  concerning  the  rights  of  property 
we  think  these  positions  are  grounded  on  justice  and  right : 

1.  Every  man  has  a  right  to  acquire  property  by  the  legitimate 
means  of  activity,  foresight,  invention,  and  inheritance. 

2.  No  man  has  a  right  to  use  his  possessions  to  oppress  his  fel- 
low-men. 

3.  Every  man  has  a  right  to  the  profit  of  his  own  labor.  In 
that  respect  he  is  a  capitalist. 

4.  No  man  has  a  right  to  use  his  labor  to  oppress  his  fellow- 
men. 

5.  Every  free  man  has  a  right  to  refuse  to  work  for  another. 

6.  No  man  has  a  right  to  prevent  another  from  working  when 
and  for  whom  he  will. 

7.  Every  man  is  accountable  to  God  for  the  use  of  his  time, 
labor,  and  their  outcome — wealth. 

All  these  fundamental  principles  of  progress  and  personal  de- 
velopment should  be  plainly  taught  by  the  pulpit.  If  the  spirit 
of  Christ  be  accepted  and  practiced  by  the  Church  all  unjust  dis- 
tributions of  property  therein  will  be  remedied.  This  is  a  Chris- 
tian communism  which  reaches  the  hand  of  sympathy  and  help 
from  above  downward,  rather  than  a  hand  of  violence  and  mur- 
der from  below  upward.  The  equality  that  Christianity  teaches 
is  accomplished  by  raising  the  lowly  to  the  highest  places,  even 
the  heavenlies;  not  by  dragging  the  lofty  down. 

If  managers  of  business  requiring  various  sorts  of  labor  would 
take,  whenever  practical,  the  individual  workingmen  into  partner- 
ship by  establishing  a  scheme  of  profit-sharing  for  all  who  are  en- 
gaged in  productive  labor,  then  all  occasion  for  carelessness,  waste- 
fulness, strikes,  violence,  and  heart-burnings  would  be  avoided. 
Hundreds  of  great  concerns  go  on  successfully  year  after  year 
by  adopting  God's  fundamental  law  of  social  unity  and  success. 

A  general  statement  has  been  made  that  sixty-one  per  cent  of 
employers  belong  to  the  Church,  and  only  four  per  cent  of  the 
employees.  If  this  were  true  it  would  be  partly  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  laborers  have  but  recentlv 
come  to  our  land.  But  we  gladly  affirm  that  no  such  disparity  of 
percentages  of  employers  and  employed  obtains  in  our  Church. 


60 


Address  of  the  Bishojis. 


There  are  thousands  of  workingmen  who  do  most  effective  work 
to  bring  their  workmates  to  the  Church  and  to  Christ.  The 
Methodists  in  the  armies  of  England  have  long  been  recognized 
as  a  very  potent  factor  of  the  organization.  And  Methodists  in 
the  mines,  factories,  shops,  and  on  farms  of  the  United  States  are 
a  most  effective  agency  for  the  nation's  good. 

Downtown  Churches. 

In  this  connection  we  desire  to  assert  our  firm  conviction  that 
Methodism  in  our  cities  should  be  slow  to  abandon  what  are 
called  downtown  populations  because  of  changes  from  native  to 
foreign,  and  rich  to  poor.  The  greater  the  change  the  more  need 
of  our  remaining.  Combine  the  plants,  if  need  be;  adapt  them 
and  the  services  to  the  new  surroundings,  but  remain  and  save 
the  people. 

The  old-time  fires  of  revivals  will  burn  if  there  is  sufficient 
warmth  in  Christian  hearts  to  kindle  them.  God  has  adapted  his 
Gospel  to  the  hearts  he  has  made.  If  we  fail,  it  is  because  our 
methods  are  not  Methodistic,  or  our  unbelief  forbids  the  many 
mighty  works. 

To  accomplish  this  requires  devotion  of  time  and  faculties  to 
the  essential  ends  of  the  kingdom.  The  evils  of  our  social  state 
cannot  be  permanently  relieved,  much  less  remedied,  by  any 
abundance  of  donations,  however  liberal.  Beside  these,  sympathy, 
souls  are  demanded.  Even  Christ  could  not  save  the  world  vby 
gifts.  He  could  easily  have  made  them  infinite.  But  he  had  to 
give  himself.  He  founded  a  new  order  of  hand-to-hand,  heart-to- 
heart  contact  with  lepers  of  all  sorts,  which,  if  perpetuated  in  the 
lives  of  his  followers,  will  heal  all  the  running  sores  of  the  world. 
That  is  what  we  are  for.  To  achieve  this  end  mainly  we  were 
redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  The  best  our  lives  are 
good  for  is  to  be  funded  into  the  purposes  into  which  Christ 
funded  his.  If  we  are  wise,  devoted,  and  faithful,  we  shall  see 
the  knowledge  of  our  God  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea.  For  God  is  faithful.  He  has  on  record  promises  not  yet 
fulfilled,  for  Pentecosts  not  yet  descended.  The  Spirit  is  not  yet 
poured  out  in  that  way  upon  all  flesh.  God  is  always  doing  more 
than  we  ask  or  even  think.  His  movements  go  forward  not  only 
by  regular  progress  merely,  but  also  by  sudden  bounds.  For  long 
dark  hours  of  the  night  there  is  not  a  hint  of  the  morning.  But 
finally  some  watcher  on  the  hilltops  sees  them  lighted  like  gigantic 
altar  fires.    Some  watcher  of  the  skies  sees  them  begin  to  glow, 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


61 


and  suddenly  the  sun  is  seen  by  all.  We  have  been  in  a  long, 
cold  winter.  For  months  there  has  been  no  hint  of  its  ending. 
But  our  journey  hither  has  been  amid  the  victories  of  reviving 
life.  We  are  now  here  saying  the  winter  is  over  and  gone  and  the 
time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come.  The  seasons  of  waiting 
seem  long,  but  hidden  processes  are  going  forward  and  the  com- 
ing of  the  day  and  of  the  springtime  is  sudden.  We  have  no 
measure  of  spiritual  dynamics,  no  measure  of  God's  time.  What 
seems  to  be  a  thousand  years'  work  he  does  in  a  day.  Pray  for 
the  morning. 

Signs  of  Encouragement. 

Let  us  cheer  our  faith  by  noting  a  few  morning  stars.  First. 
God  has  lately  set  forward  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  earth,  like 
that  marvelous  movement  of  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
in  which  Methodism  was  born,  a  new  interest  in  saving  the  lowest 
and  worst  of  men.  Once  more  colliers'  faces  are  washed  white  by 
their  own  tears.  Once  more  publicans  and  harlots  press  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  before  the  spiritually  proud.  The  submerged 
classes  are  emergent. 

Second.  To  this  new  movement  the  Churches  are  not  hostile, 
but  helpful.  Converts  are  singing  for  joy  where  once  was  only 
spiritual  dearth.  Money  is  freely  given.  A  study  of  the  varied 
charities  of  the  American  people  has  a  fascination  for  noble 
minds.  The  Church  has  put  away  its  old  interpretation  of  the 
words  of  Christ  that  made  him  say,  "I  will  come  again  at  some 
distant  appearing,"  and  now  reads  as  Christ  said,  in  the  present 
tense,  "I  come."  The  absence  is  but  for  three  days,  then  I  come 
personally,  potentially,  and  plenarily  and  receive  you  unto  myself. 
I  come  presently  and  continuously  to  abide  in  my  Church.  I 
am  with  you  always.  We  have  revised  our  version.  We  are  re- 
vising our  vision  of  duty.  So  the  Church  of  Christ  to-day,  moved 
by  his  Spirit,  actually  comes  and  abides  in  sections  of  cities  as 
bad  as  a  lost  world.  As  gladly  as  Christ  left  heaven  for  earth, 
so  gladly  are  some  of  our  best  Christians  leaving  every  pleasant 
surrounding  for  those  most  repulsive.  There  are  university  and 
social  settlements  established  in  the  worst  places,  to  investigate 
and  improve  physical,  social,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  conditions 
of  the  congested  districts  of  cities  by  applying  practical  Chris- 
tianity as  taught  and  illustrated  by  Christ.  There  is  never  any 
lack  of  volunteers  where  there  is  suitable  leadership.  The  num- 
ber of  these  workers  is  a  surprise.  One  must  be  in  the  work  to 
measure  its  magnitude. 


62 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


Not  only  to  the  lowest,  but  to  the  highest,  is  Christ  visibly  set 
forth.  Not  only  does  he  come  to  needy  sinners  weak  and 
wounded,  but  he  comes  to  the  best  and  widest  thought  of  the 
world.  All  men  have  now  made  the  discovery  by  criticism  and 
philosophy  that  the  dying  thief  made  by  faith,  "  This  man  has 
done  nothing  amiss."  The  sinlessness  of  our  spotless  Lamb  is  now 
conceded  by  all  philosophies.  He  now  occupies  the  thought  of  the 
world  as  never  before.  New  lives  of  the  Christ  are  written  every 
year.  His  Spirit  fills  all  lines  of  thought,  till  history  is  written 
to  record  not  the  ravages  of  some  petty  king  in  a  province,  but 
the  enduring  triumphs  of  the  Conqueror  who  draws  all  men  unto 
himself. 

In  so  large  a  character  partial  views  must  necessarily  be  taken 
by  men  too  small  to  grasp  his  plans  and  feel  his  ineffable  holi- 
ness. Even  of  such  men  as  Napoleon  new  lives  must  be  written 
every  quarter  of  a  century.  The  angle  of  vision  from  which 
most  men  see  Christ  to-day  is  that  of  tender  humanity.  It  is  a 
humanitarian  age.  Christ's  feeding  the  hungry,  his  kindly  help- 
fulness to  the  sick,  his  tenderness  to  little  children,  his  forgiving 
love  to  weeping  women,  fill  the  thought  and  turn  the  whole 
world  to  Christly  ministries  of  tenderness  and  love. 

But  hereafter  we  shall  come  to  see  that,  whatever  honors  Christ 
may  bear  as  Creator  and  King,  he  is  not  glorified  until  he  comes- 
to  die  for  the  world.  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified.  Before 
the  world  was  he  was  set  apart  as  the  one  immortal  who  would 
achieve  death  for  others.  And  the  highest  honor  shouted  to  him 
in  heaven  is,  "Thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  unto. God 
by  thy  blood."  The  greatest  idea  for  the  soul's  enlargement,  the 
great  motive  for  work  in  saving  the  world,  is,  Christ  loved  me 
and  gave  himself  for  me;  gave  not  merely  his  things,  his  glories,, 
but  himself  for  me.  We  are  great  as  we  see  the  meaning  of  Cal- 
vary.   He  can  draw  all  men  only  by  being  lifted  up. 

The  world  will  come  to  see  this  when  human  thoughts  grow 
large  enough.  Abhorrence  of  sin  will  be  measured  by  the  cost 
of  redemption  therefrom.  Men  will  become  great  as  they  are 
holy,  godlike  as  they  labor  for  the  most  men,  and  for  more  than 
world-wide  interests.  Then  shall  national  diplomacies  not  per- 
tain merely  to  little  islands,  but  to  universal  brotherhood.  For 
the  measure  of  the  new  and  higher  values  no  mention  shall  be 
made  of  coral  or  of  pearls.  These  riches  cannot  be  valued  with 
the  gold  of  Ophir.  Only  deeds  of  love  and  lives  of  sacrifice  can 
be  legal  tender  to  redeem  a  brother.    We  shall  see  that  the 


Address  of  the  Bishops. 


63 


movements  of  the  ages  and  the  splendid  developments  of  men 
are.  simply  to  bring  in  each  epochal  hour  in  order  that  the  Son  of 
man  may  be  glorified.  Greatest  power  shall  not  be  in  physical 
forces,  but  we  shall  break  into  realms  of  power  where  for  the 
upholding  of  worlds,  a  word  shall  be  sufficient.  "We  shall  cease 
to  regard  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  a  theory,  a  system  of  doctrine, 
a  pardon  office,  a  bestowal  of  joy,  a  means  of  getting  to  heaven, 
and  regard  it  as  Paul  did,  as  a  power — a  power  of  God  in  indi- 
vidual lives,  for  purity  of  self,  and  work  for  others  unto  salva- 
tion, present  and  eternal.  Then  shall  the  Church,  redeemed,  not 
by  corruptible  things  as  silver  and  gold,  but  by  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ,  go  joyfully  and  triumphantly  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  great  commission  given  to  it  by  the  Master  in  the 
hour  of  his  ascension,  "  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature."  There  is  not  only  a  command  given, 
but  sufficient  power  provided.  Endued  with  this  power  the 
Church  will  go  victoriously  marching  down  the  blossoming  ages 
singing  with  new  meaning  the  old  pasan,  "All  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'  name!  " 

Thomas  Bowman,     J.  M.  Walden, 
R.  S.  Foster,  W.  F.  Mallalietj, 

S.  M.  Merrill,         C.  H.  Fowler, 
E.  G.  Andrews,       J.  H.  Vincent, 
H.  W.  Warren,       J.  N*.  FitzGerald, 
C.  D.  Foss,  I.  W.  Joyce, 

J.  F.  Hurst,  J.  P.  Newman, 

W.  X.  Ninde,  D.  A.  Goodsell. 

5 


64 


Rules  of  Order. 


\ 


RULES  OF  ORDER. 


1.  The  Conference  shall  meet  at  8:30  o'clock  a.  m.  and  adjourn  at 
12:30  o'clock  p.  m.,  but  may  alter  the  time  of  meeting  and  adjourn- 
ment at  its  discretion.  A  recess  of  ten  minutes  shall  be  taken  at 
10:30  o'clock. 

2.  The  President  shall  take  the  chair  precisely  at  the  hour  to 
which  the  Conference  stood  adjourned,  and  cause  the  same  to  be 
opened  by  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  singing,  and  prayer,  and 
on  the  appearance  of  a  quorum  shall  have  the  Journal  of  the  pre- 
ceding session  read  and  approved,  and  the  business  of  the  Con- 
ference shall  proceed  in  the  following  order,  namely: 

1.  The  roll  of  Conferences  shall  be  called  in  alphabetical  order 
for  the  presentation  of  appeals,  resolutions,  and  miscellaneous 
business,  for  immediate  consideration.  All  memorials  and  all 
resolutions  and  miscellaneous  papers  not  presented  for  immediate 
consideration  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary  with- 
out announcement.  The  person  introducing  a  proposition  under 
this  call  may  speak  to  it  if  it  be  seconded;  after  which  a  motion 
to  refer  if  made  shall  be  entertained  and  be  decided  without 
debate. 

2.  Reports,  first  of  the  standing  and  then  of  the  select  com- 
mittees; provided,  always,  that  each  call  severally  shall  have 
been  completed  before  either  preceding  one  shall  be  repeated. 

3.  The  President  shall  decide  all  questions  of  order,  subject  to 
an  appeal  to  the  Conference,  and  in  case  of  such  appeal  the 
question  shall  be  taken  without  debate,  except  that  the  President 
may  state  the  grounds  of  his  decision,  and  the  appellant  may  state 
the  grounds  of  his  appeal. 

4.  The  President  shall  appoint  all  committees,  unless  otherwise 
especially  ordered  by  the  Conference. 

5.  On  assigning  the  floor  to  any  member  of  the  Conference 
the  President  shall  distinctly  announce  the  name  of  the  member 
to  whom  it  is  assigned  and  the  Annual  Conference  he  represents. 

6.  Resolutions  shall  be  written  and  presented  in  duplicate  by 
the  mover,  and  all  the  motions  shall  be  reduced  to  writing  if  the 
President,  Secretary,  or  any  member  requests  it. 

V.  When  a  motion  is  made  and  seconded,  or  a  resolution  intro- 
duced and  seconded,  or  a  report  presented  and  read  by  the  Secre- 
tary, or  stated  by  the  President,  it  shall  be  deemed  in  possession 


Rules  of  Order. 


65 


of  the  Conference;  but  any  motion  or  resolution  may  be  with- 
drawn by  the  mover  at  any  time  before  amendment  or  decision. 

8.  The  motions  to  adjourn,  to  suspend  the  rules,  to  lay  on  the 
table,  to  take  from  the  table,  and  the  call  for  the  previous  ques- 
tion shall  be  taken  without  debate. 

9.  No  new  motion  or  resolution  shall  be  entertained  until  the 
one  under  consideration  has  been  disposed  of,  which  may  be. done 
by  adoption  or  rejection,  unless  one  of  the  following  motions 
should  intervene,  which  shall  have  precedence  in  the  order  in 
which  they  are  placed,  namely: 

(1)  To  fix  the  time  to  which  the  Conference  shall  adjourn. 

(2)  To  adjourn. 

(3)  To  take  a  recess. 

(4)  To  lay  on  the  table. 

(5)  For  the  previous  question. 

(6)  To  postpone  to  a  given  time. 

(7)  To  refer. 

(8)  Substitute. 

(9)  Amendment. 

(10)  To  postpone  indefinitely. 

The  motion  for  the  previous  question  cannot  be  laid  on  the 
table.  - 

Only  one  amendment  to  an  amendment  shall  be  in  order,  but 
then  it  shall  be  in  order  to  move  a  substitute  for  the  main  ques- 
tion and  one  amendment  to  the  substitute,  and  if  a  substitute 
is  accepted  it  shall  replace  the  original  proposition.  In  voting, 
the  Conference  shall  pursue  the  following  order,  namely:  The 
main  question  shall  first  be  perfected  by  voting  on  the  amend- 
ments proposed  to  the  main  question,  and  then  the  Conference 
shall  vote  upon  the  substitute  and  its  amendment. 

10.  When  any  member  is  about  to  speak  in  debate,  or  to  de- 
liver any  matter  to  the  Conference,  he  shall  arise  and  respect- 
fully address  the  President,  but  shall  not  proceed  until  recognized 
by  him,  and  the  member  must  address  the  chair  from  his  place. 

11.  No  member  shall  be  interrupted  when  speaking  except  by 
the  President,  to  call  him  to  order  when  he  departs  from  the 
question,  or  uses  personalities  or  disrespectful  language  ;  but  any 
member  may  call  the  attention  of  the  President  to  the  subject 
when  he  deems  a  speaker  out  of  order,  and  any  member  may  ex- 
plain when  he  thinks  himself  misrepresented. 

12.  When  a  member  desires  to  speak  to  a  question  of  privilege 
he  shall  briefly  state  the  question;  but  it  shall  not  be  in  order 


66 


Rules  of  Order. 


for  him  to  proceed  until  the  President  shall  have  decided  it  a 
privileged  question. 

13.  No  person  shall  speak  more  than  twice  on  the  same  ques- 
tion, nor  more  than  ten  minutes  at  one  time,  without  leave  of  the 
Conference;  nor  shall  any  person  speak  more  than  once  until 
every  member  choosing  to  speak  shall  have  spoken.  Provided, 
however,  that  a  committee  making  a  report  shall,  through  its 
chairman,  or  one  of  its  members  selected  by  the  committee  or 
its  chairman,  in  all  cases  be  entitled  to  ten  minutes  to  close  the 
debate,  either  to  oppose  the  motion  to  lay  the  report  on  the  table, 
or,  this  permission  not  having  been  used,  to  close  the  debate  on 
the  motion  to  adopt.  The  committee  shall  not  be  deprived  of  its 
right  to  close  the  debate  even  after  the  previous  question  has 
been  ordered. 

14.  When  any  motion  or  resolution  shall  have  been  acted  upon 
by  the  Conference,  it  shall  be  in  order  for  any  member  who 
voted  with  the  prevailing  side  to  move  a  reconsideration;  but  a 
motion  to  reconsider  a  nondebatable  motion  shall  be  decided 
without  debate. 

15.  No  member  shall  absent  himself  from  the  sessions  of  the 
Conference  without  leave,  unless  he  is  sick  or  unable  to  attend. 

16.  No  member  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  on  any  question  who 
is  not  within  the  bar  at  the  time  when  such  question  shall  be  put 
by  the  President,  except  by  leave  of  the  Conference,  when  such 
member  has  been  necessarily  absent. 

1 7.  Every  member  who  is  wTithin  the  bar  at  the  time  a  ques- 
tion is  put  shall  vote,  unless  the  Conference,  for  special  reasons, 
excuses*  him. 

18.  No  resolution  altering  or  rescinding  any  part  of  the  Disci- 
pline shall  be  adopted  until  it  shall  have  been  in  possession  of  the 
Conference  at  least  one  day,  and  shall  have  been  printed  in  the 
Daily  Christian  Advocate,  except  amendments  to  the  report  of  a 
committee  when  under  consideration  for  adoption. 

19.  It  shall  be  in  order  for  any  member  to  call  for  the  yeas 
and  nays  on  any  question  before  the  Conference,  and  if  the  call 
be  sustained  by  one  hundred  members  present  the  vote  thereon 
shall  be  taken  by  ayes  and  noes.  If  not  sustained,  members 
voting  in  the  minority,  if  the  number  voting  in  said  minority  is 
less  than  one  hundred,  may  have  their  votes  recorded  by  name. 

20.  It  shall  be  in  order  to  move  that  the  question  be  taken 
without  further  debate  on  any  measure  pending,  except  in  cases 
in  which  character  is  involved,  and  if  sustained  by  a  vote  of  two 


Rales  of  Order.  67 

thirds,  the  question  shall  be  taken;  nevertheless,  it  shall  be  in 
order  under  this  rule  to  move  to  recommit,  to  divide,  or  to  lay 
on  the  table  after  the  previous  question  has  been  ordered. 

21.  The  motion  to  adjourn  shall  be  taken  without  debate,  and 
shall  always  be  in  order,  except  (1)  when  a  member  has  the  floor; 

(2)  when  a  question  is  actually  put,  or  a  vote  is  being  taken; 

(3)  when  the  question  is  pending  on  sustaining  the  demand  for 
the  previous  question;  (4)  when  the  previous  question  has  been 
called  and  sustained,  and  action  under  it  is  still  pending;  and 
(5)  when  a  motion  to  adjourn  has  been  negatived,  and  no  business 
debate  has  intervened. 

22.  Members  presenting  memorials,  petitions,  and  other  papers 
for  reference,  shall  prepare  the  paper  by  writing  in  a  plain  hand  on 
the  back  of  it  the  following  items,  in  the  following  order,  namely: 

(1)  Name  of  the  member  presenting  the  paper. 

(2)  Conference  to  which  he  belongs. 

(3)  Conference,  member,  or  church  whence  it  comes. 

(4)  Subject  to  which  it  relates. 

(5)  First  name  on  the  petition. 

(6)  Number  of  other  petitioners. 

(V)  The  committee  to  which  he  desires  it  referred. 

All  resolutions  and  papers  thus  presented  shall  be  delivered  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Conference,  in  triplicate,  and  by  him  sent  to 
the  committee  according  to  indorsement,  and  announced  in  the 
Journal  of  the  day. 

23.  When  any  member  shall  move  the  reference  of  any  portion 
of  the  Journal  of  any  Annual  Conference  to  any  committee  he 
shall  at  the  same  time  furnish  a  copy  of  the  portion  he  wishes 
referred,  prepared  as  already  provided  in  the  case  of  memorials. 

24.  All  resolutions  contemplating  verbal  alterations  of  the 
Discipline  shall  state  the  language  of  the  paragraph  and  line  to 
be  altered,  and  also  the  language  to  be  substituted. 

25.  All  committees  proposing  changes  of  the  Discipline  shall 
not  only  recite  the  paragraph  and  line  to  be  amended,  but  also 
the  paragraph  as  amended. 

26.  All  written  motions,  reports,  and  communications  to  the 
Conference  shall  be  passed  to  the  Secretary,  to  be  by  him  read 
to  the  Conference. 

27.  All  committees  shall  furnish  duplicates  of  their  reports. 

28.  A  call  for  a  vote  by  orders  shall  be  made  and  seconded  by 
members  of  the  same  order. 

29.  When  voting  by  orders  the  separation  shall  be  merely  in 


68 


Rules  of  Order. 


regard  to  the  taking,  announcing,  deciding,  and  recording  the 
vote  of  each  order  on  the  question  on  which  the  separate  vote  is 
demanded.  Any  incidental  matter  bearing  upon  such  vote  shall 
be  decided  by  the  Conference  acting  as  one  body.  In  taking  a 
vote  by  orders  it  shall  be  by  a  count  vote,  first  of  the  order  call- 
ing for  the  separate  vote  and  then  of  the  other,  but  either  order 
may  call  for  the  ayes  and  noes  by  one  fourth  of  its  members,  and 
if  the  call  is  sustained,  the  names  of  the  delegates,  first  of  the 
order  calling  and  then  of  the  other,  shall  be  called,  and  each  mem- 
ber shall  answer  aye  or  no. 

30.  Where  a  subject-matter  has  been  received  by  the  Confer- 
ence, and  referred  to  a  committee,  and  a  report  thereon  has  been 
made  to  the  Conference,  it  shall  not  be  in  order  for  another  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  same  subject,  or  for  the  Conference  to  en- 
tertain a  report  from  another  committee  on  the  said  subject; 
but  when  any  committee  shall  ascertain  that  a  subject  which  has 
been  referred  to  it  has  also  been  referred  to  another  committee, 
it  shall  have  permanent  charge  of  said  subject. 

31.  All  demonstrations  of  approval  or  disapproval  during  the 
progress  of  debate  shall  be  deemed  a  breach  of  order. 

32.  No  person  shall  stand  in  the  open  spaces  in  the  room. 

33.  The  ushers  shall  keep  the  aisles  and  spaces  within  the  bar 
of  the  Conference  clear  for  their  proper  use,  and  none  but  dele- 
gates shall  be  admitted  within  the  inclosure  constituting  the  bar 
of  the  Conference,  except  by  ticket  issued  by  the  Chairman  of 
the  Commission  of  the  General  Conference. 

34.  These  rules  shall  not  be  suspended  except  by  a  vote  of  two 
thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting. 


CONFERENCE  OFFICERS. 


PRESIDING  BISHOPS. 


Thomas  Bowman, 
Randolph  S.  Foster, 
Stephen  M.  Merrill, 
Edward  G-.  Andrews, 
Henry  W.  Warren, 
Cyras  D.  Foss, 
John  F.  Hurst, 
William  X.  Hinde, 
John  M.  Walden, 


Willard  F.  Mallalieu, 
Charles  H.  Fowler, 
John  H.  Yincent, 
James  H.  FitzG-erald, 
Isaac  W.  Joyce, 
John  P.  lewman, 
Daniel  A.  G-oodsell, 
Charles  C.  McCabe, 
Earl  Cranston. 


MISSIONARY  BISHOPS. 

William  Taylor,     -    -    -    -  Africa. 
James  M.  Thohurn,       -    -    -  India. 
Joseph  C.  Hartzell,  -    -    -    -  Africa. 


SECRETARY. 

DaYid  S.  Monroe. 


ASSISTANT 

Manley  S.  Hard, 
Edmund  S.  Mills, 
Stephen  0.  Benton, 
Samuel  W.  G-ehrett, 
Isaiah  B.  Scott, 
William  Kepler, 


SECRETARIES. 

Frank  G-.  Mitchell, 
Charles  L;  Stafford, 
Milton  D.  Buck, 
Rohert  R.  Doherty, 
Charles  E.  Mueller, 
Joseph  B.  Hingeley. 


JOURNAL 


OF  THE 


GENERAL  CONFERENCE  OF  1896, 


MONDAY  MORNING,  MAY  1. 

The  Twenty-second  Delegated  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  convened 
in  the  Armory  building,  in  the  city  of  Cleveland,  O., 
on  the  first  day  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety- 
six. 

Bishops  present.-  Thomas  Bowman,  Randolph  S. 
Foster,  Stephen  M.  Merrill,  Edward  G.  Andrews, 
Henry  W.  Warren,  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  John  F.  Hurst, 
William  X.  Ninde,  John  M.  Walden,  Willard  F. 
Mallalieu,  Charles  H.  Fowler,  John  H.  Vincent, 
James  X.  FitzGerald,  Isaac  W.  Joyce,  John  P. 
Newman,  and  Daniel  A.  Goodsell. 

At  9  o'clock  a.  m.  the  Conference  was  called  to  order 
by  Bishop  Thomas  Bowman. 

Bishop  W.  X.  Ninde  read  the  one  hundred  and  third 
Psalm.  Bishop  J.  H.  Vincent  announced  the  9th  hymn, 
commencing, 

"  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne," 

and  Bishop  R.  S.  Foster  led  in  prayer.  William  Burt, 
of  the  Italy  Conference,  read  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
First  Corinthians.  Bishop  William  Taylor  announced 
the  919th  hymn,  commencing, 

"  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun," 

after  the  singing  of  which  S.  F.  Upham,  of  the  New 
England  Conference,  led  in  prayer. 

Bishop  Bowman  requested  the  Secretary  of  the  last 
General  Conference  to  call  the  roll  of  delegates,  and 
the  following  answered  to  their  names: 


MAY  1. 

First  Da  v. 
Morning. 

Opening  of 
the  General 
Conference. 


Bishops 
present, 


Bishop 
Bowman 
presiding. 

Devotional 
services. 


Roll  called. 


72 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


Alabama. 

Ministerial :  George  E.  Ackerman. 

Arkansas. 

Ministerial:  Andrew  J.  Taylor. 
Lay :  James  H.  Clendenning. 

Austin. 

Ministerial :  Oscar  L.  Fisher. 

Baltimore. 

Ministerial:  John  F.  Goucher,  John  Lanahan,  Luther  B. 
Wilson,  William  S.  Edwards. 
Lay :  William  A.  Leitch,  Alexander  Ashley. 

Bengal-Burmah. 

Ministerial:  Frank  W.  Warne. 

Blue  Ridge. 

Ministerial:  Adolphus  Graybeal. 

Bombay. 

Ministerial:  Daniel  O.  Fox. 

California. 

Ministerial :  Arnold  T.  Needham,  Milton  D.  Buck,  Elbridge 
R.  Willis,  John  Coyle,  John  Kirby. 

Lay :  James  W.  Whiting,  Henry  French. 

California  German. 

Ministerial:  George  Guth. 

Central  Alabama. 

Ministerial:  Edward  M.  Jones. 
Lay :  Philip  P.  Wright. 

Central  German. 

Ministerial :  Albert  J.  Nast,  Jacob  Rothweiler,  Joseph  Kern. 
Lay :  Victor  Wilker. 

Central  Illinois. 

Ministerial :  Hyre  D.  Clark,  Jervice  G.  Evans,  Samuel  Van 
Pelt,  James  W.  Haney,  Marion  V.  Crumbaker. 
Lay  :  Charles  H.  Long,  William  H.  Logan. 

Central  Missouri. 

Ministerial :  John  W.  Jackson,  Richard  E.  Gillum. 
Lay :  Henry  L.  Billups,  James  H.  Diggs. 

Central  New  York. 

Ministerial :  Carlton  C.  Wilbor,  John  C.  Nichols,  Edmund 
M.  Mills,  R.  De  Witt  Munger,  Theron  R.  Green. 
Lay  :  Francis  J.  Cheney,  Edwin  Nottingham. 


MAY  1. 

First  Day. 
Morning. 

Members  j» 
present. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  73 


Central  Ohio.  may  1. 

First  Day 

Ministerial :  Elias  D.  Whitlock,  Josiah  L.  Albritton,  Leroy  Morning. 
A.  Belt. 

Lay :  Edward  T.  Nelson,  Frank  H.  Tanner. 

Central  Pennsylvania. 

Ministerial:  William  W.  Evans,  Edward  J.  Gray,  Silas  C. 
*  Swallow,  David  S.  Monroe,  Ezra  H.  Yocum,  "William  M. 
Frysinger. 

Lay :  Thomas  H.  Murray,  John  Patton. 

Central  Swedish. 
Ministerial:  James  T.  Wigren. 
Lay :  John  R.  Lindgren. 

Central  Tennessee. 

Ministerial :  Joseph  M.  Carter. 

Chicago  German. 
Ministerial :  Bartholomew  Lampert,  Henry  Lemcke. 
Lay :  Charles  E.  Mueller. 

Cincinnati. 

Ministerial :  Adna  B.  Leonard,  Charles  H.  Payne,  James  W. 
Bashford,  Frank  G.  Mitchell,  Henry  C.  Weakley. 
Lay :  George  B.  Johnson,  Charles  W.  Bennett. 

Colorado. 

Ministerial :  Earl  Cranston,  Daniel  L.  Rader. 
Lay :  Joseph  W.  Gilluly. 

Columbia  River. 

Ministerial :  George  M.  Booth,  William  W.  Van  Dusen. 
Lay:  Isaac  C.  Libby,  Herbert  C.  Clark. 

Delaware. 

Ministerial :  Henry  A.  Monroe.  James  H.  Scott. 
Lay :  Stanford  L.  Parker. 

Des  Moines. 

Ministerial:  Emory  Miller,  William  H.  W.  Rees,  William 
E.  Hamilton,  DeWitt  C.  Franklin,  William  T.  Smith. 
Lay :  James  M.  Kittleman,  Leslie  M.  Shaw. 

Detroit. 

Ministerial :  Joseph  F.  Berry,  Camden  M.  Cobern,  William 
H.  Shier,  John  Sweet,  Charles  T.  Allen,  Edward  W.  Ryan, 
Lewis  R.  Fiske. 

Lay :  George  O.  Robinson,  Roy  S.  Copeland. 

East  German. 

Ministerial:  John  C.  Deininger. 
Lay:  Charles  C.  Zoller. 


74  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

may  i.  East  Maine. 

First  Day 

Morning. '      Ministerial:  William  L.  BrowD. 
Lay :  Abram  W.  Harris. 

East  Ohio. 

Ministerial:  Darius  H.  Muller,  Lemuel  H.  Stewart,  Earl  D. 
Holtz,  Eugene  P.  Edmonds,  John  I.  Wilson,  David  C.  Osborne. 
Lay:  John  A.  Mansfield,  Warren  F.  Walworth. 

East  Tennessee. 

Ministerial :  Judson  S.  Hill. 
Lay :  James  R.  Johnson. 

Erie. 

Ministerial:    Jason  N.  Fradenburgh,   Silas  H.  Prather, 
Andrew  J.  Merchant,  John  C.  Scofield,  Robert  S.  Borland. 
Lay :  Harvey  J.  Gidley,  Henry  P.  Sullivan. 

Florida. 

Lay :  Robert  Ayers. 

Foo-Chow. 

Ministerial :  Myron  C.  Wilcox. 

Genesee. 

Ministerial :  John  E.  Williams,  James  E.  Bills,  S.  Abishai 
Morse,  Henry  C.  Woods,  Ebenezer  H.  Latimer. 
Lay:  John  L.  Romer,  Alexander  M.  Holden. 

Georgia. 

Ministerial :  James  L.  Fowler. 
Lay :  William  T.  Morris. 

Holston. 

Ministerial :  Richard  J.  Cooke,  James  A.  Ruble. 
Lay  :  John  W.  Adams,  James  A.  Fowler. 

Idaho. 

Ministerial :  Charles  R.  Kellerman. 
Lay :  John  D.  McCully. 

Illinois. 

Ministerial:  William  N.  McElroy,  William  H.  Wilder,  Christie 
Galeener,  John  T.  McFarland,  John  A.  Kumler,  John  B.  Wolfe, 
Horace  Reed. 

Lay :  Joseph  O.  Cunningham,  Herbert  G.  Whitlock. 
Indiana. 

Ministerial :  William  R.  Halstead,  Henry  J.  TQalbott,  John 
H.  Martin,  Merimon  S.  Heavenridge,  Tilghman  H.  Willis, 
Henry  A.  Buchtel,  James  A.  Sargent. 

Lay :  Benjamin  F.  Adams,  William  Newkirk. 


0 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


75 


Iowa.  may  l. 

First  Da? 

Ministerial:  Charles  L.  Stafford,  Thomas  J.  Myers,  Morris  Morning. 
Bainford,  Isaac  P.  Teter. 

Lay :  Christopher  Haw,  James  Harlan. 

Italy. 

Ministerial :  William  Burt. 
Lay :  Luigi  Mando. 

Japan. 

Ministerial:  Yoitsu  Honda. 

Kansas. 

Ministerial :  John  A.  Motter,  William  H.  Underwood. 
Lay  :  James  M.  Miller,  William  Fryhofer. 

Kentucky. 

Ministerial :  Daniel  Stevenson,  John  D.  Walsh. 
Lay :  Robert  T.  Miller,  Vincent  Boreing. 

Lexington. 

Ministerial :  Edward  W.  S.  Hammond,  Joseph  Courtney. 
Lay :  Robert  F.  Broaddus. 

Little  Rock. 

Ministerial :  William  O.  Emory. 
Lay :  James  M.  Cox. 

Louisiana. 

Ministerial :  Joseph  C.  Hartzell,  Aristides       P.  Albert, 
Julian  F.  Marshall. 

Lay  :  Charles  C.  Morse,  George  F.  Huntley. 

Maine. 

Ministerial :  George  D.  Lindsay. 
Lay :  William  M.  Merrill. 

Mexico. 

Ministerial :  John  W.  Butler. 

Michigan. 

Ministerial :  Amos  M.  Gould,  James  H.  Potts,  James  I.  Buell, 
Patrick  J.  Maveety,  Levi  Master,  Marshall  M.  Callen,  James 
Hamilton. 

Lay :  Samuel  Dickie,  Elvin  Swarthout. 

Minnesota. 

Ministerial :  Henry  C.  Jennings,  George  H.  Bridgman,  John 
Stafford. 

Lay :  Hascall  R.  Brill,  Galen  A.  Merrill. 
*  Mississippi. 

Ministerial :  James  M.  Shumpert,  Samuel  A.  Cowan. 
Lay :  George  W.  Stith,  Thomas  J.  Keys. 


76 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  *•  Missouri. 

riRST  Day.  , 

Morning.       Ministerial:  John  H.  Poland,  Isaac  S.  Ware,  Jairus  J. 
Bentley. 

Lay :  Charles  D.  Morris,  William  J.  Gibson. 

Montana. 

Ministerial:  Jacob  Mills. 
Lay :  Fred  Gamer. 

Nebraska. 

Ministerial :  Charles  C.  Lasby,  DeWitt  C.  Huntington,  Isaac 
Crook. 

Lay :  John  H.  Mickey,  Lucius  O.  Jones. 

Newark. 

Ministerial:  Henry  A.  Buttz,  Sandford  Van  Benschoten, 
Stephen  L.  Baldwin,  Henry  Spellmeyer,  George  W.  Smith. 
Lay  :  Robert  R.  Doherty. 

New  England. 

Ministerial :  John  W.  Hamilton,  Samuel  F.  Upham,  Edward 
R.  Thorndike,  William  K  Brodbeck,  Edward  M.  Taylor, 
William  F.  Warren. 

Lay :  Charles  R.  Magee,  Albert  B.  F.  Kinney. 

New  England  Southern. 

Ministerial:  Stephen  O.  Benton,  George  H.  Bates,  Thomas 
J.  Everett,  Micah  J.  Talbot. 

Lay :  David  Gordon,  Joseph  E.  C.  Farnham. 

New  Hampshire. 

Ministerial:  Silas  E.  Quimby,  Charles  D.  Hills,  Oliver  S. 
Baketel. 

Lay :  Edward  F.  Childs. 

New  Jersey. 

Ministerial :  Jacob  B.  Graw,  James  R.  Mace,  George  B. 
Wight,  Joseph  L.  Roe,  George  Reed. 

Lay :  Clement  W.  Shoemaker,  James  F.  Rusling. 

New  York. 

Ministerial:  James  R.  Day,  Charles  C.  McCabe,  Elias  S. 
Osbon,  James  M.  King,  Abram  J.  Palmer,  Andrew  Schriver. 
Lay :  Albert  D.  Peake. 

New  York  East. 

Ministerial :  James  M.  Buckley,  William  V.  Kelley,  George 
P.  Mains,  George  E.  Reed,  Charles  S.  Wing,  James  S.  Chad- 
wick,  Crandall  J.  North. 

Lay :  John  H.  Sessions,  John  French. 

North  Carolina. 

Ministerial :  Elias  M.  Collett. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


77 


North  China.  may  l. 

First  Day. 

Ministerial:  Hiram  H.  Lowry.  Morning. 

North  Dakota. 
Ministerial :  David  C.  Plannette. 

Northern  German. 
Ministerial:  Franz  L.  Nagler. 
Lay:  Henry  Bendixen. 

Northern  Minnesota. 

Ministerial:  Robert  Forbes,  James  F.  Chaffee,  Joseph  B. 
Hingeley. 

Lay  :  Jacob  F.  Force. 

Northern  New  York. 

Ministerial:  H.  Eugene  Waugh,  William  D.  Marsh,  David 
F.  Pierce,  Charles  J.  Little,  Josiah  C.  Darling. 
Lay :  S.  Mortimer  Coon,  Harvey  E.  Dingley. 

North  Germany. 

Ministerial:  Carl  Schell. 

North  India. 

Ministerial :  Edwin  W.  Parker,  Thomas  J.  Scott. 
Lay:  Lois  S.  Parker,  Ada  C.  Butcher. 

North  Indiana. 

Ministerial :  Horace  N.  Herrick,  Frank  G.  Browne,  Augustus 

E.  Mahin,  William  D.  Parr,  George  H.  Hill. 
Lay :  John  S.  Patterson,  Christian  B.  Stemen. 

North  Nebraska. 

Ministerial :  Alfred  Hodgetts,  John  B.  Maxfield. 
Lay :  John  D.  King,  Trevanyon  L.  Matthews. 

North  Ohio. 

Ministerial:  Newell  S.  Albright,  William  Kepler,  William 

F.  Whitlock,  John  Mitchell. 

Lay :  Lewis  C.  Laylin,  John  M.  Naylor. 

Northwest  German. 

Ministerial :  Edward  W.  Henke. 
Lay  :  Henry  A.  Salzer. 

Northwest  India. 

Ministerial :  Jefferson  E.  Scott. 
Lay :  William  H.  Daniels. 

Northwest  Indiana. 

Ministerial :  William  H.  Hickman,  Hillary  A.  Gobin,  Allen 
Lewis. 

Lay :  Richard  S.  Tennant,  Abraham  R.  Colburn. 


78 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


may  l.  Northwest  Iowa. 

First  Day 

Morning.       Ministerial:  John  W.  Walker,  John  B.  Trimble,  Robert 
Smylie,  John  W.  Lothian. 
Lay :  Oscar  P.  Miller. 

Northwest  Kansas. 

Ministerial :  William  H.  Sweet,  Edward  W.  Allen. 
Lay :  Edward  S.  Chenoweth,  John  B.  Morrison. 

Northwest  Nebraska. 

Ministerial :  Allen  R.  Julian. 
Lay  :  George  E.  Gorton. 

Norway. 

Ministerial:  Andres  Olsen. 

Norwegian  and  Danish. 

Ministerial :  Nels  E.  Simonsen. 
Lay:  Marius  J.  Pihl. 

Ohio. 

Ministerial:  David  H.  Moore,  David  Y.  Murdoch,  William 
H.  Lewis,  William  D.  Cherington,  John  C.  Arbuckle. 
Lay :  Morris  Sharp,  Jane  F.  Bashford. 

Oklahoma. 

Ministerial:  John  F.  Palmer. 

Oregon. 

Ministerial :  John  Parsons,  George  W.  Gue. 
Lay :  John  F.  Caples. 

Philadelphia. 

Ministerial :  Thomas  B.  Neely,  Samuel  W.  Gehrett,  William. 
M.  Swindells,  Samuel  W.  Thomas,  William  M.  Ridgway,  Jacob' 
S.  Hughes. 

Lay :  John  E.  James. 

Pittsburg. 

Ministerial:  Charles  W.  Smith,  Robert  T.  Miller,  Thomas 
H.  Woodring,  Jesse  F.  Core. 

Lay :  John  E.  Rigg,  Theodore  B.  Noss. 

Puget  Sound. 

Ministerial :  Thomas  B.  Ford,  Thomas  J.  Massey. 
Lay:  Calvin  S.  Barlow,  Rufus  S.  Willard. 

Rock  River. 

Ministerial:  Frank  M.  Bristol,  Lewis  Curts,  Henry  G.  Jack- 
son, Martin  E.  Cady,  Polemus  H.  Swift,  William  A.  Spencer, 
John  W.  Richards. 

Lay :  James  B.  Hobbs,  Nicholas  G.  Van  Sant.. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


79 


St.  John's  River. 

Ministerial :  Luther  S.  Rader. 


MAY  1. 

Fikst  Da  v. 
Morning. 


St.  Louis. 

Ministerial :  Jesse  B.  Young,  Enoch  L.  Hunt,  William  A. 
Quayle. 

Lay :  Thomas  J.  Langston,  William  W.  Kendall. 

St.  Louis  German. 

Ministerial :  William  Koeneke,  William  Schutz,  John  Schla- 
genhauf. 

Lay :  Herman  C.  Grawe,  Fredrich  H.  A.  Koch. 

Savannah. 

Ministerial :  Madison  C.  B.  Mason,  Matthew  M.  Alston. 
Lay :  Luther  J.  Price,  Guy  H.  Bowen. 


Ministerial :  Benjamin  F.  Witherspoon,  Joshua  E.  Wilson, 
Thomas  J.  Clarke. 

Lay :  William  L.  Bulkley,  Edward  J.  Sawyer. 


Ministerial:  Samuel  A.  Thomson,  Winfield  S.  Matthew, 
William  A.  Knighten. 

Lay :  William  T.  Randall,  Joseph  A.  Williams. 

Southern  German. 

Ministerial :    Henry  Dietz. 
Lay :  Charles  F.  Blumberg. 

Southern  Illinois. 

Ministerial :  Joseph  W.  Van  Cleve,  William  Wallis,  Owen 
H.  Clark,  Leonidas  W.  Thrall. 

Lay :  McKendree  H.  Chamberlain,  Harvey  H.  Crozier. 

South  Germany. 

Ministerial:  A.  Gerhard  Bruns. 
Lay:  Fredrich  Gutekunst. 

South  India. 

Ministerial ;  Albert  H.  Baker. 
Lay :  John  H.  Stephens. 
6 


South  America. 


Ministerial :  Charles  W.  Drees. 
Lay  :  Justo  Cubilo. 

South  Carolina. 


South  Dakota. 

Ministerial :  William  H.  Jordan,  Charles  B.  Clark. 
Lay :  Reuben  N.  Kratz,  William  F.  T.  Bushnell. 

Southern  California. 


80 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


South  Kansas. 

Ministerial:  John  W.  Stewart,  Samuel  S.  Murphy,  Jeffer- 
son E.  Brant. 

Lay :  George  W.  Bowen,  James  E.  Hair. 

Southwest  Kansas. 

Ministerial:   William  J.  Martindale,  Granville  Lowther, 
William  H.  Rose. 
Lay :  James  Allison,  Tom  M.  Hutto. 

Switzerland. 

Ministerial:  Johannes  Wuhrman. 

Tennessee. 
Ministerial :  Hillery  W.  Key. 
Lay  :  David  W.  Byrd. 

Texas. 

Ministerial:  Isaiah  B.  Scott,  Wade  H.  Logan,  Frank  Gary. 
Lay :  Thomas  A.  Fortson,  John  W.  Jamison. 

Troy. 

Ministerial:  John  H.  Coleman,  Homer  Eaton,  James  H. 
Brown,  George  A.  Barrett,  James  E.  C.  Sawyer,  William  H. 
Hughes. 

Lay :  Daniel  Hayes,  Charles  D.  Hammond. 

Upper  Iowa. 

Ministerial:  Alpha  J.  Kynett,  J.  Burleigh  Albrook,  William 
F.  Barclay,  William  F.  King,  Stephen  K  Fellows. 
Lay :  Albert  C.  Ross,  Thomas  B.  Taylor. 

Upper  Mississippi. 

Ministerial:  Richard  Sewell,  Perry  O.  Jamison. 
Lay :  Ephraim  H.  McKissack,  Joseph  H.  Phillips. 
Vermont. 

Ministerial:  Alfred  J.  Hough,  Joel  O.  Sherburn. 
Virginia. 

Ministerial :  Stephen  P.  Shipman. 
Lay :  Chester  C.  Gaver. 

Washington. 

Ministerial :  John  W.  E.  Bowen,  William  H.  Brooks,  Isaac 
L.  Thomas. 
Lay :  Charles  F.  Vodery. 

Western  Norwegian-Danish. 

Ministerial:  Carl  J.  Larson. 

Western  Swedish. 

Ministerial:  Oscar  J.  Swan. 
Lay  :  Charles  O.  Lobeck. 


MAY  1. 

First  Day. 
Morning. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


81 


West  German.  may  i. 

First  Day. 

Min  isterial :  Charles  Harms,  Jacob  Tanner.  Morniwj. 
Lay :  John  A.  Kost,  William  F.  Muenzenmayer. 

West  Nebraska. 

Ministerial :  Erastus  Smith,  Charles  A.  Hale. 
Lay :  Jasper  L.  McBrien,  William  J.  Cruzen. 

West  Texas* 

Ministerial :  Harry  Swann,  Moses  Smith. 
Lay:  Greene  J.  Starnes,  G.  Reid  Townsend. 

West  Virginia. 

Ministerial:  Asbury  Mick,  David  L.  Ash,  John  H.  Hess, 
David  S.  Hammond. 

Lay  i  Thomas  P.  Jacobs,  George  C.  Sturgiss. 

West  Wisconsin. 

Ministerial :  Samuel  W.  Trousdale,  John  Holt,  William  J. 
McKay. 

Lay :  William  T.  Jennings,  Henry  P.  Magill. 

Wilmington. 

Ministerial :  Merritt   Hulburd,   Alfred   Smith,  Louis  E. 
Barrett,  Wilbur  F.  Corkran. 
Lay  :  William  L.  Gooding. 

Wisconsin. 

Ministerial:  Milton  S.  Terry,  George  H.  Trever,  Ephraim 
L.  Eaton. 

Lay :  William  H.  Stevens,  Leander  Ferguson. 

Wyoming. 

Ministerial:   John  G.  Eckman,  Manley  S.  Hard,  Austin 
Griffin,  Levi  L.  Sprague,  Asa  J.  Van  Cleft. 
Lay :  George  S.  Bennett,  Abram  I.  Decker. 

The  Bishop  having  announced  that  a  quorum  was  Nomina- 
present,  the  Conference,  on  motion  of  G.  E.  Ackerman,  secretary, 
proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  Secretary.    A.  B.  Leon- 
ard nominated  D.  S.  Monroe,  M.  J.  Talbot  nominated 
S.  O.  Benton,  and  L.  L.  Sprague  nominated  M.  S.  Hard. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  that  D.  S.  Monroe,  the  Secre-  s^fe^y 
tary  of  the  last  General  Conference,  act  as  Secretary 
pro  tempore.  Carried. 

The  following  tellers  were  appointed:  E.  S.  Osbon,  Tellers. 
H.  C.  Weakley,  J.  B.  Young,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen,  H.  H. 
Lowry,  H.  A.  Salzer,  C.  R.  Magee,  James  Allison,  John 
Stafford,  and  W.  S.  Edwards. 

I 


82 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  1. 

First  Day. 
Morning. 

Rules  of 
Order. 


Reserve 
delegates, 
admitted. 


Committee 
on  Cre- 
dentials 
ordered. 


Address  of 
the  Bishops. 


On  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  it  was  ordered  that  a 
majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  elect  a  Secretary. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved  that,  until  otherwise  ordered,  the 
Rules  of  the  last  General  Conference  be  adopted  for 
the  government  of  this  body.  Carried. 

On  motion,  the  following  reserve  delegates  were 
seated  in  the  place  df  absent  delegates: 

Alabama. 

Homer  W.  Perrin. 

Chicago  German. 

Louis  Appel. 

Genesee. 

Charles  W.  Winchester. 

Japan. 

Eiji  Asada. 

Kansas. 

James  W.  Alderman. 

Liberia. 

Wilmot  E.  Dennis. 

Maine. 

David  B.  Holt. 

Mexico. 

George  Manning. 

Newark. 

Henry  K.  Carroll. 

New  Hampshire. 

Charles  E.  Foote. 

Northern  Minnesota. 

Alva  W.  Bradley. 

North  Germany. 

Heinrich  During. 

Wisconsin. 

Edward  S.  McChesney. 

The  Secretary,  having  stated  that  he  had  not  received 
the  certificate  of  any  lay  delegate  from  the  North  Da- 
kota Conference,  D.  C.  Plannette  moved  that  a  Com- 
mittee on  Credentials  be  appointed  to  which  this  and 
all  similar  cases  be  referred.  Carried. 

On  motion  of  G.  E.  Ackerman,  the  reading  of  the 
Bishops'  Address  was  made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for 
to-morrow  at  10  o'clock. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


83 


J.  M.  Buckley  presented  the  following  paper: 

We,  the  undersigned  members  of  this  General  Conference,  in  the 
exercise  of  our  inalienable  rights  and  bounden  duty,  believing  that  cer- 
tain women  whose  names  have  been  called  by  the  officer  appointed  and 
instructed  to  make  up  the  roll  from  certificates  duly  accredited  and 
who  responded  to  their  names  when  thus  called  are  ineligible,  do  hereby 
challenge  the  eligibility  of  said  women  to  membership  in  this  body. 
And  this  we  do  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the  bonds  of  Christian  unity 
on  the  following  grounds  : 

1.  That  prior  to  1868  only  ministers,  and  they  under  specific  con- 
ditions, were  eligible  to  membership  in  the  General  Conference. 

2.  That  provision  was  constitutionally  made  for  the  admission  of 
laymen,  under  certain  specified  conditions,  and  that  laymen  were  seated 
in  the  General  Conference  in  18?2. 

3.  That  the  history  of  the  movement  culminating  in  the  admission 
of  lay  representation  shows  that  the  Church  did  not  contemplate  nor 
intend  the  election  of  women ;  and  that  whenever  attention  was  called 
to  the  subject  it  was  definitely  understood  that  women  were  not  eligible 
under  the  constitution. 

4.  That  in  1888  five  women  were  elected  and  the  credentials  of  four 
of  them  were  presented  ;  that  the  question  of  eligibility  was  referred  to 
a  Special  Committee  on  Eligibility,  which  committee  reported  women  to 
be  ineligible  under  the  constitution. 

5.  That  the  General  Conference  adopted  the  said  report  declaring 
women  ineligible  and  pursuant  thereto  the  seats  vacant  which  they 
came  to  fill,  and  seated  the  first  reserves  in  said  seats. 

6.  That  a  proposition  to  alter  the  constitution  so  as  to  admit  women 
was  submitted  to  the  Church  and  lost  for  the  want  of  two  thousand 
votes  more  than  it  received. 

7.  That  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1892  did  not  reverse 
the  action  of  1888,  declaring  women  ineligible,  or  take  any  action 
equivalent  to  a  reversal  of  the  same. 

8.  That  the  proposition  submitted  previous  to  1892  was  resubmitted 
during  the  year  and  lost.  And  that,  therefore,  all  women  professedly 
elected — though  the  credentials  are  in  proper  form — are  not  eligible  to 
membership  in  this  General  Conference. 

(Signed,)         J.  M.  Buckley,  C.  S.  Wing, 

J.  B.  Graw,  S.  F.  Upham, 

Jacob  Rothweiler,  J.  F.  Chaffee, 

T.  B.  Neely,  John  F.  Goucher. 
W.  H.  Wilder, 


MAY  1. 

First  Day. 
Morning. 
Challenge 
of  the 
women 
delegates. 


The  tellers  reported  the  vote  for  Secretary  as  follows:  D-fle]^n1roe 
AVhole  number  of  votes  cast,  491;  necessary  to  a  choice,  secretary. 
246.    Of  these,  D.  S.  Monroe  has  received  370;  M.  S. 
Hard,  90;  S.  O.  Benton,  29;  D.  H.  Moore,  1;  blank,  1. 
The  President  announced  that  David  S.  Monroe  was 
elected. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  the  appointment  of  a  Commit- 
tee on  Eligibility,  to  consist  of  one  member  from  each 
•General  Conference  District  and  three  at  large,  to  whom 
the  question  of  eligibility  shall  be  referred,  and  that 
the  said  committee  be  instructed  to  report  upon  the 
subject  of  eligibility  next  Monday  morning  at  10  o'clock. 


Committee 
on 

Eligibility 
ordered. 


84 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


MAY  1. 

First  Day. 
Morning. 

Selection  of 

the 
Committee 

on 

Eligibility. 


A.  J.  Ky- 
nett's  paper 
on 

Eligibility. 


South 
America 
Conference. 


Committee 
on 

Credentials. 

Assistant 
Secretaries. 


A.  B.  Leonard  moved  that  the  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Eligibility  be  elected  by  the  delegations  from 
the  respective  General  Conference  Districts,  except  that 
three  at  large  be  nominated  by  the  Bishops. 

I.  P.  Teter  moved,  as  an  amendment  to  the  amend- 
ment, that  the  committee  be  composed  of  one  from  each 
Conference  here  represented.    Laid  on  the  table. 

On  motion,  the  committee  was  so  increased  as  to  in- 
clude one  minister  and  one  layman  from  each  district. 

J.  B.  Graw  moved  that  nt>  person  whose  name  has 
been  challenged  shall  be  permitted  to  participate  in  the 
deliberations  of  this  Conference  until  the  committee 
shall  have  reported.    Laid  on  the  table. 

The  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  as  amended,  was  then 
adopted. 

A  paper  was  presented  by  A.  J.  Kynett,  a  part  of 
which  having  been  read,  it  was  moved  that  all  papers 
having  reference  to  the  question  of  eligibility  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Eligibility  without  reading. 
A  motion  to  lay  this  on  the  table  did  not  prevail,  and 
the  motion  to  refer  was  adopted. 

It  was  ordered  that  the  paper  of  A.  J.  Kynett  be  pub- 
lished in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  of  to-morrow. 

On  motion  of  C.  W.  Drees,  the  South  America  Con- 
ference was  assigned  to  the  Fifth  General  Conference 
District. 

The  motion  of  D.  C.  Plannette  to  appoint  a  Commit- 
tee on  Credentials  was  adopted. 

On  motion  of  W.  W.  Evans,  the  Secretary  was  granted 
the  privilege  of  naming  his  assistants,  whereupon  he 
named  Manley  S.  Hard,  Edmund  S.  Mills,  Stephen  O. 
Benton,  Samuel  W.  Gehrett,  Isaiah  B.  Scott,  William 
Kepler,  Frank  G.  Mitchell,  Charles  L.  Stafford,  Milton 
D.  Buck,  Charles  C.  Zoller,  and  Robert  R.  Doherty. 

John  Mitchell  presented  the  following  invitation, 
which  was  accepted: 


To  the  Bishops,  Members  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  Visitors : 

Reception.  Dear  Brethren  and  Sisters:  The  Local  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments cordially  invite  you  to  a  reception,  to  be  held  in  the  Armory 
Auditorium  Friday  evening,  May  1,  at  7:30  o'clock  p.  m.,  standard 
time.  Horace  Benton,  Chairman. 

F.  A.  Gould,  Secretary. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


85 


T.  B.  Neely  moved  that  the  Conference  adopt  the 
following  plan  for  the  organization  of  committees: 


L  There  shall  be  fourteen  main  Standing  Committees,  as  follows : 

1.  On  Episcopacy. 

2.  On  Itinerancy. 

3.  On  Boundaries. 

4.  On  Revisals. 

5.  On  Temporal  Economy. 

6.  On  the  State  of  the  Church. 

7.  On  the  Book  Concern. 

8.  On  Temperance  and  the  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

9.  On  Missions. 

10.  On  Education. 

11.  On  Church  Extension. 

12.  On  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts. 

13.  On  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Work  in  the  South. 

14.  On  Epworth  League. 

II.  The  first  six  of  the  committees  shall  meet  on  Mondays,  Wednes- 
days, and  Fridays ;  and  the  last  six  on  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Satur- 
days. 

III.  As  heretofore  the  several  delegations  shall  appoint  one  member 
for  each  committee. 

IV.  As  soon  as  practicable,  and  in  all  cases  not  later  than  the  next 
Bessipn  of  the  Conference,  the  chairman  of  each  delegation  shall  deliver 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  General  Conference  a  list  of  the  assignments  to 
the  committees  made  by  the  delegation,  from  which  returns  the  Secre- 
tary shall  immediately  proceed  to  enroll  and  publish  the  committees. 

V.  For  the  purpose  of  organization,  each  committee,  except  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries,  shall  meet  at  the  time  and  place  ordered  by 
the  General  Conference,  and  shall,  under  the  temporary  presidency  of 
a  Bishop,  choose  by  ballot  a  chairman  and  a  secretary,  and  shall 
without  delay  return  the  names  of  the  officers  so  elected  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Conference. 

VI.  Reserve  delegates  when  admitted  to  the  General  Conference 
shall  take  the  places  on  committees  previously  held  by  their  principals, 
unless  it  is  otherwise  ordered  by  the  Conference ;  and  other  changes 
on  committees  shall  not  take  place  without  permission  from  the  Gen- 
eral Conference. 


MAY  1. 

First  Day. 
Morning. 

Organiza- 
tion of 
Committees. 


A  motion  that  the  Epworth  League  be  made  a  Stand- 
ing Committee,  and  a  motion  by  W.  F.  Whitlock  that 
a  special  committee  be  appointed  to  which  the  question 
of  Standing  Committees  be  referred,  were  both  laid  on 
the  table,  and  the  motion  of  T.  B.  Neely  was  adopted. 

The  districts  were  called  by  the  Secretary,  and  the 
time  and  places  of  meeting  were  named. 

On  motion  of  W.  H.  Shier,  it  was  ordered  that  each 
delegate  be  furnished  with  three  copies  of  the  Daily 
Christian  Advocate  each  morning. 

Hon.  Hilary  A.  Herbert,  Secretary  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  was  introduced  by  the  President  of  the 
Conference. 


Distribu- 
tion of 
Daily 
Christian 
Advocate. 

Hon.  H.  A. 

Herbert 
introduced. 


86 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  1, 

First  Day. 

Morning. 

Reception 
of  Fraternal 
Delegates. 

Gavels 
presented. 


Table  from 
Venice. 


Epworth 
League. 


Light  and 
neat. 


General 
Conference 
Districts. 


Adjourned. 


MAY  2. 

Second 
Day. 
Morning. 
Bishop 
Foster 
presiding. 

Devotional 
services. 

Journal 
approved. 


To  secure 
order. 


A.  J.  Palmer  moved  that  the  General  Conference 
shall  hold  on  the  Monday  evenings  of  May  sessions  for 
the  purpose  of  the  reception  of  fraternal  delegates  by 
the  Conference.  Adopted. 

S.  O.  Jones,  of  the  Nebraska  Conference,  having  been 
introduced,  on  behalf  of  the  Nebraska  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity he  presented  to  the  Conference  a  gavel  and  gavel 
block. 

G.  W.  Gue,  of  Oregon,  also  presented  a  gavel,  and  a 
case  for  its  preservation. 

On  motion,  both  gifts  were  accepted  with  thanks. 

C.  C.  McCabe,  on  behalf  of  the  Industrial  School  of 
Venice,  Italy,  presented  to  the  Conference  a  beautifully 
carved  table,  and,  on  motion,  it  was  accepted. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Berry,  the  action  of  the  Confer- 
ence by  which  the  Epworth  League  was  constituted  a 
Standing  Committee  was  reconsidered,  and  it  was  made 
a  Special  Committee. 

On  motion  of  L.  A.  Belt,  the  Local  Committee  was 
requested  to  take  some  action  by  which  to  regulate  the 
light  and  heat  in  the  building. 

On  motion  of  the  Secretary,  the  Oklahoma  Confer- 
ence having  been  formed  since  the  last  General  Con- 
ference and  is  not  in  any  General  Conference  District, 
it  was  placed  in  the  Eleventh  District;  the  North  China 
Conference  was  placed  in  the  Fifth  District,  and  the 
Western  Norwegian-Danish  Conference  was  placed  in 
the  Fourteenth  District. 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  C.  C. 
McCabe. 

SATURDAY  MORNING,  MAY  2. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  9  a.  m.,  Bishop 
R.  S.  Foster  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  E.  W. 
Parker,  of  the  North  India  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

J.  D.  Walsh  presented  the  following: 

Wliereas,  The  delegates  in  the  chairs  most  distant  from  the  plat- 
form are  prevented  from  hearing  the  Chairman  and  the  speakers  by 
reason  of  the  walking  and  talking  of  delegates  and  others  in  the  rear 
passageways  during  the  session  of  Conference ;  therefore, 


1890. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


87 


Rewired,  That  this  Conference  hereby  requests  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements  to  appoint  one  or  more  Sergeants-at-arms,  who  shall  wear 
badges  of  office,  and  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  preserve  order  in  the 
back  part  of  the  house  and  elsewhere  during  business  hours. 

John  Lanahan  moved  that  the  General  Conference 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  Sergeants-at-arms.  The  motion 
prevailed,  and  the  resolution,  as  amended,  was  adopted. 

On  motion  of  P.  H.  Swift,  the  Rules  were  suspended, 

and  the  following  was  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League  shall  be  com- 
posed of  one  member  from  each  Annual  Conference  delegation,  and 
that  such  member  shall  be  selected  according  to  the  method  which 
usually  prevails  in  the  selection  of  the  members  of  the  regular  stand- 
ing committees. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  moved  that  a  committee  of  three  be 
appointed  to  express  our  appreciation  of  the  reception 
given  last  evening  to  the  Conference.  Adopted. 

T.  B.  Xeely  presented  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  there  shall  be  a  committee,  to  be  called  a  Committee 
on  Judiciary,  to  which  shall  be  referred  all  appeals  from  the  Confer- 
ences or  from  individual  ministers  or  members  of  the  Church ;  records 
of  Judicial  Conferences  and  all  other  law  questions  which  may  be  re- 
ferred to  it  by  the  General  Conference.  The  above  committee  shall 
consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  General  Conference  District  and  one 
delegate-at-large,  and  said  member  shall  be  nominated  by  the  Bishops 
#nd  confirmed  by  the  General  Conference. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved  as  an  amendment  that  the  com- 
mittee be  nominated  by  the  members  of  the  respective 
General  Conference  Districts,  and  three  at  large  be 
nominated  by  the  Bishops. 

A  motion  by  J.  B.  Graw  to  lay  this  on  the  table  did 
not  prevail. 

The  amendment  of  A.  J.  Kynett  was  carried,  and  the 
resolution,  as  amended,  was  adopted. 

On  motion  of  E.  D.  Whitlock,  a  committee  of  seven 
was  ordered  on  Rules  of  Order. 

T.  B.  Neely  moved  that  a  committee  be  appointed  on 
the  Constitution,  consisting  of  one  from  each  General 
Conference  District,  and  one  at  large  to  be  nominated 
by  the  Bishops,  and  that  to  this  committee  be  referred 
the  proposed  Constitution  presented  to  the  General 
Conference  in  1892,  and  by  that  body  referred  to  this 
body. 

J.  A.  Sargent  moved  that  the  committee  consist  of 
one  minister  and  one  layman  from  each  district  and 
three  at  large. 


MAY  2. 

Second 

Day. 
Morning. 


Composition 
of  the  Com- 
mittee on 
Epworth 
League. 


Committee 
on  Re- 


Judiciary 
Committee. 


Committee 
on  Rules  of 
Order. 

Committee 
on  Con- 
stitution. 


88 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


MAY  55. 

Second 

Day. 
Morning. 


Illness  of 
Dr.  Reid. 


Committee 
on  Consoli- 
dation of 

Benevolen- 
ces ordered. 


Committee 
on  Memor- 
ials ordered. 


Committee 

on  Fraternal 
Delegates 
ordered. 

Resolutions 
to  be 

triplicated. 

Recess 
ordered. 


J.  J.  Bentley  moved  that  the  committee  consist  of 
nine.    Laid  on  the  table. 

The  amendment  of  J.  A.  Sargent  was  adopted,  and 
the  resolution,  as  amended,  prevailed. 

C.  C.  McCabe  read  a  telegram  announcing  the  very 
serious  illness  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Reid,  for  several  years  Cor- 
responding Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society,  and, 
on  motion,  the  Secretary  was  directed  to  send  a  tele- 
gram to  the  family  expressing  the  sympathy  of  the 
Conference. 

L.  A.  Belt  moved  that  a  committee  of  two  laymen 
and  two  ministers  from  each  General  Conference  Dis- 
trict, and  one  at  large  to  be  nominated  by  the  Bishops, 
be  ordered,  to  whom  shall  be  referred  the  expediency 
and  feasibility  of  the  unification  and  consolidation  of 
our  Benevolences. 

A  motion  by  P.  H.  Swift,  that  all  papers  on  the  sub- 
ject be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Econ- 
omy, was  laid  on  the  table  by  a  count  vote  of  207  ayes 
and  195  noes. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved  to  amend  by  adding  one  layman 
and  one  minister  from  each  of  our  Benevolent  societies. 
On  motion  of  F.  M.  Bristol,  this  was  laid  on  the  table, 
and  the  original  resolution  was  adopted. 

On  motion  of  W.  S.  Matthew,  all  persons  having  in- 
formation on  the  subject  were  requested  to  furnish  it  to 
the  committee. 

On  motion  of  Homer  Eaton,  it  was  ordered  that 
a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  on  Memorials  of  the 
General  Conference  officers  who  have  died  during  the 
quadrennium.  Said  committee  to  be  named  by  the 
Bishops. 

C.  H.  Payne  moved  that  a  committee  of  five  be  ap- 
pointed on  Fraternal  Delegates.  Carried. 

On  motion  of  M.  S.  Hard,  it  was  ordered  that  here- 
after all  resolutions  be  presented  in  triplicate. 

On  motion  of  C.  J.  Little,  a  recess  of  three  minutes 
was  ordered. 

J.  W.  Hamilton  presented  the  following  paper,  which 
was  adopted: 

The  Rev.  William  Taylor,  D.D.,  Missionary  Bishop  of  Africa,  was 
born  on  the  2d  day  of*  May,  1821;  sent  to  his  first  circuit  in  1842, 


1896. J  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


89 


joined  the  Annual  Conference  in  the  spring  of  1843,  and  as  world-wide 
evangelist  has  gone  everywhere  preaching  the  Gospel  without  ever 
having  been  laid  aside  through  illness  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  congratulate  this  truly  vener- 
able and  apostolic  Bishop  on  having  this  day  attained  the  seventy-fifth 
anniversary  of  his  birth. 


MAY  Si. 

Second 

Day. 
Morning. 

Bishop 
Taylor's 
birthday. 


The  hour  for  the  Order  of  the  Day  having  arrived, 
Bishop  H.  W.  Warren  read  the  Address  of  the  Bishops. 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  that  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred copies  of  the  Address  be  printed  in  pamphlet  form 
and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  this  body. 

E.  J.  Gray  moved  to  so  amend  that  it  be  published  in 
the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  and  in  all  the  official 
papers;  that  these  three  thousand  five  hundred  copies 
be  published  for  distribution;  that  five  copies  of  the 
same  be  given  to  each  member  of  this  General  Confer- 
ence ;  and,  further,  that  the  different  parts  of  this  Ad- 
dress be  referred  to  the  appropriate  committees. 

C.  C.  Wilbor  moved  to  further  amend  so  that  ten 
thousand  copies  be  published  in  such  form  that  they 
can  be  placed  in  envelopes. 

G.  E.  Reed  moved  to  lay  the  amendment  of  E.  J» 
Gray  on  the  table.  Lost. 

D.  H.  Moore  moved  that  the  Address  be  published  in 
the  Church  papers  only.  Lost. 

The  amendment  of  E.  J.  Gray  was  adopted,  and,  as 
amended,  the  resolution  prevailed. 

W.  H.  Wilder  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  some 
of  the  members  had  changed  their  seats,  and,  on  mo- 
tion, it  was  ordered  that  no  member  change  his  seat 
without  the  consent  of  the  Conference.  Permission 
was  then  granted  J.  F.  Rusling  and  colleague  and  the 
Kentucky  delegation  to  change  their  seats. 

On  motion  of  T.  B.  Neely,  the  General  Conference 
Districts  were  instructed  to  meet  this  afternoon  and 
nominate  the  committees  ordered. 

On  motion  of  A.  B.  Leonard,  the  Conference  Dis- 
tricts were  instructed  to  send  their  nominations  for  the 
Committee  on  Ep worth  League  to  the  Secretary. 

The  names  of  the  Committee  on  Eligibility  were 
then  announced  by  the  respective  districts,  and  Bishop 
Andrews  named  the  three  at  large.  The  nominations 
were  confirmed.    (See  Committees,  p.  376.) 


Bishops' 
Address 
read. 

Copies 
ordered. 


Members 
not  to 
change 


Nomina- 
tions to  be 
sent  to  the 
Secretary. 


Committee 
on 

Eligibility 
named. 


•90 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


MAY  2. 

Second 

Day. 
Morning. 

Rev.  W.  L. 
Watkinson 
introduced. 


Committee 
on 

Credentials 
discharged. 


Standing 
Committees 


Adjourned. 


MAY  4. 

Third  Day 
Morning. 
Bishop 
Merrill  pre- 
siding. 
Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Committee 
to  report. 


Mrs.  J.  M. 
Reid. 


Swedish 
[delegation. 


Bishops' 
Address 

to  be  read  in 
churches 

and  distrib- 
uted. 


The  Rev.  W.  L.  Watkinson,  Fraternal  Delegate 
from  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference,  and  the  Rev. 
R.  Crawford  Johnson,  D.D.,  Fraternal  Delegate  from 
the  Irish  Methodist  Conference,  were  introduced. 

Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  Committee  on  Cre- 
dentials. 

The  Secretary  stated  that  there  was  no  longer  any 
occasion  for  this  committee,  since  he  received  in  proper 
form  the  credentials  that  were  lacking;  therefore,  on 
motion,  the  action  by  which  that  committee  was  ap- 
pointed was  reconsidered  and  the  committee  discharged. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
chairmen  of  the  delegations  pass  to  the  Secretary  their 
nominations  for  Standing  Committees  that  they  may  be 
published. 

After  the  usual  announcements,  Conference  ad- 
journed. The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  the  benediction 
was  pronounced  by  Dr.  R.  Crawford  Johnson. 

MONDAY  MORNING,  MAY  4. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  9  o'clock, 
Bishop  S.  M.  Merrill  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  L.  Hurl- 
but,  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and  Tract 
Society. 

The  Journal  of  Saturday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

W.  A.  Spencer  moved  that  the  Committee  on 
Benevolences  be  instructed  to  report  to  the  Conference 
on  or  before  Monday,  the  16th.  Carried. 

A  message  was  received  from  Mrs.  J.  M.  Reid  ex- 
pressing her  appreciation  of  the  message  from  the  Con- 
ference. 

J.  D.  Walsh  announced  that,  the  Swedish  delegation 
having  arrived,  the  Kentucky  delegation  resumed  the 
seats  originally  assigned  them. 

H.  A.  Buchtell  moved  that  we  urgently  request  our 
pastors  and  presiding  elders  to  read  the  Bishops'  Ad- 
dress presented  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896  in 
every  congregation  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Earl  Cranston  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  Pub- 
lishing Agents  be  authorized,  by  request  of  a  pastor,  to 


I896.J 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


furnish  a  copy  of  this  report  for  every  official  member 
in  all  our  churches.    Accepted  and  adopted. 

On  motion  of  J.  W.  Hamilton,  the  rules  were  sus- 
pended, and  D.  H.  Muller  presented  the  following: 

Whereas,  The  General  Conference,  composed  of  representatives  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  profoundly  convinced  that  experience  has 
shown  that  war  as  a  method  of  determining  disputes  between  nations 
is  expensive  in  its  operations,  unequal  and  uncertain  in  its  results,  and 
productive  of  immense  evils,  and  that  the  spirit  of  the  age  as  well  as 
the  precepts  of  religion  require  the  adoption  of  every  practicable 
means  for  the  establishment  of  reason  and  justice  between  nations  ; 
and, 

Whereas,  The  people  of  the  United  States  and  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  are  bound  together  by  ties  of  lineage,  language,  literature,  the 
principles  of  common  Christianity,  and  of  like  political  and  legal  institu- 
tions and  of  many  mutual  interests  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  purpose  to  substitute  law  for  war,  reason  for  force, 
has  been  approved  by  patriotic  statesmen,  eminent  educators,  and 
Christian  philanthropists,  and  an  increasing  and  dominant  moral  opinion ; 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  representatives  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  give  our  approval  of  a  demand  for 
the  organization  of  a  permanent  tribunal  of  arbitration  as  a  rational 
and  Christian  substitute  among  the  English-speaking  races  for  a  resort 
to  the  bloody  arbitrament  of  war. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Conference,  religion,  humanity, 
practice,  and  the  highest  interests  of  civilization  and  Christianity 
demand  the  immediate  establishment  of  such  an  international  court  of 
arbitration. 

Resolved,  That  the  presiding  officers  and  Secretary  of  this  Conference 
be  requested  to  send  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  a  copy  of 
these  resolutions. 

Lewis  Curts  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee 
on  the  State  of  the  Church.  The  motion  was  laid  on 
the  table,  and  the  resolutions  were  adopted. 

E.  D.  Whitlock  moved  that  a  committee  of  one  from 
each  General  Conference  District  and  one  at  large  be 
appointed  on  General  Conference  Districts.  Carried. 

Austin  Griffin  moved  the  appointment  of  a  commit- 
tee consisting  of  two  from  each  General  Conference 
District  and  two  at  large  on  the  support  of  superan- 
nuated ministers.  W.  H.  Shier  moved,  as  a  substitute, 
that  all  papers  and  memorials  on  the  subject  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy.  Carried. 

The  Rev.  John  J.  Lewis,  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Church  of  New  Zealand,  was  introduced. 

M.  S.  Hard  moved  that  the  Publishing  Agents  and 
the  Secretary  publish  a  manual  for  the  use  of  the  Con- 
ference. The  Secretary  stated  that  an  Agenda  would 
he  distributed  in  a  day  or  two.  On  motion  of  John 
Lanahan,  the  motion  was  laid  on  the  table. 


91 

MAY  4. 

Tin  ni)  Da  v 

Morning. 


National 
arbitration. 


Committee 
on  General 
Conference 
Districts. 


Superannu- 
ated minis- 
ters. 


Rev.  J.  J. 
Lewis  intro- 
duced. 

Manual. 


92 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  4. 

Third  Day 

Morning. 

Report  of 
Committee 
on 

Eligibility. 


Minority 
report. 


On  motion  of  John  Lanahan,  the  motion  was  laid  on 
the  table. 

The  hour  for  the  Order  of  the  Day  having  arrived, 
on  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  it  was  taken  up,  and  A.  J. 
Kyriett  presented  the  majority  report  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Eligibility  as  follows,  and  moved  its  adoption: 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  challenge  of  the  eligibil- 
ity of  women  in  the  General  Conference,  of  Lydia  A.Trimble,  delegate- 
elect  from  the  Foo-Chow  Electoral  Conference,  Lois  S.  Parker  and  Ada 
C.  Buchter,  delegates-elect  from  the  North  India  Electoral  Conference, 
and  Jane  Field  Bashford,  delegate-elect  from  the  Ohio  Electoral  Con- 
ference, having  carefully  considered  the  same,  report  that  the  challenge 
is  not  sustained,  and  that  the  aforesaid  lady  delegates-elect  are  not 
ineligible  to  this  body.         Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  J.  Kynett,  Chairman. 


John  W.  Hamilton, 
Thomas  H.  Murray, 
E.  T.  Nelson, 
Judson  S.  Hill, 
Samuel  Dickie, 
W.  F.  T.  Bushnell, 
L.  0.  Jones, 
T.  J.  Langston, 

G.  R.  TOWNSEND, 

J.  F.  Caples. 


David  H.  Moore, 
A.  B.  Leonard, 
Luther  J.  Price, 
H.  A.  Gobin, 
L.  M.  Shaw, 
Earl  Cranston, 
J.  W.  Stewart, 
W.  0.  Emory, 
W.  A.  Knighten. 


T.  B.  Neely  presented  and  moved,  as  a  substitute  for 
the  majority  report,  the  following  minority  report: 

The  undersigned,  a  minority  of  the  Committee  on  Eligibility,  to 
which  was  referred  the  question  of  the  eligibility  of  certain  women 
who,  holding  certificates  of  election  from  certain  Lay  Electoral  Confer- 
ences, were  entered  upon  the  roll  and  claimed  seats  in  this  General 
Conference,  beg  leave  to  report  that  they  dissent  from  the.  opinion  of 
the  majority  of  the  committee. 

Having  carefully  inquired  into  the  question  of  the  eligibility  of 
women,  we  find  that  the  question  of  the  admission  of  women  was  not 
before  the  Church  when  the  amendment  to  the  Restrictive  Rule  ad- 
mitting lay  delegates  was  under  consideration  by  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences, neither  was  it  before  the  General  Conference  of  1872,  when  it 
agreed  to  the  plan  of  lay  delegation,  and  therefore  was  not  included 
in  the  above  actions. 

The  claim  that  women  are  eligible  arose  later  and  has  been  based 
upon  a  subsequent  act  of  a  General  Conference  defining  the  word  lay- 
men in  its  relation  to  Lay  Electoral  Conferences,  and  this,  we  find,  did 
not  refer  to  the  question  of  the  admission  of  women,  but  to  the  status 
of  a  man  having  ministerial  orders,  but  not  a  member  of  an  Annual 
Conference. 

The  claim  that  women  were  eligible  to  membership  was  raised 
judicially  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  General  Conference  on 
the  cases  of  certain  women  who  claimed  seats  in  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1888,  and  this  claim  was  negatived  by  that  Conference,  which 
decided  "  That,  under  the  second  Restrictive  Rule,  which  was  altered  by 
the  constitutional  process,  the  Church  contemplated  the  admission  of 
men  only  as  lay  representatives — and  that  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  Church  as  they  now  are  the  women  are  not  eligible  as  lay 
delegates  in  the  General  Conference."  (See  General  Conference  Jour- 
nal, 1888,  p.  463.) 


1896.} 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


93 


The  same  General  Conference,  holding  that  women  could  not  be  ad-    MAY  4. 
mitted  without  a  change  in  the  wording  of  the  Constitution,  submitted  Third  Dai 
a  proposition  to  amend  the  second  Restrictive  Rule  so  that  it  might  read :  orning. 
"  Nor  of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  an  Annual  Conference,  and 
said  delegates  may  be  men  or  women."    This  amendment  was  voted 
upon  by  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  but  not  receiving  the 
requisite  vote  it  was  lost,  and  the  Constitution  remained  the  same  as  it 
was  before  the  submission  of  the  proposed  amendment. 

In  the  General  Conference  of  1892,  on  a  question  submitted  to  the 
Committee  on  Judiciary,  as  to  whether  the  words  "lay  delegate," 
"  laymen,"  etc.,  in  the  second  Restrictive  Rule,  and  in  other  places  in 
the  Discipline,  "  express  or  imply  distinction  of  sex,"  the  committee 
unanimously,  with  the  exception  of  one  member,  who  declined  to  vote, 
reported  as  follows : 

"  Understanding  that  we  are  to  declare  the  meaning  of  the  words 
and  not  to  express  an  opinion  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  law,  and  apply- 
ing the  well-recognized  rule  of  construction,  that  the  intent  of  the  law- 
makers in  using  the  language  must  govern,  and  that  the  meaning  to  be 
put  upon  the  words  by  us  must  be  the  meaning  put  upon  them  by  the 
General  Conference,  and  the  Annual  Conferences  as  they  were 
adopted  ;  and  in  the  light  of  the  history  of  the  Church  bearing  upon 
the  subject  up  to  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  provision  in  which 
the  words  under  consideration  occur ;  and  in  the  light  of  the  discus- 
sions had  at  the  time  of  their  adoption  and  of  all  the  surrounding 
circumstances ;  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  last  General  Confer- 
ence, acting  in  its  judicial  capacity,  after  a  very  exhaustive  discussion, 
definitely  decided  that  women  were  not  included  in  these  provisions; 
and  that  the  Annual  Conferences  and  the  Church  have  accepted  and 
acted  upon  that  decision,  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  said  words,  as  used 
in  the  paragraphs  aforesaid,  do  not  apply  to  both  sexes,  and  that  they 
include  men  only."    (General  Conference  Journal,  1892,  p.  358.) 

Though"  this  declaration  was  not  adopted  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1892,  nevertheless  that  Conference  refused  to  adopt  an  op- 
posite declaration,  laying  on  the  table  a  substitute  to  that  intent,  and 
consequently  the  decision  of  the  General  Conference  of  1888  was  not 
reversed,  but  remained  unchanged.  The  General  Conference  of  1892 
did,  however,  ostensibly  recognize  the  fact  that  the  question  was  one 
calling  for  or  requiring  a  constitutional  amendment  by  submitting  a 
proposed  form  of  amendment  to  the  second  Restrictive  Rule.  As  the 
vote  shows,  this  proposition  did  not  receive  the  approval  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Annual  Conferences,  while  its  peculiar  form  caused  a  large 
majority  of  the  ministry  to  refuse  to  vote  upon  it.  Its  repudiation  by 
the  ministry  and  %failure  to  pass  left  the  Constitution  unchanged. 
During  the  last  quadrennium  the  proposed  amendment  of  1888  was 
again  submitted  by  two  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  but  this  proposition 
failed  to  receive  the  necessary  number  of  ministerial  votes. 

Both  the  General  and  the  Annual  Conferences  have  thus  repeatedly 
admitted  that  the  question  involves  a  change  in  the  wording  of  the 
Constitution,  and  as  no  such  amendment  has  been  made  the  Constitu- 
tion stands  as  it  did  in  1888,  and  previously,  and,  for  the  same  reasons 
that  held  at  that  time,  it  follows  that  the  Constitution  did  not  and 
does  not  meditate  or  permit  the  admission  of  women  as  delegates  in 
this  General  Conference,  and  that  it  cannot  permit  the  election  and 
seating  of  women  as  delegates  unless  the  Annual  Conferences,  to- 
gether with  the  General  Conference,  consent  by  constitutionally 
amending  the  second  Restrictive  Rule. 

The  cases  presented  are  essentially  of  the  same  character  as  those 
decided  by  the  General  Conference  of  1888,  and  the  legal  status  of 
women  in  this  respect  is  precisely  the  same  as  it  was  at  that  time. 

We  find,  therefore,  that  the  challenge  of  the  eligibility  of  the 


94 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  4. 

Third  Day 
Morning. 


women  whose  names  have  appeared  on  the  role  of  this  General  Confer- 
ence is  sustaiued,  that  the  election  of  women  by  Lay  Electoral  Confer- 
ences are  illegal  acts,  and  that  to  seat  the  claimants  would  tend  to 
destroy  all  respect  for  the  Constitution  of  the  Church,  and  for  the  de- 
cisions and  interpretations  of  the  General  Conference. 


H.  R.  Brill, 
J.  M.  Buckley, 
A.  W.  Harris, 
C.  J.  Little, 
Jacob  Rothweiler, 
Henry  A.  Salzer, 


J.  B.  Graw, 
S.  M.  Coon, 
H.  K.  Carroll, 
T.  B.  Neely, 
J.  F.  Chaffee. 


Prior  to  the  presentation  of  the  reports,  the  Secretary 
read  the  following  communication: 

To  the  Members  of  the  General  Conference  of  1896  : 

We,  the  undersigned,  women  delegates  from  the  North  India  and 
Ohio  Lay  Electoral  Conferences,  with  a  desire  to  promote  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  our  beloved  Church,  make  the  following  statement : 

While  we  regard  ourselves  as  laymen  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term 
and  hold  that  the  Lay  Electoral  Conferences  are  entitled,  under  the 
amendment  of  1868-72,  to  choose  their  delegates,  subject  only  to  the 
restrictions  therein  specified,  we  are  unwilling  to  seem  to  insist  upon 
personal  rights  which  are  in  dispute. 

We  rejoice  that  the  Annual  Conferences  have  expressed,  by  an  over- 
whelming majority,  their  desire  that  women  should  be  admitted  as 
laymen  to  the  General  Conference,  and  we  believe  that  this  General 
Conference,  with  substantial  unanimity,  desires  to  devise  the  best 
means  for  carrying  out  the  will  of  the  Church.  The  chief  question  at 
issue  now  seems  to  us  to  arise  over  the  method  to  be  pursued.  Upon 
this  we  recognize  honest  differences  of  opinion  among  the  most  intel- 
ligent and  conscientious  members.  It  seems  to  us  that  were  the  Con- 
ference relieved  from  the  tension  which  our  presence  occasions,  it 
might  speedily  devise  a  plan  of  admission  upon  which  the  great 
majority  of  the  members  could  agree. 

While  we  sincerely  regret  to  disappoint  the  chivalrous  champions  of 
woman's  eligibility,  we  cannot  consent  to  a  protracted  debate  over  our 
personal  eligibility  to  this  Conference,  with  the  alienations  which  we 
fear  such  a  struggle  might  cause,  when  the  principle  for  which  we 
stand  can  be  secured  by  more  peaceful  methods. 

We  could  not  for  a  moment  waive  our  claims  if  by  so  doing  we  im- 
periled the  rights  of  our  sisters  in  future  General,  Conferences.  But 
we  believe  that  by  sacrificing  personal  considerations  and  possible 
party  victories  for  the  peace  of  the  whole  Church,  we  shall  best  secure 
their  interests  and,  in  the  providence  of  God,  a  more  abundant  entrance 
to  those  who  shall  come  after  us. 

Our  decision  to  withdraw  is  reached  after  much  prayer  and  medita- 
tion, and  in  acting  upon  it  we  are  governed  solely  by  motives  of  Chris- 
tian charity — the  charity  that  seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  easily  pro- 
voked, thinketh  no  evil.  We,  therefore,  cheerfully  relinquish  all 
claims  to  membership  in  your  honorable  body  and  await  such  a  settle- 
ment of  a  long-vexed  question  as  your  wisdom  may  devise,  confident 
that  your  action  will  embody  the  spirit  of  the  Golden  Rule. 

We  desire  to  exDress  our  appreciation  of  the  courtesy  shown  us  and 
to  assure  you  that  we  shall  continue  to  pray  and  to  labor  for  the  pros- 
perity of  our  Zion.  Respectfully  submitted, 

Jane  F.  Bashford, 
Lois  S.  Parker, 
Ada  C.  Butcher. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


95 


After  considerable  discussion  of  the  reports,  on  motion  mMA YT4- 

\        7  Third  Day 

of  A.  B.  Leonard,  the  further  consideration  of  the  ques-  Morning. 
tion  was  postponed  until  10  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 

On  motion,  two  additional  members  were  added  to  the  deflates! 
Committee  on  Fraternal  Delegates,  and  Bishop  Andrews 
announced  the  committee.  (See Committees,  p.  377.) 

A.  J.   Kynett  moved  that  it  be  the  order  of  the    Fresh  air- 
house  that  the  doors  on  this  level  opening  into  hall- 
ways be  kept  open  all  the  time  on  warm  days. 

S.  W.  Gehrett  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  matter 
be  referred  to  the  Local  Committee. 

A  motion  to  lay  the  substitute  on  the  table  was  lost, 
and  it  was  accepted  and  adopted. 

S.  L.  Baldwin  moved  that  a  call  be  made  for  the  standing 

Committees. 

nomination  of  the  Standing  Committees  in  order  to  or- 
ganization. Carried. 

On  motion  of  W.  S.  Matthew,  the  names  of  the  com- 
mittees with  the  time  and  places  of  meeting  was 
ordered  to  be  published  in  the  Daily  Christian 
Advocate.  Carried. 

On  motion  of  T.  B.  Neely,  the  arrangement  of  com- 
mittees as  reported  to  the  Secretary  as  chosen  by  the 
various  delegations  was  confirmed,  and,  on  motion  of 
A.  J.  Kynett,  one  of  the  Bishops  was  requested  to 
be  with  each  committee  during  preliminary  organiza- 
tion. 

A.  J.  Palmer  moved  that  when  we  adjourn  it  be  to 
meet  at  7:30  p.  m.  to  receive  the  fraternal  delegates 
from  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  New  Zealand 
and  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.    The  Doxology  Adjourned, 
was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  G. 
W.  Gue. 

MONDAY  EVENING,  MAY  4.  may  4. 

Third  Day 

The  Conference  met  pursuant  to  adjournment  at  7:30  Evening 

Session 

i'.  if.,  Bishop  Thomas  Bowman  in  the  chair.    C.  H.  Bishop 
Payne  announced  the  770th  hymn,  commencing,  i?3in3. 

"  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord," 
and  II.  A.  Buttz,  of  the  Newark  Conference,  led  in 
prayer.    The  248th  hymn,  commencing, 

"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name  !  " 


96 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  4. 

Third  Day 
Evening. 


Rev.  J.  J. 
Lewis's 
address. 


Dr.  J.  C. 

Morris's 
address. 


Adjourned. 


was  sung,  and  J.  W.  Jackson,  in  a  few  appropriate  re- 
marks, introduced  to  the  President  the  Rev.  John  J. 
Lewis,  fraternal  delegate  from  the  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Church  of  New  Zealand,  who  presented  him  to  the  Con- 
ference. In  a  brief  but  entertaining  address  he  repre- 
sented Australian  Methodism.  (See  Addresses,  p.  487.) 

The  credentials  of  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Morris,  D.D.,  and 
E.  B.  Perkins,  Esq.,  fraternal  delegates  from  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  were  presented. 

W.  Y.  Kelley,  in  a  few  well-chosen  remarks,  intro- 
duced to  the  President,  and  he  to  the  Conference,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Morris.  He  was  cordially  received  and 
addressed  the  Conference.    (See  Addresses,  p.  487.) 

On  motion,  adjourned.  The  Doxology  was  sung, 
and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Bishop  I.  W. 
Joyce. 


MAY  5. 

Fourth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Rules 
changed. 


Recess. 


Committee 
on  Bible 
Society. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


TUESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  5. 

The  Conference  convened  at  9  o'clock  a.  m.,  Bishop 
E.  G.  Andrews  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  D'W.  C. 
Huntington,  of  the  Nebraska  Conference. 

The  Journals  of  yesterday  morning  and  evening  ses- 
sions were  read  and  approved. 

On  motion  of  John  Mitchell,  the  rules  were  suspended, 
and  he  moved  to  change  the  rules  of  order,  so  that 
the  sessions  begin  at  8:30  a.  m.  and  adjourn  at  12  noon. 

J.  D.  Walsh  moved  that  the  hour  of  adjournment  be 
12:30  p.  m.  The  amendment  prevailed,  and  the  motion, 
as  amended,  was  adopted. 

W.  F.  Whitlock  moved  that  a  recess  be  taken  each 
day  at  10:30  o'clock  a.  m.  Carried. 

A  motion  by  W.  V.  Kelley,  that  a  committee  of  nine 
be  appointed  on  the  American  Bible  Society,  was 
adopted. 

C.  W.  Bennett  presented  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  consisting  of  two  from  each  General 
Conference  District,  one  clergyman  and  one  layman,  be  appointed,  to 
which  shall  be  referred  all  questions  relating  to  lay  representation. 

I.  P.  Teter  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  all  matters  re- 
lating to  this  subject  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
State  of  the  Church. 


1S96.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


97 


J.  E.  James  moved  to  amend  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  by  the  Bishops,  to  whom  the  subject  shall  be 
referred.    Laid  on  the  table. 

On  motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  the  substitute  of  I.  P. 
Teter  was  laid  on  the  table. 

Jacob  Rothweiler  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  all 
matters  relating  to  this  subject  be  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Constitution. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Chaffee,  it  was  laid  on  the  table, 
and  the  original  resolution  was  adopted. 

A  motion  by  C.  W.  Bennett,  that  the  committee  be 
appointed  by  the  General  Conference  Districts,  pre- 
vailed. 

F.  H.  Tanner  moved  "  that  in  all  committees  requir- 
ing equal  ministerial  and  lay  representation,  each  order 
shall  select  its  own  representative." 

C.  C.  Wilbor  moved  that  each  district  decide  this 
for  itself. 

On  motion  of  G.  H.  Trever,  the  whole  matter  was 
laid  on  the  table. 

E.  W.  Parker  moved  that  9:30  a.  m.  Thursday,  May 
7,  be  fixed  as  the  time  for  receiving  the  reports  of  the 
Missionary  Bishops.  Carried. 

The  Standing  Committees  reported  their  organization. 

The  Rev.  B.  T.  Noakes,  fraternal  delegate  from  the 
Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  was  introduced. 

On  motion  of  A.  B.  Leonard,  the  Order  of  the  Day 
was  taken  up  and  discussed.  A  motion  of  C.  L.  Staf- 
ford, that  further  discussion  of  the  subject  be  made  the 
order  for  to-morrow  at  10  a.  m.  under  the  previous 
question,  with  the  privilege  of  offering  amendments  or 
substitutes,  was  laid  on  the  table. 

S.  L.  Baldwin  moved,  as  a  substitute  for  the  regular 
meetings  of  the  Standing  Committees  of  this  day,  that 
the  various  District  Committees,  that  is  to  say,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  various  General  Conference  Districts, 
should  meet  at  3  p.  m.  at  the  places  where  they  have 
met  hitherto.  Carried. 

The  Secretary  read  an  invitation  from  the  Library 
Board  of  the  Cleveland  Public  Library  to  the  members 
of  the  General  Conference  to  visit  and  use  the  library 
during  their  stay.    Signed  by  the  librarian, W.  H.  Brett. 


MAY  5. 

Fourth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Reports  of 
Missionary 
Bishops. 


Rev.  Mr. 
Noakes. 


Eligibility. 


Cleveland 
Library. 


98 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


?otrth        On -motion  of  C.  J.  Little,  the  Conference  adjourned. 
Morning     ^e  Doxology  was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  Bishop  C.  D.  Foss. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Dat 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


W.  H.  Max- 
well. 
P.  D.  Carr. 
H.C.Grawe. 


Disposition 
of  resolu- 
tions, etc. 


Additional 
Bishops. 


Constitu- 
tional Con- 
ference. 


WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  6. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  H.  W.  Warren  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  S.  O. 
Benton,  of  the  New  England  Southern  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

On  motion  of  S.  W.  Gehrett,  William  H.  Maxwell,  a 
reserve  delegate  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  was 
seated  in  the  place  of  John  Field,  unable  to  be  present. 
Philonzo  D.  Carr,  of  the  Central  Tennessee  Conference, 
and  Herman  C.  Grawe,  of  the  St.  Louis  German  Con- 
ference, were  announced  as  having  arrived. 

The  Secretary  moved  that  when  the  Roll  of  Con- 
ferences is  called  such  resolutions  only  as  are  to  be  put 
upon  their  immediate  passage  shall  be  read,  and  that 
memorials,  appeals,  and  resolutions  to  be  referred  be 
passed  without  announcement  to  the  Secretary's  desk, 
and  reported  next  morning  in  the  Journal  and  in  the 
Daily  Christian  Advocate.  Carried. 

On  motion  of  R.  J.  Cooke,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
Conference  shall  determine  whether  a  resolution  shall  be 
referred  to  a  committee,  or  be  put  upon  its  passage. 

The  roll  of  Conferences  was  called  by  the  Secretary. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  presented  the  following,  which  war, 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  be  and  it  is  hereby 
respectfully  urged  to  reach  a  decision  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  if 
practicable  report  to  this  body  on  Saturday  next,  May  9,  whether 
it  considers  it  wise  to  elect  any  additional  Bishops  at  this  session. 

L.  M.  Shaw  moved  that  a  resolution,  introduced 
four  years  ago  for  the  appointment  of  a  Constitutional 
Conference  and  then  referred  to  this  General  Confer- 
ence, be  now  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Constitu- 
tion. Carried. 

The  following,  presented  by  L.  H.  Stewart,  was 
adopted  : 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


99 


Resolved,  That  no  proposition  involving  a  change  in  the  law  or  Dis- 
cipline of  the  Church,  and  which  has  not  been  considered  by  a  commit- 
tee, shall  be  introduced  after  the  sixteenth  day  of  this  month.  Not, 
however,  to  the  exclusion  of  questions  already  before  the  body. 

J.  M.  Shumpert  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  General  Conference  be  in- 
structed to  edit  and  prepare  the  Journal  of  this  body  for  publication, 
and  certify  the  same  to  be  correct.  And  that  the  printed  copy  so 
certified  shall  be  the  official  Journal  of  this  General  Conference. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  adopted: 
Resolved,  That  the  commission  appointed  by  the  last  General  Con- 
ference on  Entertainment  of  this  General  Conference  is  hereby  con- 
stituted the  Commission  on  Expenses  of  Delegates  to  this  General 
Conference,  and  authorized  to  pay  the  same. 

J.  B.  Hingeley  presented  the  following,  which  was 
laid  over : 

Whereas,  The  Bishops  have  prepared  the  list  of  recommendations 
for  amendment  of  the  text  of  the  Discipline,  as  stated  in  their  annual 
address;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  they  be  requested  to  present  the  same  to  the  Con- 
ference at  this  session,  to  be  read  or  not,  as  they  shall  elect,  and  that 
they  be  printed  in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  read  and 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Whereas,  It  is  the  manifest  desire  of  the  Church  that  women  be 
recognized  in  all  the  councils  and  agencies  of  the  Church ;  and, 

Whereas,  In  the  General  Conference  resolution  of  1880,  which  de- 
fined the  construction  to  be  placed  on  the  personal  pronouns,  "  he," 
"  hi?  "  and  "  him,"  trusteeship  was  excluded  ;  and, 

Whereas,  In  most  of  the  States  of  the  Union  women's  right  to  hold 
property  and  execute  trust  has  been  recognized  by  statutory  laws  ;  and, 

Whereas,  Since  1880  the  Epworth  League  has  been  recognized  as 
one  of  the  great  activities  of  the  Church  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  pronouns,  "he,"  "his,'.'  and  "him,"  when  used  in 
the  Discipline  with  reference  to  trustees  and  Presidents  of  the 
Epworth  League,  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  exclude  women  from 
such  offices. 

T.  J.  Scott  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Missions: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Missions  be  instructed  to  take  into 
consideration  some  better  plan  for  the  support  of  superannuated  and 
disabled  foreign  missionaries  ;  said  plan  to  be  incorporated  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Missionary  Society. 

T.  L.  Matthews  moved  that, 

Whereas,  Our  observation  is  that  the  business  of  the  General  Con- 
ference proceeds  more  expeditiously  after  the  elections  of  Bishops, 
Editors,  and  officers  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  matter  of  the  election  of  Bishops,  Editors,  and  all 
other  officers  be  made  a  special  order  for  Monday,  May  11,  1896,  at 
10  A.  M. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 

Introduc- 
tion of  reso- 
lutions. 


Secretary  to 
edit  the 
Journal. 


Expenses  of 
delegates. 


Amend- 
ments to  the 
Discipline. 


Pronouns 
'he,"  "his,' 
"  him." 


Support  of 
superannu- 
ated mis- 
sionaries. 


Time  of 
elections. 


100 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


pIfthday      ^'  ^'  Kynett  moved  that  Monday,  May  18,  be  the 

Morning.  date. 

M.  J.  Talbot  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  matter 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy.  Laid  on 
the  table. 

The  amendment  of  A.  J.  Kynett  was  adopted,  and 
the  resolution,  as  amended,  was  passed. 

J.  H.  Potts  presented  a  paper  concerning  the  election 
of  General  Conference  officers. 

G.  H.  Trever  moved  that  it  be  laid  on  the  table. 
Lost. 

W.  H.  Hickman  moved  to  strike  out  all  reference  to 
nominating  candidates. 

W.  H.  Shier  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  paper  be 
consider  seriatim. 

Levi  'Master  moved,  as  a  substitute  for  all,  that  the 
paper  and  all  that  refers  to  it  be  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Rules  of  Order.  Carried. 

On  motion  of  W.  H.  Jordan,  the  committee  was  in- 
structed to  report  to-morrow  morning,  May  7,  at  9 
o'clock. 

announced.8  Bishop  Andre ws  announced  the  Committees  on  Rules 
of  Order,  Acknowledging  the  Reception  Tendered 
the  General  Conference,  Memorials,  and  American 
Bible  Society.    (See  Committees,  p.  377.) 

The  following  paper,  presented  by  W.  M.  Swindells, 
was  adopted : 

Catered  Whereas,  The  Chartered  Fund,  organized  in  1796,  has  completed  a 
century  of  its  beneficence,  and  although  its  capital  is  only  about 
$50,000,  it  has  declared  dividends  to  Conference  claimants  a  sum 
three  times  the  amount  of  its  capital  stock ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  recommend  that  during  1896 
each  pastor  of  each  charge  in  the  Church  shall  so  present  the  benevo- 
lent features  of  the  Fund  to  his  congregation  that  its  capital  stock  may 
be  increased  to  a  sum  worthy  of  the  cause  and  creditable  to  the  Church. 


Examina- 
tion of  un- 
dergradu- 
ates. 


On  motion  of  Lewis  Curts,  the  report  of  the  Book 
Committee  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 

J.  W.  Stewart  moved  that  each  Annual  Conference 
shall  determine  its  own  methods  for  the  examination  of 
undergraduates  pursuing  the  course  of  study  for  the 
traveling  connection.  Referred  to  Committee  on  Itin- 
erancy. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


101 


I.  L.  Thomas  presented  the  following: 

Whereas,  Dr.  Morris,  fraternal  delegate  from  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  South,  presented  to  this  General  Conference,  in  his  address 
on  May  4,  the  request  from  the  General  Conference  of  the  aforesaid 
Church  South,  that  our  General  Conference  now  in  session  appoint  a 
commission  of  nine  persons  on  Church  Federation,  consisting  of  three 
bishops  and  three  ministers  and  three  laymen,  to  confer  with  a  similar 
number  already  selected  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

Resolved,  That  such  commission  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of 
Bishops,  and  announced  to  this  body. 

W.  V.  Kelley,  as  a  privileged  question,  presented  the 

following,  and  moved  its  adoption  : 

We  express  our  profound  gratification  at  the  courteous  messages  of 
Christian  love  officially  delivered  on  Monday  evening  by  the  Rev.  J.  C. 
Morris,  D.D.,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  the  honored  fraternal  delegate  sent 
to  this  body  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  our  warm 
reciprocation  of  the  sentiments  conveyed,  as  well  as  our  appreciation  of 
his  thoughtful,  scholarly,  and  able  address  upon  a  high  spiritual 
theme,  and  of  his  gentle  and  dignified  bearing  under  painfully  trying 
circumstances  while  among  us.  We  record  with  inexpressible  sorrow 
our  intense  mortification  that,  through  a  most  unfortunate  misunder- 
standing between  committees,  Dr.  Morris  was  in  no  way  properly  cared 
for  and  entertained.  We  lament  that  this  mistake,  made  on  his 
arrival,  was  discovered  only  when  it  was  too  late,  not  for  explanation, 
but  for  making  such  amends  as  we  wished,  and  also  that  between  the 
time  of  the  appointment  of  the  Committee  on  Fraternal  Delegates  at 
the  close  of  the  session  on  Monday  morning  and  Dr.  Morris's  departure 
from  the  city  there  was  no  opportunity  for  his  introduction  to  this  Con- 
ference. 

We  deplore  the  fact  that  by  unwitting  mistakes  of  arrangement, 
and  the  brevity  of  Dr.  Morris's  stay,  the  members  of  this  body  were  de- 
prived of  the  privilege  of  such  personal  contact  and  intercourse  with 
him  as  they  desired,  as  his  fraternal  visit  naturally  invited,  and  as  his 
eminently  Christian  spirit  would  have  made  delightful  to  us. 

We  beg  to  assure  Dr.  Morris,  and  the  great  Church  whose  greeting 
he  was  officially  charged  to  bring  us,  that  only  a  most  extraordinary 
chapter  of  lamentable  accidents  prevented  him  from  receiving  the  kind 
of  reception  due  to  so  eminent  a  guest  on  an  embassy  of  love  from  an 
honorable,  distinguished,  and  respected  Christian  communion,  and  due 
also  to  our  own  credit  and  self-respect  as  the  recipients  of  such  an  em- 
bassy, and  the  hosts  of  such  a  guest. 

We  devoutly  implore  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  Universal  that  no 
misunderstanding  may  arise  to  retard  the  steady  growth  of  mutual  re- 
spect and  affection  between  which  Dr.  Morris  is  a  fit  and  capable  mes- 
senger. 

J.  M.  Buckley  offered  the  following  amendment: 

That  we  cordially  invite  Dr.  Morris  to  visit  us  before  the  close  of  the 
session  that  he  may  be  introduced  to  the  body,  and  that  we  may  be 
able  to  extend  to  him  the  hospitality  which  he  has  a  right  to  claim  and 
which  reciprocity  requires  us  to  manifest  to  any  delegate  from  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

The  amendment  was  accepted  by  W.  V.  Kelley,  and 

the  resolutions,  as  amended,  were  adopted. 

The  Order  of  the  Day  was  taken  up. 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  to  recommit  the  majority  and 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 
Church 
federation. 


Rev.  Dr. 
Morris. 


102 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 

Eligibility 
reports  re- 
committed. 


Church 
federation. 


Rev.  Dr. 
Morris. 


minority  reports  to  the  Committee  on  Eligibility,  with 
instructions  to  find,  if  possible,  a  common  ground  of 
agreement,  and  report  after  the  reading  of  the  Journal 
to-morrow  morning.  Carried. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  the  committee  was  granted 
all  additional  power. 

The  Conference  resumed  consideration  of  the  paper 
of  I.  L.  Thomas,  and,  on  motion  of  John  Lanahan,  it 
was  adopted. 

W.  V.  Kelley  moved  to  reconsider  that  part  of  the 
paper  adopted  this  morning  relating  to  Dr.  J.  C. 
Morris,  containing  the  amendment  of  J.  M.  Buckley. 
Passed. 

He  then  presented  a  paper  which,  after  incorporating 
a  part  of  the  aforesaid  amendment,  was  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  we  earnestly  request  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Morris, 
fraternal  delegate  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  to  re- 
turn to  Cleveland  as  our  guest  during  the  session,  that  he  may  be  in- 
troduced to  the  body,  and  that  we  may  be  able  to  extend  to  him  the 
hospitality  which  he  has  a  right  to  claim,  and  which  reciprocity  requires 
us  to  manifest  to  any  delegate  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  and  for  a  proper  public  reception  on  May  18,  with  his  associate, 
the  Hon.  E.  B.  Perkins,  the  lay  fraternal  delegate,  who  informs  us  that 
he  will  be  here  at  that  time  to  fulfill  his  duties  as  a  messenger  to  this 
body. 


A  copy  of 
the  Journal 
to  each  dele- 
gate. 


Committees 
announced. 


The  call  of  Conferences  was  resumed. 

On  motion  of  J.  G.  Eckman,  the  Publishing  Agents 
at  New  York  were  instructed  to  forward,  by  mail  or 
otherwise,  a  copy  of  the  Journal  of  this  General  Con- 
ference to  each  of  the  delegates  of  the  Conference  and 
to  each  of  the  Bishops. 

T.  B.  Neely  moved  that  the  several  districts  at  once 
report  their  nominations  of  appointments  of  the  several 
committees  that  have  been  ordered. 

The  motion  prevailed,  and  the  Committees  on  Con- 
stitution, Judiciary,  Lay  Representation,  and  Consolida- 
tion of  Benevolence  were  announced. 

The  Bishops  were  requested  to  add  three  of  their 
number  to  the  Committee  on  Constitution. 

Andrew  Schriver  moved  that  when  the  committees 
shall  be  duly  organized  and  completed,  the  Secretary 
shall  have  printed  the  committees  and  officers  of  the 
committees,  and  the  place  and  time  of  meeting  of 
these  committees,  on  a  suitable  piece  of  paper,  so  it  can 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


103 


Secretary  to 
furnish  in- 
formation 

and  station- 
ery. 


Solemniz- 
ing mar- 
riage. 


be  put  in  the  hands  of  every  delegate;  and  that  the  2^H®Ay 
Secretary  be  instructed  to  furnish  the  secretaries  of  Morning. 
these    committees    with    the    necessary  stationery. 
Adopted. 

On  motion  of  F.  M.  Bristol,  the  secretary  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Entertainment  was  instructed  to  furnish  the 
Secretary  with  the  places  where  the  committees  are  to 
meet. 

Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology  was  sung,  and 
the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Bishop  H.  W. 
Warren. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary : 

CENTRAL  ILLINOIS. 

J.  G.  Evans  presented  the   following  resolution, 

which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Whereas,  Marriage  is  not  a  sacrament,  but  the  solemnizing  of  a  civil 
contract  in  harmony  with  God's  ordination  of  the  marriage  and  family 
relation ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  highly  important  that  pastors  be  authorized  to  solem- 
nize marriage ;  therefore,  * 

Resolved,  That  all  pastors,  whether  ordained  ministers  or  local 
preachers,  shall  be  authorized  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony  in  all 
places  where  the  civil  statute  does  not  confine  this  right  to  ordained 
ministers. 

EAST  OHIO. 

D.  H.  Muller  presented  the  following  resolution, 
signed  by  himself,  respecting  the  election  of  additional 
Bishops,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  be  requested  to  consult 
with  the  Board  of  Bishops  and  to  report  to  the  General  Conference,  on 
or  before  the  tenth  day  of  May,  whether  in  their  judgment  and  in  the 
judgment  of  the  Committee  any  additional  Bishops,  and  how  many,  are 
necessary  for  the  Episcopal  work  of  the  coming  quadrennium. 

IOWA. 

T.  J.  Myers  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 

Whereas,  The  New  Testament  clearly  recognizes  the  order  of 
evangelists  in  the  Church  ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  is  a  growing  demand  for  the  labors  of  such  persons 
as  may  be  called  an  efficient  in  evangelistic  work  ;  and, 

Wltereas,  This  demand  has  brought  into  the  field  many  self-con- 
stituted, irresponsible,  and  unreliable  persons  who,  in  instances  not  a 
few,  have  caused  divisions  in  the  Church  by  teaching  heretical  doctrines 
and  introducing  fanatical  practices,  also  by  disregarding  the  constituted 
authority  of  the  Church ;  therefore,  be  it 


Additional 
Bishops. 


Evangelists 


104 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  6«        Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  make  such  provision  for  the 
*  official  recognition  and  appointment  of  duly  credited  persons,  ordained 
or  unordained,  to  the  evangelistic  work. 


Morning. 


KENTUCKY. 

Daniel  Stevenson  presented  the  following  resolutions, 
which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
the  Church  : 


Salaries  of 
officers. 


Change  in 
Historical 
Statement. 


Authority  of 
unordained 
preachers. 


,  Whereas,  The  salaries  of  all  the  Pastors  and  Presiding  Elders  of  the 
Church  are  regularly  reported  and  published  in  the  Minutes  of  the 
Annual  Conferences  ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  proper  that  one  law  should  apply  to  all  who  are  sup- 
ported by  the  Church  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  salary  of  every  person  who  holds  office  by 
General  Conference  election,  together  with  what  is  paid  him  for 
traveling  or  other  expenses,  be  published  in  any  regular  annual  finan- 
cial report  that  may  issue  from  his  department  of  the  work  of  the 
Church. 

2.  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that  the  salaries 
of  the  officers  elected  by  it  should  not  be  exceptionally  large  as  com- 
pared with  the  salaries  of  the  pastors  in  the  leading  charges  in  the  cities 
in  which  such  officers  are  compelled  to  reside  ;  and  especially  the 
salaries  of  officers  of  the  societies  supported  by  the  contributions  of 
the  members  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  the  following;  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals  : 

Resolved,  That  the  following  change  be  made  in  the  Historical 
Statement,  page  13,  fourth  paragraph.  Instead  of  the  language  be- 
ginning with  the  words,  "  In  the  year  1766  Philip  Embury,"  and 
ending  with  the  words,  at  the  top  of  page  14,  "  preaching  there  and 
forming  societies,"  let  this  part  of  the  paragraph  read .  as  follows: 
"About  the  year  1759  or  1760  Robert  Strawbridge,  a  Wesleyan  local 
preacher  from  Ireland,  settled  in  Frederick  County,  Maryland,  and 
about  the  year  1764  organized  a  class  and  soon  thereafter  built  a 
church  there.  In  the  year  1766  Philip  Embury,  another  Wesleyan 
local  preacher  from  Ireland,  began  to  preach  in  New  York  city,  and 
formed  a  Society,  now  John  Street  Church  ;  and  another  local  preacher, 
Thomas  Webb,  Captain  in  the  British  army,  preached  in  the  hired  room 
near  the  barracks." 

MICHIGAN. 

M.  M.  Callen  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Revisals  are  hereby  requested  to 
consider  the  desirability  of  adding  a  paragraph  to  Chapter  VI  in  the 
Discipline  on  Quarterly  Conferences,  as  follows : 

"  When  an  unordained  preacher,  either  local  or  traveling,  shall  be 
appointed  as  preacher  in  charge  of  any  circuit  or  station,  the  Quarterly 
Conference  of  such  circuit  or  station  may  at  its  discretion,  upon  the 
recommendation  of  the  Presiding  Elder,  confer  upon  such  unordained 
preacher  authority  to  solemnize  matrimony  and  to  administer  bapti.sm 
within  the  bounds  of  the  circuit  or  station  to  which  he  has  been  ap- 
pointed ;  but  such  authority  must  in  all  cases  terminate  with  the  close 
of  the  preacher's  pastoral  relation  to  that  charge." 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


105 


NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 
J.  B.  Hingeley  presented  the  following  resolution, 
was  which  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education : 

Resolved,  That,  in  arranging  the  Course  of  Study  for  traveling 
preachers,  the  Bishops  be  directed  to  include  a  series  of  text-books  on 
the  subject  of  sociology. 

NORTH  NEBRASKA. 

T.  L.  Matthews  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church: 

Whereas,  Under  the  laws  as  they  now  are  governing  the  Methodist 
Church  the  membership  have  practically  no  power,  except  the  expres- 
sion of  an  opinion,  that  cannot  be  overcome  by  the  vote  of  one  fourth 
and  one  ministers  ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  on  all  questions  that  are  of  sufficient 
importance  to  submit  to  the  vote  of  the  Annual  Conference  that  the 
membership  should  have  a  voice  and  a  vote  that  would  count  for  some- 
thing ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  be  and  is 
hereby  instructed  to  prepare  such  legislation  as  may  be  necessary  to 
the  end  that  on  all  questions  submitted  to  the  Annual  Conferences 
the  membership  may  also  vote  and  have  their  votes  counted. 

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 
W.  S.  Matthew  presented  the  following  resolution, 
signed  by  himself  and  two  others,  concerning  the  ad- 
mission of  laymen  in  the  Annual  Conference,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation: 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  the  time  has  come  when,  under  proper 
safeguards,  laymen  should  be  admitted  to  representation  in  the  Annual 
Conference. 

WEST  WISCONSIN. 

W.  J.  McKay  presented  the  following  resolution, 

which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  the  Book  Agents  be  requested  to  print  our  Articles 
of  Religion  and  General  Rules  in  all  further  editions  of  the  Church 
Hymnal. 

The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

ARKANSAS. 

J.  H.  Clendenning  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Lay 
Electoral  Conference  asking  for  subsidies  to  papers. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

Also,  a  memorial  from  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference 
asking  for  equal  lay  and  .ministerial  representation. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation. 

Also,  one  from  the  Arkansas  Electoral  Conference  re- 
lating to  consolidation  of  educational  societies.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Benevolences. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Da  v 

Morning. 


Course  of 
Study. 


Church 
member- 
ship more 

power. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


Articles  of 
Religion  in. 
HymnaL 


Subsidies  to 
papers. 


Equal  rep- 
resentation. 


Consolida- 
tion of  ed- 
ucational 
societies. 


106 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 
Admission 
of  women. 


Little  Rock 
University. 


Conference 
treasurer. 


Time  limit. 


Also,  one  from  the  same  Conference  relating  to  the 
admission  of  women  as  delegates  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation. 

J.  H.  Clendening  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Education: 

Whereas,  There  is  within  the  borders  of  the  Arkansas  Conference 
an  educational  institution  in  which  is  invested  upward  of  $60,000,  and, 
to  the  discredit  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  has  for  some  time 
remained  closed ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  record  of  our  Church  is  that  it  is  a  Church  of  progress 
that  makes  no  retrograde  movements  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  by  the  Arkansas  Lay  Electoral  Conference,  That  the  Little 
Eock  University  should  be  rehabilitated  and  placed  upon  such  a  busi- 
ness footing  as  will  inspire  the  confidence  of  the  preachers  of  the 
Arkansas  Conference  and  members  and  friends  of  our  Church  in  its 
permanency  ;  and  when  the  Church  and  laity  have  done  what  they  can, 
the  great  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  do  whatever  may  be  found 
necessary  to  supplement  their  labors,  and  to  make  it  a  Methodist  Epis- 
copal success. 

BALTIMORE. 

W.  S.  Edwards  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
George  Maydwell,  Secretary  of  the  Baltimore  Confer- 
ence, respecting  the  election  of  Conference  treasurer. 
Referred  to  Committee  on  Revisals. 

John  Lanahan  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Balti- 
more Conference  concerning  the  time  limit.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


San  Fran- 
cisco Book 
Depository. 


Donations 
of  books. 


Time  limit. 


Church 
insurance. 


CALIFORNIA. 

M.  D.  Buck  presented  a  memorial  from  A.  T.  Need- 
ham  and  others  concerning  the  relation  of  the  San 
Francisco  Book  Depository.  Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  Book  Concern. 

Also,  one  from  the  Conference  asking  for  donations 
of  books  to  the  United  States  Army.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

Also,  one  from  the  California  Conference  concerning 
the  time  limit.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itin- 
erancy. 

Also,  one  relating  to  church  insurance,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


CENTRAL  ILLINOIS. 


Missionary 


Department      3amuel  Van  Pelt  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  E. 
League.     N.  Edgerton  and  others,  respecting  Missionary  Depart- 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


107 


merit  in  Epwortk  League.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Epworth  League. 

J.  G.  Evans  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself 
and  others,  concerning  the  examination  of  local 
preachers.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

Also,  one  regarding  the  use  of  unfermented  wine  for 
communion  purposes.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  the  Wenona  Quar- 
terly Conference  relating  to  the  probationary  system. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Dai' 
Morning. 

Local 
preachers. 


Unfer- 
mented 
wine. 


Probation- 
ers. 


Quarterly 
Confer- 
ences. 


Pastors' 
statistical 
reports. 


Evangelists 


Amuse- 
ments. 


Time  limit. 


CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 

R.  D.  Munger  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
time  for  the  Quarterly  Conferences.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  M.  P.  Blakeslee 
on  the  subject  of  pastors'  statistical  reports.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Central  New 
York  Conference  concerning  evangelists.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

T.  R.  Green  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Epworth 
League  of  Syracuse  District  on  the  subject  of  amuse- 
ments.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Syracuse 
Methodist  Preachers'  Meeting  on  the  removal  of  the 
time  limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

CENTRAL  OHIO. 
J.  L.  Albrittoh  presented  a  memorial  from  twenty- 
seven  Quarterly  Conferences  of  Toledo  District  and 
the  Methodist  Preachers'  Meeting  of  Toledo  relating 
to  presidents  of  Ladies'  Aid  Societies.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

CENTRAL  SWEDISH. 

J.  F.  Wigren  presented  memorials  by  Alfred  Ander-  Boundaries, 
son  and  others,  by  Martin  Hess  and  others,  and  by  O. 
Bs  Sjotrolm  and  others.    Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Boundaries. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  K.  H. 
Elmstrom  and  others,  respecting  report  of  Publication 


Ladies'  Aid 
Societies. 


Publication 
Committee. 


108 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 
Morning. 


Epworth 
League. 


Equal  rep- 
resentation. 


Reunion  of 
Churches. 


Work  of 
Bishops. 


Changes  in 
Discipline. 


Time  limit. 


Committee,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
Book  Concern. 

CINCINNATI. 

G.  B.  Johnson  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  W. 
E.  Brooks,  respecting  the  printing  of  Epworth  League 
statistics  in  Annual  Conference  Minutes.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

Also,  one  from  the  Lay  Association  of  Cincinnati  Con- 
ference calling  for  equal  lay  and  ministerial  representa- 
tion. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation. 

Also,  one  from  the  same  association  looking  toward 
an  early  reunion  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

Also,  one  from  the  same  association  concerning  the 
the  work  of  the  Bishops.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Episcopacy. 

Also,  one  from  the  same  association  asking  for  cer- 
tain changes  in  the-  Discipline.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals. 

Also,  one  from  the  same  association  relating  to  the 
time  limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


Insurance 
of  church 
property. 


Pastoral 
support. 


Preachers 
without  ap- 
pointment. 


COLORADO. 

D.  L.  Rader  presented  from  the  Rocky  Ford  Quarterly 
Conference  a  memorial  concerning  insurance  of  church 
property.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Church  Ex- 
tension. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  H.  M.  Mayo  con- 
cerning pastoral  support.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Temporal  Economy. 

Also,  one  from  W.  F.  Steel  relating  to  leaving 
preachers  without  appointment  to  attend  school.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Education. 


Change  of 
name  of 
society. 


Enabling 
act. 


DELAWARE. 

H.  A.  Monroe  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self and  others,  asking  for  a  change  of  name  of  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid. 

J.  H.  Scott  presented  from  the  Delaware  Conference 
a  memorial  asking  for  an  enabling  act.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Confereiice. 


109 


DES  MOINES.  MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

L.  M.  Shaw  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself,  Morning. 
concerning  the  employment  of  preachers  or  evangelists.  Evaneellsts 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

DETROIT. 

W.  H.  Shier  presented  a  memorial  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Methodist  magazine.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Book  Concern. 

Also,  one  concerning  young  people's  societies.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

Also,  one  from  the  Preachers'  Meeting  of  Detroit  for 
a  revision  of  the  Discipline  concerning  certificates  of 
removal.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

EAST  MAINE. 

A  memorial  was  presented,  signed  by  D.  H.  Tribou 
and  J.  H.  W.  Wharff,  concerning  sociology.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

EAST  OHIO. 

D.  H.  Muller  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  the 
Methodist  Ministers'  Meeting  of  Cleveland  concerning 
episcopal  residences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Episcopacy. 

Also,  one  signed  by  F.  L.  Chalker  and  others  respect- 
ing a  Book  Depository.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  Book  Concern. 

ERIE. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  and  others  presented  a  memorial 
concerning  the  "  Itinerant's  School  of  Literature  and 
Theology."    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education. 

A.  J.  Merchant  presented  a  memorial  recommending 
to  revise  certain  paragraphs  in  the  Discipline  relating 
to  full  membership.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

GENESEE. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  the  Buffalo  Preach- 
ers' Meeting  relating  to  the  time  limit.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

IDAHO. 

J.  D.  McCulley  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  the  Boundaries. 
Quarterly  Conferences  of  the  Oregon  District.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Methodist 
magazine. 


Young  peo- 
ple's so- 
cieties. 


Certificates 
of  removal. 


Sociology. 


Episcopal 
residences. 


Book  De- 
pository. 


Itinerant's 
School. 


Full  mem- 
bership. 


Time  limit. 


110 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 

Consolida- 
tion of  be- 
nevolences. 


Election  of 
General 

Conference 
officers. 


Bishops  and 
presiding 
elders. 


Change  in 
Discipline. 


Smaller 
hymnal. 


Boundaries. 


Episcopal 
residence  in 
Europe. 


Central 
Council  in 
Europe. 


Central 
Standing 
Committee. 


INDIANA. 

H.  J.  Talbott  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Central 
Presiding  Elders'  Convention  concerning  consolidation 
of  benevolent  societies.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Consolidation  of  Benevolences. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Central  Pre- 
siding Elders'  Convention  concerning  the  election  of 
General  Conference  officers.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  concerning  districting 
the  Bishops  and  coordinate  power  for  Presiding  Elders. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

IOWA. 

C.  L.  Stafford  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Iowa 
Conference  asking  for  a  change  in  the  Discipline  pro- 
viding that  unordained  pastors  may  solemnize  marriage 
under  State  laws.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself,  con- 
cerning the  publishing  of  a  smaller  hymnal.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Laurel  Street 
Mission  and  Pittsfield  Mission,  Iowa,  and  of  Springfield 
and  Pittsfield,  111.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

ITALY. 

William  Burt,  in  behalf  of  the  Central  Council  of 
Conferences  and  Missions  in  Europe,  presented  a  me- 
morial for  the  establishment  of  an  episcopal  residence 
in  Europe.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episco- 
pacy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  J.  M.  Erik- 
son  and  William  Burt,  respecting  a  Central  Council  in 
Europe.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Church  Exten- 
sion. 

JAPAN. 

Eiji  Asada  presented  from  the  Lay  Electoral  Confer- 
ence a  memorial  for  the  establishment  of  a  Central 
Standing  Committee,  and  one  for  lay  representatives 
in  the  Annual  Conference,  and  one  concerning  the  time 
limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 

Yoitsu  Honda  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Annual 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


Ill 


Conference  for  lay  representation  in  the  Conference,    MAY  *». 

J       r  '   Fifth  Day 

which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions,  and  Morning- 

one  from  the  Conference  asking  for  an  episcopal  resi-  sentatftif." 
dence,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy. 

He  also  presented  a  petition  from  the  Fukuoka  and  Boundaries. 
Nagasaki  District  Conferences.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Boundaries. 

Eiji  Asada  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Japan  Lay  Time  limit. 
Electoral  Conference  asking  for  the  removal  of  the  time 
limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


LEXIXGTOX. 

E.  W.  S.  Hammond  presented  a  memorial  from  the 
Lexington  Annual  Conference  asking  for  an  enabling 
act  for  the  division  of  the  Conference  into  two  Annual 
Conferences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Bound- 
aries. 

LOUISIANA. 

J.  F.  Marshall  presented  a  memorial  from  the 
Louisiana  Conference  asking  for  an  enabling  act  per- 
mitting the  division  of  the  Conference.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Enabling 
act. 


Enabling 
act.  « 


MEXICO. 

J.  W.  Butler  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Mexico 
Conference  concerning  the  Mexico  Christian  Advocate. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


Mexico 
Christian 
Advocate. 


MICHIGAN. 

Levi  Master  presented  a  memorial  asking  a  reduction  p* 
in  the  term  of  probationary  membership, 
the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


•obation- 
ary  mem- 

Referred  to  bership- 


MISSOURI. 

J.  H.  Poland  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self and  others,  asking  that  some  relief  be  given  to 
unordained  ministers  as  to  administering  the  rite  of 
baptism  and  solemnizing  matrimony.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Confer- 
ence asking  that  changes  be  made  in  Discipline  relative 
to  probation.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State 
of  the  Church. 
8 


Baptism 
and  sol- 
emnizing 
matrimony. 


Probation- 
ers. 


112 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 
Morning. 
1 101. 


Support  of 
pastors. 


Definition 
of  bound- 
aries. 


Missionary 
collection. 


Election  of 
officers. 


Duties  of 
deacons. 


Boston 
University. 


He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Con- 
ference relating  to  paragraph  101  of  the  Discipline. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church. 

J.  J.  Bentley  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self and  J.  I.  Ware,  concerning  the  support  of  pastors. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 
NEWARK. 

S.  L.  Baldwin  presented  certified  definition  of 
boundaries,  signed  by  John  F.  Dodd,  Secretary  of 
the  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Bound- 
aries. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Confer- 
ence concerning  missionary  collection.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Missions. 

H.  A.  Buttz  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New- 
ark Conference  concerning  election  of  General  Con- 
ference officers.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

Memorials  were  presented  from  the  Newark  Confer- 
ence and  Roseville  Church  concerning  duties  of 
deacons.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
the  Church. 

NEW  ENGLAND. 
W.  F.  Warren  presented  the  Quadrennial  Report  of 
Boston  University  School  of  Theology.    Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Education. 


Missionary 

work 
among  the 
French. 


Home  De- 
partment of 
Sunday 
schools. 


Change  in 
H  351. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
S.  E.  Quimby  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New 
Hampshire    Conference    concerning  missionary  work 
among  the  French.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mis- 
sions. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Con- 
ference asking  that  the  General  Conference  take  action 
relative  to  the  Home  Department  of  Sunday  schools. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and 
Tracts. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

J.  L.  Roe  presented  a  memorial  recommending  the 
change  of  paragraph  351  of  the  Discipline.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


113 


NEW  YORK  EAST.  MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

G.  E.  Reed  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New  Morning. 
York  East  Conference  relating  to  the  time  limit.    Re-  Time  limit- 
ferred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


NORTH  CHINA. 

H.  H.  Lowry  presented  a  memorial  from  the  North  r^d|cn°cpeai 
China  Conference  requesting  an  episcopal  residence  in 
Eastern  Asia.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 


Eastern 
Asia. 


NORTH  DAKOTA. 
J.  D.  Wallace  presented  a  memorial  from  the  North 
Dakota  Lay  Electoral  Conference  relating  to  lay  dele- 
gation.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Represen- 
tation. 

NORTH  INDIA. 

E.  W.  Parker  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Central 
Conference  of  India  asking  for  several  changes  in  the 
Discipline.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Confer- 
ence on  the  subject  of  missionary  episcopacy.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 

E.  W.  Parker  presented  a  memorial  on  the  financial 
situation.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 


Lay  dele- 
gates. 


Changes  in 
Discipline. 


Missionary 
episcopacy. 


Financial 
situation. 


NORTH  INDIANA. 

W.  D.  Parr  presented  a  memorial  on  revising  the 
Ritual.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

H.  N.  Herrick  presented  a  memorial  with  reference 
to  the  Committee  on  Estimating  the  Pastors'  Salaries. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 

He  also  presented  one  relating  to  superannuated  and 
supernumerary  preachers.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

A.  E.  Mahin  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  M.  A. 
Harlan,  respecting  boundaries.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Boundaries. 

W.  D.  Parr  presented  a  memorial  on  behalf  of  C.  M. 
Moore,  et  al,  to  amend  paragraph  88  of  the  Discipline. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

II.  N.  Herrick  presented  from  the  delegation  a  me- 
morial concerning  the  Sunday  School  Board.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts. 


Ritual. 


Pastors* 
salaries. 


Superan- 
nuated and 

supernu- 
merary 
preachers. 

Boundaries. 


Sunday 
School 
Board. 


114 

MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 
Boundaries. 


Time  iimit. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


1  170. 


Course  of 
Study. 


Missionary 
Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the 
Epworth 
League. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


Boundaries. 


Probation- 
ary system. 


Boundaries. 


Church 
paper. 


A.  E.  Mahin  presented  memorials  from  the  Quarterly- 
Conferences  of  Kokomo  District  and  Goshen  District, 
from  Broadway,  Market  Street,  and  Wheatland  Street 
Churches  of  Logansport,  and  from  E.  L.  Seaman.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 

J.  B.  Hingeley  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, concerning  the  removal  of  the  time  limit.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  a  change  in 
paragraph  170,  section  3,  of  the  Discipline.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  C.  M.  Heard  and 
others  relating  to  Course  of  Study.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

NORTHERN  NEW  YORK. 
C.  J.  Little  presented  a  memorial  from  teachers  and 
students  of  the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute  asking  for  a 
Missionary  Vice  President  of  the  Epworth  League.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

NORTH  NEBRASKA. 
T.  L.  Matthews  presented  from  the  Lay  Electoral 
Conference  a  memorial  concerning  lay  representation. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation. v 

NORTH  OHIO. 

W.  F.  Whitlock  presented  the  minutes  of  the  boundary 
commission  of  the  North  Ohio  and  the  Central  Ohio  Con- 
ferences.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 
NORTHWEST  INDIANA. 

Allen  Lewis  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself, 
concerning  the  modifying  of  the  probationary  system. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

W.  H.  Hickman  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of 
the  presiding  elders  of  the  Northwest  Indiana  Confer- 
ence concerning  the  boundary  line  of  their  Conference. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

NORWAY. 

Andres  Olsen  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, respecting  a  Church  paper.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Book  Concern. 


1896. J  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


115 


MA  Y  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 


Baptized 


children. 


NORWEGIAN  AND  DANISH.  , 
N.  E.  Simonsen  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, respecting  Church  relation  of  baptized  children. 
Referred  to  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself  and  Boundaries- 
M.  J.  Rihl,  respecting  the  division  of  the  Norwegian 
and  Danish  Conference.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  for  a  subsidy  to  the 
Talsmand.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 

OKLAHOMA. 

J.  F.  Palmer  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Okla- 
homa Conference  relating  to  Quarterly  Conferences. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


Subsidy. 


Quarterly 
Conferences 


OREGON. 

G.  W.  Gue  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Oregon 
Conference  relating  to  the  Pacific  Christian  Advocate. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

John  Parsons  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Oregon 
Conference  relating  to  episcopal  residence.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


Pacific 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Episcopal 
residence. 


PHILADELPHIA. 

S.  W.  Thomas  presented  a  memorial  from  Miss  M. 
R.  Burton  for  a  change  of  Catechism  No.  1.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  for  the  liquidation  of 
Church  debts.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Tem- 
poral Economy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Philadelphia 
Lay  Electoral  Conference  relating  to  the  election  of 
stewards.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal 
Economy. 

J.  E.  James  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Lay 
Electoral  Conference  of  Philadelphia  Conference  re- 
lating to  lay  delegates.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Lay  Representation. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

Lewis  Curts  presented  the  report  of  the  Western 
Book  Concern.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 


Catechism 
No.  1. 


Church 
debts. 


Stewards. 


Lay  dele- 
gates. 


Report  of 
Western 
Book  Con- 
cern. 


116 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 

Morning. 
Evangelists 
Time  limit. 


Mission 
Confer- 
ences. 


Missionary 
Bishops. 


Division  of 
South 
America 
Conference. 


Southwest- 
ern Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate. 


1 1  254,  261. 


Lay  dele- 
gates. 


Evangelists 


Time  limit. 


Boundaries. 


Freedmen's 
Aid  and 
Southern 
Education 
Society. 


P.  H.  Swift  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Board  of 
Examination  concerning  evangelists,  and  one  from  the 
Chicago  Preachers'  Meeting  relating  to  the  time  limit. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

C.  W.  Drees  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
erection  of  Mission  Conferences  for  the  west  coast  of 
South  America,  ana  an  enabling  act  for  Annual  Con- 
ference organization. 

Also,  a  memorial  relating  to  the  election  of  Mis- 
sionary Bishops  and  providing  for  an  episcopal  resi- 
dence in  South  America. 

Also,  a  memorial  concerning  the  division  of  the  South 
America  Conference.  They  were  all  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Missions. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

J.  E.  Wilson  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  change 
of  location  of  the  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 
SOUTH  GERMANY. 

A.  G.  Bruns  presented  a  memorial  requesting  a 
change  in  paragraphs  254  and  261  of  the  Discipline. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

TEXAS. 

T.  A.  Fortson  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, concerning  lay  delegates.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals. 

TROY. 

J.  H.  Coleman  presented  a  memorial  on  the  subject 
of  Conference  evangelists.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  time 
limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 
UPPER  MISSISSIPPI. 

Richard  Sewell  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Quar- 
terly Conference  of  Shrock  Circuit  concerning  bound- 
aries.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

P.  O.  Jamison  presented  a  memorial  concerning  a 
proposed  change  of  name  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Education  Society.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


117 


He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself, 
concerning  the  Southxoestern  Christian  Advocate.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


MAY  6. 

Fifth  Day 
Morning. 
Southwest- 
ern Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate. 


WASHINGTON. 

W.  H.  Brooks  presented   a  memorial,  signed   by  Time  limit- 
himself  and  three  others,  asking  that  the  time  limit  be 
not  removed.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itiner- 
ancy. 

WEST  WISCONSIN. 
W.  J.  McKay  presented  the  appeal  of  S.  S.  Benedict  t^g^?: 
from  the  rulings  of  Bishop  Fowler.    Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Judiciary. 


WESTERN  NORWEGIAN-DANISH. 
C.  J.  Larson  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself  pape? 
and  M.  Nelson,  respecting  a  Church  paper.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


WILMINGTON. 

Merritt  Hulburd  presented  the  following  memorial, 
signed  by  A.  S.  Mowbray,  Secretary  of  the  Wilming- 
ton Conference,  respecting  change  in  course  of  study, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education : 

Resolved,  L  That  the  General  Conference  be  and  is  hereby  petitioned 
to  so  change  the  Discipline  that  some  suitable  recognition  be  made  of 
the  educational  attainments  of  the  graduates  of  our  educational  institu- 
tions. 

2.  That  the  Board  of  Bishops  be  and  hereby  are  petitioned  to  so 
change  the  Course  of  Study  that  requirements  for  admission  in  one  of 
the  courses  of  study  shall  at  least  be  equal  to  the  curriculum  of  studies 
of  a  first-class  academy. 

Merritt  Hulburd  also  presented  the  following  memo- 
rial, signed  by  A.  S.  Mowbray,  respecting  removal  of 
the  time  limit,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Itinerancy: 

Whereat,  The  removal  of  the  time  limit  will,  in  all  probability,  come  Time  limit, 
before  the  ensuing  General  Conference ;  and, 

Whereas,  A  mere  majority  vote  of  the  General  Conference  is  suffi- 
cient to  effect  said  removal ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  the  removal  of  the  time  limit  would  ulti- 
mately result  in  the  total  destruction  of  the  historic  itinerancy  of 
Methodism ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  hereby  record  our  solemn  protest  against  such 
a  radical  change  in  our  economy  without  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Church  and  an  expression  by  the  Annual  Conferences. 


Change  in 
Course  of 
Study. 


118 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


iMAY  6.        2.  That  we  hereby  instruct  our  delegates  to  the  General  Conference 
Fifth  Day  tnat  they  shall  observe  and  carry  out  the  spirit  and  letter  of  this 
Morning.     paper  by  both  voice  and  vote  in  the  committee  room  and  on  the  floor 
of  the  General  Conference. 


Trustees  of 

local 
churches. 


Consolida- 
tion of 
Church 
papers. 


WISCONSIN. 

E.  S.  McChesney  presented  a  memorial  relating  to 
the  election  of  trustees  of  local  churches,  one  with 
reference  to  Electoral  Conferences,  one  referring  to 
stewards,  and  one  relating  to  the  superintendents  of 
Junior  League  Chapters.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

G.  H.  Trever  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself 
and  others,  respecting  deaconesses.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself  and 
others,  respecting  the  consolidation  of  the  Western, 
Northwestern,  and  Central  Christian  Advocates.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


Change  in 
Discipline. 


Time  limit. 


WYOMING. 

A.  J.  Van  Cleft  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself,  concerning  change  of  Discipline.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  the  following  memorial,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 

Wliereas,  In  all  probability  the  question  of  the  removal  of  the  time 
limit  will  come  before  the  next  General  Conference ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  such  removal  would  be  destructive  of 
our  historic  itinerancy ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  as  a  Conference  hereby  place  ourselves  upon 
record  against  any  change  looking  to  the  removal  of  the  time  limit  until 
the  majority  of  the  Church  membership  shall  demand  it,  and  the  con- 
currence of  three  fourths  of  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences 
shall  be  secured. 

2.  That  we  instruct  our  delegates  to  uphold  by  voice,  vote,  and 
influence  this  resolution. 

3.  That  this  resolution  is  not  to  be  construed  as  opposed  to  any 
plan  that  may  be  provided  for  exceptional  cases. 


may  7.  THURSDAY  MORNING,  MAY  7. 

Sixth  Day 


Morning.       The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m.. 

Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss  presiding. 
Devotional      The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  W.  N, 

services.  J 

Brodbeck,  of  the  New  England  Conference. 


1890. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


119 


Copy  of 
Journal  to 

fraternal 
delegates. 


Roll 
corrected. 


The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap-  g^crsDAT 

proved.  Morning. 

W.  N.  Brodbeck  moved  the  appointment  of  a  COm-  approved, 
mittee  of  eleven  on  deaconess  work,  to  be  appointed  by  Dewo°rkess 
the  Bishops,  to  which  all  matters  relating  to  that  work 
be  referred.    H.  G.  Whitlock  moved  that  the  commit- 
tee consist  of  one  from  each  General  Conference  Dis- 
trict and  one  at  large. 

The  amendment  was  lost,  and  the  original  resolution 
was  adopted. 

G.  D.  Lindsay  moved  that  a  copy  of  the  Journal  of 
this  General  Conference  be  sent  by  the  New  York  Book 
Concern  to  each  fraternal  delegate  who  has  visited  or 
may  visit  this  body.  Passed. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  moved  that  the  roll  be  corrected 
by  making  Charles  W.  Nichols  the  first  reserve  lay 
delegate  and  Gordon  B.  Chase  the  second  reserve  lay 
delegate,  the  ballots  cast  for  these  persons  having  so 
related  them.  Passed. 

J.  B.  Hingeley  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted : 

Whereas,  In  the  copy  of  the  roll  of  the  General  Conference,  as 
printed  in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate,  and  in  the  printed  roll  call  for 
the  use  of  the  Secretary,  the  name  of  Leonidas  Merritt  appears  as  the 
first  lay  delegate,  which  is  an  error;  and, 

Whereas,  The  official  Minutes  of  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  of  the 
Northern  Minnesota  Conference  show  that  Jacob  F.  Force  received  55 
votes  and  Leonidas  Merritt  47  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Conference  be  instructed  to 
make  the  necessary  correction  in  the  official  Journal  of  the  Conference 
and  in  the  printed  roll-call,  and  that  this  correction  be  made  in  the 
columns  of  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate. 

J.  H.  Coleman  moved  that  the  Order  of  the  Day,  Eligibility, 
the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Eligibility,  be  taken  up. 
Carried. 

The  report  was  presented  and  read  as  follows  : 

Your  Committee  on  Eligibility  respectfully  submits  the  following 
report : 

We  agree  on  the  following  points  : 

1.  That  the  question  of  eligibility  is  a  constitutional  question. 

2.  That  the  General  Conference  has  full  power,  in  its  judicial 
capacity,  to  interpret  the  Constitution,  the  question  being  raised  on 
&  case  which  properly  invokes  the  judicial  function. 

3.  That  the  terms  of  paragraph  62  are  such  as  to  admit  of  serious 
doubt,  and  raise  questions  on  which  your  committee  is  unable  to  agree.  • 

We  therefore  recommend  for  your  consideration,  first,  that  under 
paragraph  68  the  General  Conference  act  upon  the  following : 

That  section  2,  paragraph  67,  be  altered  by  striking  out  all  the 


120 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  7.  words  in  said  section  following  the  word  "  provided  "  in  the  fifth  line 
Sixth  Day  of  said  section,  and  substitute  the  following:  "That  no  person  shall 
Morning.  De  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference,  or  to  an  Electoral 
Conference,  who  shall  be  under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  or  who 
shall  not  have  been  a  member  of  the  Church  in  full  connection  for 
the  five  consecutive  years  preceding  the  election  ;  and  provided,  also, 
that  no  Conference  shall  be  denied  the  privilege  of  one  ministerial 
and  one  lay  delegate ;  provided,  nevertheless,  that  where  there  shall 
be  in  any  Conference  a  fraction  of  two  thirds  the  number  which  shall 
be  fixed  for  the  ratio  of  representation,  such  Conference  shall  be  en- 
titled to  an  additional  delegate  for  such  fraction,"  so  that  the  entire 
section  shall  read : 

"Sec.  2.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  more  than  one 
ministerial  representative  for  every  fourteen  members  of  an  Annual 
Conference,  nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  every  forty-five,  nor 
of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  any  Annual  Conference ;  provided, 
that  no  person  shall  be  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference, 
or  to  an  Electoral  Conference,  who  shall  be  under  twenty-five  years  of 
age,  or  who  shall  not  have  been  a  member  of  the  Church  in  full  con- 
nection for  the  five  consecutive  years  preceding  his  or  her  election ; 
and  provided,  also,  that  no  Conference  shall  be  denied  the  privilege  of 
one  ministerial  and  one  lay  delegate ;  provided,  nevertheless,  that 
where  there  shall  be  in  any  Conference  a  fraction  of  two  thirds  the 
number  which  shall  be  fixed  for  the  ratio  of  representation,  such  Con- 
ference shall  be  entitled  to  an  additional  delegate  for  such  fraction." 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  foregoing,  having  received  a  majority  of  two 
thirds  of  this  General  Conference,  the  Bishops  be  and  are  hereby  in- 
structed to  submit  to  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  at  their  first 
sessions  following  the  adjournment  of  this  General  Conference,  the 
foregoing  alteration  of  section  2  of  paragraph  67,  for  the  concurrence 
of  the  members  of  said  Annual  Conferences,  and  if  it  shall  be  found 
that  a  majority  of  three  fourths  of  all  the  members  of  the  several 
Annual  Conferences  concur  in  such  alteration,  they  shall  declare  the 
fact  through  the  official  papers  of  the  Church,  proclaiming  that  section 
2  of  paragraph  67  has  been  amended  as  above,  in  accordance  with  the 
provision  of  paragraph  68  of  the  Discipline. 

2.  That,  in  consideration  of  the  general  desire  for  the  early  and 
final  settlement  of  the  whole  question,  and  in  view  of  the  proposed 
submission  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  we  recommend  that  no  formal 
decision  of  the  question  of  eligibility  be  made  at  this  time. 

The  challenge  not  having  been  judicially  passed  upon  those  occupy- 
ing the  seats  in  question  do  so  under  a  title  in  dispute,  yet  without 
prejudice  to  the  rights  of  either  challengers  or  challenged,  and  without 
establishing  a  precedent.  Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  J.  Kynett,  Chairman. 
E.  T.  Nelson,  J.  S.  Hill,  L.  J.  Price,  H.  A.  Gobin,  Samuel  Dickie,  L. 
M.  Shaw,  Earl  Cranston,  T.  J.  Langston,  D.  H.  Moore,  J.  W. 
Hamilton,  J.  M.  Buckley,  C.  J.  Little,  T.  H.  Murrav,  J.  K 
Chaffee,  L.  0.  Jones,  W.  A.  Knighten,  W.  0.  Emory,  H.  R.  Brill, 
A.  W.  Harris,  H.  K.  Carroll,  S.  M.  Coon,  A.  B.  Leonard,  W.  F. 
T.  Bushnell,  J.  W.  Stewart,  J.  F.  Caples,  G.  R.  Townseud. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved  its  adoption. 

W.  F.  Warren  presented  the  following  as  a  substi- 
tute for  the  report : 

Whereas,  Prior  to  the  year  1872,  any  of  our  laws  relating  to  the 
Constitution  and  working  of  the  General  Conference,  except  those 
known  as  the  Restrictive  Rules,  could  properly  and  legally  be  changed 
by  a  majority  vote  of  those  who  originated  them ;  namely,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Annual  Conferences ;  and, 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


121 


Whereas,  Since  1872,  a  majority  of  the  same  voters,  when  acting  in     MAY  7. 
accordance  with  the  known  will  of  a  majority  of  the  laity  duly  entitled   Sixth  Day 
to  vote,  can  properly  and  legally  change  any  law  relating  to  the  Morning. 
General  Conference,  except  the  Restrictive  Rules ;  and, 

Whereas,  A  large  majority  both  of  the  members  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences and  of  the  laity  entitled  to  vote  are  known  to  favor  the 
eligibility  of  women  to  the  General  Conference;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  known  sentiment  of  a  large  majority 
of  the  ministry  and  laity  on  this  question,  and  also  in  view  of  the 
known  scruples  of  conscience  entertained  by  a  beloved  and  esteemed 
minority  touching  the  scripturalness  of  the  equal  eiligibility  and  authority 
of  men  and  women  in  the  government  of  the  Church  of  God,  we  hereby 
invite  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences  to  vote  at  their  regular 
sessions  in  the  year  1896-97  upon  this  question,  to  wit:  Shall  the 
following  paragraph  be  inserted  in  the  Discipline  immediately  after 
paragraph  58  of  the  Discipline  of  1892,  namely:  "Paragraph  59. 
Women,  duly  qualified,  may  be  chosen  as  lay  delegates  by  any  Elec- 
toral Conference,  the  male  members  of  which,  without  debate,  by  a 
majority  vote,  declare  their  judgment  that  women  should  be  eligible ; 
provided,  that  in  no  case  more  than  one  half  of  the  delegation  or  re- 
serve delegation  shall  be  women." 

Resolved,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Bishops  to  submit  the 
foregoing  question  to  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences  to  re- 
port to  the  Church  the  result  of  the  vote  as  soon  as  completed,  it  being 
understood  that  if  a  majority  of  those  present  and  voting  shall  favor 
the  insertion  of  the  proposed  paragraph  the  eligibility  of  women  will 
thereby  be  established  in  the  mode  and  to  the  extent  therein  provided. 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  manifest  ambiguity  of  the  actions  and 
omissions  of  action  on  the  part  of  previous  General  Conferences  rela- 
tive to  the  eligibility  of  women,  and  in  view  of  the  grave  dissensions 
which  their  admission  by  a  judicial  vote  of  this  Conference  would 
precipitate,  we  deem  it  premature  and  unwise  to  decide  at  this  time  the 
judicial  question  involved,  or  to  change  in  any  wise  the  present  statues 
of  the  four  women  elected  in  good  faith  by  the  Electoral  Conferences. 

On  motion  of  G.  P.  Mains  the  substitute  was  laid  on 
the  table. 

L.  F.  Wilson  moved  to  strike  out  so  much  of  the 
report  as  relates  to  the  declaration  of  the  right  of  this 
body  to  sit  as  a  judicial  body. 

On  motion  of  W.  D.  Cherington,  it  was  laid  on  the 
table. 

On  motion,  Rule  18  was  suspended. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved  the  adoption  of  the  first  three 
items  of  the  report,  which  was  carried.  He  then  moved 
the  adoption  of  the  last  section  of  the  report,  which  was 
also  adopted;  and  the  report,  as  a  whole,  was  then 
adopted.    (See  Report,  p.  417.) 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  that  we  proceed  to  call  the  roll 
on  the  proposition  to  adopt  this  by  this  General  Con- 
ference by  a  two  thirds  vote. 

J.  C.  Arbuckle  moved  to  postpone  until  10  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning. 


122 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


merit. 


sSthdaV      ^ev*  -M-aster  moved  to  amend  by  making  it  9  o'clock 

Morning.      tO-m01TOW  morning. 

Both  amendments  were  laid  on  the  table,  and  the 
original  motion  was  adopted. 

The  roll  was  called  by  the  Secretary,  and  the  vote 
was  as  follows  : 

Vcwstftu?e  Ayes:  Ackerman,  Adams  (B.  F.),  Adams  (J.  W.), 
amTnd-  Albert,  Albritton,  Albrook,  Alderman,  Allen  (C.  T.), 
Allen  (E.  W.),  Ailing,  Allison,  Anderson,  Arbuckle, 
Asada,  Ash,  Ashley,  Ayres,  Baker,  Baketel,  Baldwin, 
Bamford,  Barclay,  Barlow,  Barrett  (G.  A.),  Barrett  (L. 
E.),  Bashford  (J.  W.),  Bates,  Belt,  Bennett  (C.  W.), 
Bentley,  Benton,  Berry  (J.  F.),  Bills,  Bird  (B.  O.), 
Booth  (G.  M.),  Boreing,  Borland,  Bowen  (G.  H.), 
Bowen  (G.  W.),  Bowen  (J.  W.  E.),  Bradley,  Brant, 
Bridgman,  Brill,  Bristol,  Broaddus,  Brodbeck,  Brooks, 
Browne  (F.  G.),  Brown  (W.  L.),  Buchtel,  Buck,  Buell, 
Bulkley,  Burt,  Bushnell,  Butler,  Cady,  Callen,  Caples, 
Carr,  Carroll,  Carter,  Chadwick,  Chaffee,  Chamberlin, 
Cheney,  Chenoweth,  Cherington,  Childs,  Clark  (C.  B.), 
Clark  (H.  C),  Clark  (H.  D.),  Clark  (O.  H.),  Clark  (T. 
J.),  Clendenning,  Cobern,  Colbern,  Collett,  Cook, 
Copeland,  Corkran,  Courtney,  Cowan,  Coyle,  Cox, 
Cranston,  Crook,  Crozier,  Crumbaker,  Cruzen,  Cubilo, 
Cunningham,  Curts,  Daniels,  Darling,  Day,  Dennison, 
Dickie,  Dingley,  Doherty,  Drees,  Eaton  (E.  L.),  Eaton 
(Homer),  Eckman,  Edmonds,  Emory,  Erikson,  Evans 
(J.  G.),  Evans  (W.  W.),  Everett,  Farnham,  Fellows, 
Ferguson,  Fiske,  Foote,  Forbes,  Force,  Ford,  Fortson, 
Fowler  (J.  A.),  Fox,  Fradenburgh,  Franklin,  French 
(Henry),  Fryhofer,  Fry  singer,  Galeener,  Gamer,  Gary, 
Gaver,  Gehrett,  Gibson,  Gidley,  Gilluly,  Gobin,  Good- 
ing, Gordon,  Gorton,  Gould,  Grawe  (H.  C),  Gray, 
Graybeal,  Gue,  Hair,  Hale,  Halstead,  Haley,  Hamil- 
ton (James),  Hamilton  (J.  W.),  Hamilton  (W.  E.), 
Hammond  (D.  S.),  Hammond  (E.  W.  S.),  Haney,  Harlan, 
Harris,  Hartzell,  Haw,  Hays,  Heavenridge,  Herrick, 
Hess,  Hickman,  Hill  (G.  H.),  Hill  (J.  S.),  Hills  (C.  D.), 
Hingeley,  Hobbs,  Hodgetts,  Holden  (A.  M.),  Holt  (D. 
B.),  Holt  (John),  Holtz,  Honda,  Hough,  Hugar, 
Hughes  (J.  S.),  Hulburd,  Hunt  (E.  J.),  Huntington, 
Huntley,  Hutto,  Jackson  (H.  G.),  James,  Jamison  (J. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


123 


W.)3  Jamison  (P.  O.),  Jennings  (H.  C),  Jennings  (W. 
T.),  Johnson  (G.  B.),  Johnson  (J.  R.),  Jones  (E.  M.),  Morning. 
Jones  (L.  O.),  Jordan,  Julian,  Kellerman,  Kelley, 
Kendall,  Kepler,  Ketron,  Key,  Keys,  Kilbourne,  King 
(J.  D.),  King  (W.  F.),  Kinney,  Kirby,  Kittleman, 
Knighton,  Kratz,  Kumler,  Kynett,  Langston,  Larson, 
Lasby,  Latimer,  Laylin,  Leonard,  Lewis  (Allen),  Lewis 
(W.  H.),  Libby,  Lindsay,  Lobeck,  Logan  (Wade  H.), 
Logan  (William  H.),  Long,  Lothian,  Lowther,  Lowry, 
Magee,  Martin,  Mains,  Mando,  Manning,  Mansfield, 
Mansur,  Marsh,  Marshall,  Martin,  Martindale,  Mason, 
Massey,  Master,  Mathews  (T.  L.),  Maveety,  Maxfield, 
Maxwell,  McBrien,  McChesney,  McCullough,  McCully, 
McElroy,  McFarland,  McKay,  McKissack,  Merchant, 
Merrill  (G.  A.),  Merrill  (W.  W.),  Mick,  Mickey,  Miles, 
Miller  (Emory),  Miller  (J.  M.),  Miller  (O.  P.),  Miller 
(Ky.),  Mills  (E.  M.),  Mills  (Jacob),  Mitchell  (F.  G.), 
Mitchell  (John),  Monroe  (D.  S.),  Monroe  (H.  A.), 
Moore,  Morris  (W.  T.),  Morrison,  Morse  (S.  A.), 
Motter,  Muller,  Munger,  Murdoch,  Murphy  (S.  S.), 
Murray,  Myers,  Nagler,  Needhani,  Nelson,  Newkirk, 
North,  Noss,  Nottingham,  Osborne  (D.  C),  Palmer  (A. 
J.),  Palmer  (J.  F.),  Parker  (E.  W.),  Parr,  Parsons, 
Patterson,  Patton,  Payne,  Penn,  Perley,  Perrin,  Phil- 
lips, Pihl,  Poland,  Potts.  Prather,  Price,  Quayle, 
Quimby,  Rader  (D.  L.),  Rader  (L.  S.),  Randall,  Reed 
(G.  E.),  Reed  (Horace),  Rees,  Richards,  Ridgway, 
Robinson,  Roe,  Romer,  Rose,  Ross,  Rusling,  Ryan, 
Sargent,  Sawyer  (E.  J.),  Sawyer  (J.  E.  C),  Scofield, 
Schriver,  Scott  (I.  B.),  Scott  (J.  E.),  Scott  (J.  F.), 
Scott  (T.  J.),  Sessions,  Sewell,  Sharp,  Shaw,  Sherburn, 
Shier,  Shipman,  Shoemaker,  Shumpert,  Smith  (Alfred), 
Smith  (C.  W.),  Smith  (Erastus),  Smith  (Moses),  Smith 
(W.  T.),  Smylie,  Snyder,  Spencer,  Stafford  (C.  L.), 
Stafford  (John),  Starnes,  Stemen,  Stewart  (J.  W.), 
Stewart  (L.  H.),  Stephens  (J.  H.),  Stevens  (W.  H.), 
Stevenson,  Stith,  Sullivan,  Swallow,  Swann  (Harry), 
Swarthout,  Sweet  (John),  Sweet  (W.  H.),  Swindells, 
Swift,  Talbot  (M.  J.),  Taylor  (A.  J.),  Taylor  (E.  M.), 
Taylor  (T.  B.),  Tennant,  Teter,  Thomas  (I.  L.), 
Thomas  (S.  W.),  Thomas  (W.  H.),  Thomson,  Thorn- 
dike,   Thrall,   Townsend,   Trever,   Trimble  (J.  B.), 


124 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  6, 

Sixth  Day 
Morning. 


H.  Soder- 
berg. 


Dr.Lathern. 


Reports  of 
Missionary 
Bishops. 


Trousdale,  Underwood,  Upham,  Van  Cleft,  Van  Cleve, 
Van  Pelt,  Van  Sant,  Vodery,  Walker,  Wallace, 
Wallis,  Walsh,  Walworth,  Ware,  Warne,  Warren, 
Waters,  Waugh,  Weakley,  Whiting,  Whitlock  (E.  D.), 
Whitlock  (H.  G.),  Whitlock  (W.  F.),  Wigren,  Wilcox, 
Wilder,  Willard,  Williams  (J.  A.),  Williams  (J.  E.), 
Willis  (E.  R.),  Willis  (T.  H.),  Wilson  (J.  E.j,  Wilson 
(J.  I.),  Winchester,  Wing,  Witherspoon,  Wolfe, 
Woods,  Wright,  Yocum,  Young. — 425. 

Noes:  Albright,  Andrus,  Appel,  Bendixen,  Bennett 
(G.  S.),  Biddle,  Billups,  Blumberg,  Brown  (J.  H.), 
Bruns,  Buckley,  Buttz,  Coleman,  Coon,  Core,  Decker, 
Deininger,  Dietz,  Diggs,  Diiring,  Edman,  Edwards, 
Fisher,  Fowler  (J.  L.),  French  (John),  Furer,  Gillum, 
Gisler,  Goucher,  Graw  (J.  B.),  Green,  Griffin  Gute- 
kunst,  Guth,  Hammond  (C.  D.),  Hard,  Harms,  Henke, 
Haensler,  Hughes  (W.  H.),  Jackson  (J.  W.),  Jackson 
(W.  H.),  Jacobs,  Kern,  Koch,  Koeneke,  Kost,  Lampert, 
Lanahan,  Leitch,  Lemcke,  Lindgren,  Mace,  Magill, 
Matthew  (W.  S.),  McCabe,  Miller  (Pitts'g),  Morris  (C. 
D.),  Morse  (C.  C),  Mueller,  Muenzenmayer,  Nagler, 
Nast,  Neely,  Nichols,  Osbon  (E.  S.),  Parker  (S.  L.), 
Peake,  Pierce,  Plannette,  Reed  (George),  Rigg,  Roth- 
weiler,  Ruble,  Salzer,  Schell,  Schlagenhauf,  Schutz, 
Scott  (J.  H.),  Simonsen,  Smith  (G.  W.),  Soderberg, 
Spellmeyer,  Sprague,  Sturgiss,  Swan  (O.  J.),  Talbott 
(H.  J.),  Tanner  (Jacob),  Terry,  Van  Benschoten,  Van 
Duesen,  Wight,  Wilbor,  Wilker,  Wilson  (L.  B.), 
Woodring,  Wuhrraan,  Zoller. — 98. 

Absent  or  not  voting. — Booth  (R.  A.),  Byrd  (D.  W.), 
Hagan,  Hall,  Holden,  King  (J.  M.),  Little,  Morris 
(James),  Pederson,  Pritchard,  Tanner  (F.  H.),  Trimble 
(L.  A.').— 12. 

Hjalman  Soderberg,  a  reserve  delegate  from  the 
Sweden  Conference,  was  seated  in  the  place  of  J.  T. 
Jacobeson,  unable  to  be  present. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Lathern,  fraternal  delegate 
from  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  was  intro- 
duced. 

On  motion  of  J.  H.  Coleman,  the  reports  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Bishops  were  made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for 
to-morrow  at  9:30  a.  m. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


125 


The  following  communication  was  read  by  the 
Secretary: 

Cleveland,  0.,  May  5,  1896. 
To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  On  arriving  in  Cleveland  I  find 
that  three  of  the  women  elected  as  lay  delegates  to  your  body  have 
withdrawn  from  their  places  therein. 

Without  my  knowledge,  while  on  this  side  of  the  water,  my  brethren, 
doubtless  having  economy  in  view,  elected  me  to  represent  them  here. 
I  do  not  feel  that  I  have  any  right  to  abandon  the  trust  confided  to  me 
by  the  Foo-Chow  Lay  Electoral  Conference.  Should  I  withdraw,  the 
reserve  delegate,  Miss  Mabel  C.  Hartford,  now  at  Dover,  N.  H.,  is.„the 
only  one  entitled  to  take  my  place. 

It  seems  plain  then  that  the  decision  as  to  my  eligibility  is  for  your 
honorable  body  to  make ;  and  that  if  the  laity  of  the  Foo-Chow  Con- 
ference are  unrepresented  at  this  session  I  must  be  allowed  to  say  to 
them  on  my  return  that  it  was  because  of  the  decision  of  the  General 
Conference,  and  not  because  I  voluntarily  abandoned  the  duty  which 
they,  in  good  faith,  committed  to  me.        Yours  in  Christ, 

Lydia  A.  Trimble. 

S.  L.  Baldwin  stated  that  as  her  seat  was  held  in  dis- 
pute, Miss  Trimble  respectfully  withdraws. 

On  motion  of  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer,  the  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Rules  of  Order  relating  to  the  order  of 
elections  was  taken  up. 

The  committee  reported  as  follows: 

Your  Committee  on  Rules,  to  which  was  referred  the  resolution  of 
James  H.  Potts  on  the  order  of  elections,  report  as  follows: 

We  recommend  that  the  elections  be  by  ballot,  and  in  the  following 
order  : 

1.  Bishops. 

2.  Book  Agents  at  New  York. 

3.  Book  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 

4.  Secretaries  of  the  Missionary  Society. 

5.  Secretaries  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension. 

6.  Secretaries  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education 

Society. 

7.  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and  Tract  Society. 

8.  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

9.  Editor  of  the  Methodist  Review. 

10.  Editor  of  The  Christian  Advocate. 

11.  Editor  of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate. 

12.  Editor  of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate. 

13.  Editor  of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate. 

14.  Editor  of  the  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate. 

15.  Editor  of  the  Northern  Christian  Advocate. 

16.  Editor  of  the  California  Christian  Advocate. 

17.  Editor  of  the  Southvjestern  Christian  Advocate. 

18.  Editor  of  the  Apologist. 

19.  Editor  of  Haus  unci  Herd. 

20.  Editor  of  the  Epworth  Herald. 

Nominations  may  be  made  in  open  Conference  for  all  positions  to  be 
filled,  except  for  Bishops.  In  the  election  of  Bishops  a  majority  of 
two  thirds  shall  be  required  to  constitute  an  election.  Nominations 
shall  be  limited  to  the  naming  of  the  candidates. 


MAY  7. 

Sixth  Dav 
Morning. 

Communi- 
cation from 
L.  A.  Trim- 
ble. 


Order  of 
Elections, 


126 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


MAY  7. 

Sixth  Day 
Morning. 


Committees 
announced. 


Constitu- 
tional 
amend- 
ment. 


Missionary 
Bishops. 


Two  sets  of  tellers  shall  be  appointed,  each  section  consisting  of  one 
from  each  General  Conference  District  and  one  at  large.  Each  section 
may  carry  forward  its  work  in  the  absence  of  the  other,  but  the  tellers 
who  may  be  out  of  the  Conference  engaged  in  examining  the  votes 
may  deposit  their  ballots  in  the  presence  of  two  (2)  tellers  and  a  Con- 
ference secretary  in  case  a  ballot  is  taken  by  the  body  during  their 
absence. 

In  taking  a  ballot  the  following  order  shall  be  observed  : 

1.  All  persons  not  entitled  to  seats  shall  retire  from  the  bar. 

2.  In  taking  the  votes  all  delegates  shall  stand  in  their  places. 

3.  The  tellers  shall  collect  the  ballots,  beginning  at  the  front. 

4.  When  the  delegates  have  voted  they  shall  resume  their  seats. 

5.  In  case  there  are  more  or  less  names  on  a  ballot  than  the 

number  to  be  elected  the  ballot  shall  be  thrown  out. 

6.  It  shall  require  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  to  elect. 

7.  The  tellers  shall  pour  all  the  ballots  into  one  pile,  and  they 

shall  canvass  the  vote  from  one  pile. 

8.  Ballots  shall  bear  the  initials  as  well  as  the  surnames  of  the 

persons  voted  for  Should  initials  be  omitted  in  any  case, 
and  there  be  no  other  person  in  the  Conference  bearing  the 
same  surname,  the  ballot  shall  be  counted.  In  any  case  of 
doubt  the  ballot  or  ballots  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Conference. 

9.  No  teller  or  secretary  shall  give  information  in  regard  to  the 

result  of  a  ballot  until  the  same  shall  be  announced  by  the 
presiding  officer. 

F.  M.  Bristol  moved  its  adoption. 

J.  F.  Chaffee  moved  to  strike  out  the  words  "  two 
thirds  "  in  the  election  of  Bishops,  and  substitute  "  ma- 
jority." 

The  amendment  was,  on  motion  of  T.  A.  Fortson, 
laid  on  the  table,  and  the  report  was  adopted. 

Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  members  at  large -on 
the  Committees  on  Judiciary,  Consolidation  of  Benevo- 
lences, Constitution,  and  on  General  Conference  Dis- 
tricts.   (See  Committees,  pp.  359,  376.) 

The  President  stated  with  regard  to  the  state  of  the 
vote  on  the  sending  down  of  the  constitutional  amend- 
ment recommended  by  the  Committee  on  Eligibility  to 
the  Conferences  that  the  whole  number  of  votes  cast  on 
the  subject  of  submitting  to  the  Annual  Conferences 
and  approving,  by  two  thirds  vote,  the  proposed 
amendment  of  the  second  Restrictive  Rule,  was  523. 
Two  thirds  of  that  number  would  be  349.  The 
"  ayes  99  were  425  and  the  "  noes  99  were  98,  so  the  sub- 
mission is  made  by  the  two  thirds  vote  required  ac- 
cording to  the  Constitution. 

On  motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  all  papers  on  Mis- 
sionary Bishops  were  ordered  to  be  sent  to  .  the  Commit- 
tee on  Episcopacy. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


127 


The  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology  was  sung, 
and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Bishop  J.  F. 
Hurst. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary: 

CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 
D.  S.  Monroe  presented  a  resolution,  signed  by  him- 
self, respecting  the  Sunday  School  Missionary  Society, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions : 
Resolved,  That  the  following  be  substituted  for  paragraph  361  : 
"  %  361.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Pastors  to  see  that  each  Sunday 
school  in  our  churches  and  congregations  is  organized  into  a  Mission- 
ary Society  according  to  the  form  of  constitution  presented  in  para- 
graph 38  of  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline.    And  the  missionary  con- 
tributions of  the  Sunday  school  shall  be  reported  in  a  separate  column 
in  the  benevolent  contributions  of  the  annual  and  general  Minutes." 

D.  S.  Monroe  also  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  1.  That  paragraph  76,  question  24,  "  Who  are  the  Triers  of 
Appeal  ?  "  be  changed  to  read,  "  Who  are  the  eighteen  elected  to  be 
Triers  of  Appeals  of  the  Annual  Conference  ?  " 

2.  That  in  paragraph  216,  section  1,  line  5,  all  after  the  words  "face 
to  face  "  be  stricken  out,  and  insert :  "  if  the  said  committee  shall  deem 
it  advisable  they  shall  formulate  charges,  and  the  accused  shall  be 
brought  to  trial  as  hereinafter  provided  for." 

3.  Section  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  ac- 
cused member  of  the  Annual  Conference  to  give  him  a  certified  copy 
of  the  charges  and  specifications  and  a  reasonable  time  to  prepare  for 
his  defense,  and  to  fix  the  time  and  place  for  the  trial ;  to  call  together 
the  triers  of  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conference,  of  whom  not  less 
than  nine  or  more  than  fifteen  shall  constitute  the  committee  for  trial; 
and  further,  he  shall  notify  the  Bishop  having  charge  of  the  Confer- 
ence, who  shall  preside  at  the  trial,  or  appoint  a  traveling  elder  to 
preside,  and  the  records  shall  be  kept  by  the  secretary  of  the  last 
Conference  or  one  of  his  assistants.  This  court  shall  have  full  power 
to  try,  reprove,  suspend,  deprive  of  ministerial  office  and  credentials, 
expel  or  acquit  any  member  of  the  Annual  Conference  against  whom 
charges  may  have  been  preferred  subject  to  an  appeal  to  the  Judicial 
Conference.  The  present  numbers  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  6  shall  become  re- 
spectively 3,  4,  5,  6,  and  7;  omit  paragraph  224,  and  number  the  re- 
maining paragraphs  224,  225,  226. 


MAY  7. 

Sixth  Day 
Morning. 


Sunday 
School  Mis- 
sionary So- 
ciety. 


Triers  of 
Appeals. 


NORTH  INDIANA. 

H.  N.  Herrick  presented  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Whereat,  Membership  in  the  Annual,  District,  and  Quarterly  Confer- 
ences carries  with  it  certain  rights  and  privileges  that  in  the  interest 
of  the  Church  should  not  needlessly  be  surrendered  by  those  elected  to 
the  office  of  General  or  Missionary  Superintendent ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  declaration  of  the  Discipline  is  not  sufficiently  explicit 
to  easily  determine  whether  our  Superintendents  should  be  classed  with 
the  ministry  or  laity  of  the  Church  ;  therefore,  be  it 
I 


Member- 
ship in  An- 
nual, Dis- 
trict, and 
Quarterly 
Confer- 
ences. 


128 


MAY  7. 

Sixth  Day 
Morning. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[189G. 


Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  consider  the  propriety 
of  recommending  the  amendment  of  paragraph  168,  Discipline  of  1892, 
by  adding  to  it  the  following : 

"Whenever  a  minister  has  been  elected  a  General  or  Missionary 
Bishop,  he  shall  retain  his  membership  in  the  Annual  Conference  from 
which  he  has  been  elected  ;  and  he  shall  also  have  a  seat  in  the  Dis- 
trict and  Quarterly  Conferences  where  he  may  reside.  Membership  in 
these  Conferences  shall  entitle  him  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  be- 
longing thereto,  except  that  he  shall  not  be  eligible  as  a  delegate  to  the 
General  Conference." 


Social  re- 
form. 


Election  of 
presiding 
elders. 


Power  of 
Bishops  and 
presiding 
elders. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


Missionary 
Bishops. 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary : 

BALTIMORE. 

L.  B.  Wilson  presented  a  memorial  on  social  reform. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

Alexander  Ashley  presented  a  memorial  from  the 
Lay  Electoral  Conference  of  the  Baltimore  Conference 
relating  to  the  election  of  presiding  elders.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Con- 
ference relating  to  coordinate  power  of  Bishops  and 
presiding  elders.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Itinerancy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Con- 
ference favoring  lay  representation  in  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Repre- 
sentation. 

BENGAL-BURMAH. 
F.  W.  Warne  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Bengal- 
Burmah  Lay  Electoral  Conference  relating  to  Missionary 
Bishops.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


Boundaries. 


BLUE  RIDGE. 

Augustus  Graybeal  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself  and  H.  F.  Ketron,  asking  for  a  change  of 
boundaries.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Full  mem- 
bership. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 
C.  C.  Wilbor  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  W.  O. 
Shepherd,  on  the  subject  of  the  reception  of  members 
into  full  membership.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

EAST  GERMAN. 
C.  C.  Zoller  presented  a  memorial  from  the  East 
German  Electoral  Conference  relating  to  lay  repre- 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


129 


sentation,  the  time  limit,  the  admission  of  women  to  MAY  7* 
the  General  Conference,  and  other  subjects.  Referred  Morning. 
to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

EAST  TENNESSEE. 
J.  S.  Hill  presented  a  memorial  from  the  East  Ten-  gj^ff^11 
nessee  Conference  for  a  change  in  boundary.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


FOO-CHOW. 

M.  C.  Wilcox  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  a 
Central  Mission  Conference  in  China.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Missions. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  an  epis- 
copal residence.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the  organi- 
zation of  Hinghua  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Missions. 

JAPAN. 

Yoitsu  Honda  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Japan 
Conference  relating  to  an  episcopal  residence  in  Japan. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  same  Confer- 
ence upon  the  subject  of  lay  representation  in  the  An- 
nual Conferences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Missions. 

He  also  presented  a  petition  from  Elizabeth  Russell 
and  others  for  the  organization  of  a  Southern  Mission 
Conference  in  Japan,  and  a  like  petition  from  the 
members  of  the  Nagasaki  Station.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries. 

He  also  presented  a  pamphlet  containing  arguments 
for  and  against  the  organization  of  a  Southern  Japan 
Mission  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

He  also  presented  a  protest  against  the  organization 
of  a  Southern  Japan  Mission  Conference,  signed  by 
himself  and  two  others.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Boundaries. 

NEWARK. 

S.  L.  Baldwin  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Board 
of  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  requesting  the 


Central  Mis- 
sion Confer- 
ence in 
China. 


Episcopal 
residence. 


Organiza- 
tion of 
Hinghua 
Conference. 


Episcopal 
residence  in 
Japan. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


Southern 
Mission 
Conference 
in  Japan. 


Arguments. 


Protest. 


Constitu- 
tion of 
Missionary 
Society. 


130 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


MAY  7. 

Sixth  Day 
Morning. 


Time  limit. 


Superan- 
nuates. 


General  Conference  to  change  Article  XI  of  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  Society.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

NEW  YORK  EAST. 

G.  E.  Reed  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New  York 
East  Conference  with  reference  to  the  time  limit.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

G.  P.  Mains  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  J.  B. 
Hamilton,  respecting  sustentation  of  superannuates. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


Central 
Mission 
Conference. 


NORTH  CHINA. 
H.  H.  Lowry  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself 
and  J.  F.  Scott,  asking  for  the  establishing  of  a  Central 
Mission  Conference  in  China.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Missions. 


NORTH  AND  SOUTH  GERMANY. 
Consolida-  The  delegation  of  these  Conferences  presented  a 
Metnodisms  memorial  petitioning  the  General  Conference  regard- 
ing the  consolidation  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodism  in 
Germany  and  Austria  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  those  countries.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Missions. 

NORTH  INDIANA. 

statistical      W.  D.  Parr  presented  a  memorial  with  reference  to 

reports.  r  _  . 

statistical  reports.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 


Episcopal 
residence  in 
Cleveland. 


Use  of 
tobacco. 


NORTH  OHIO. 

John  Mitchell  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  make 
the  city  of  Cleveland,  O.,  an  episcopal  residence.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

William  Kepler  presented  a  memorial  from  members 
of  the  New  London  Charge  against  the  use  of  tobacco 
by  church  members.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  State  of  the  Church. 


SAINT  LQUIS  GERMAN. 
Transfer  of      William  Koeneke  presented  a  memorial  concerning 
the  transfer  of  Helena,  Mont.,  from  the  North  Pacific 
to  the  North  German  Conference.    Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries. 


189C] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


131 


SWEDEN.  MAY  7- 

Sixth  Day 

J.  M.  Erikson  presented  a  memorial  requesting  the  Morning. 
time  limit  be  removed  in  Sweden.     Referred  to  the  Time  llmit- 
Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

WASHINGTON. 

W.  H.  Brooks  presented  a  memorial  with  reference  Time  limit, 
to  the  time  limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Itinerancy. 

I.  L.  Thomas  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him-  L|tae^|^d 
self,  respecting  the  Leaders  and  Stewards'  Meeting. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


WESTERN  SWEDISH. 
O.  J.  Swan  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  C.  G. 
Nelson  and  others,  respecting  the  organization  of  the 
Northern  Swedish  Mission  Conference  into  an  Annual 
Conference.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Northern 
Swedish 
Mission 
Conference. 


FRIDAY  MORNING,  MAY  8. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  o'clock 
a.  it..  Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  S.  W. 
Thomas,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

TheSecretary  called  the  roll  of  Committees. 

W.  F.  Whitlock  moved  that  a  Memorial  Service  be 
made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for  next  Friday,  at  half 
past  10  o'clock,  and  to  be  followed  immediately  with 
announcements  and  adjournment.  Carried. 

The  Committee  on  Reception  presented  Report  No.  I, 
which  was  read  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  433.) 

On  motion  of  L.  A.  Belt,  the  name  of  W.  P.  Stowe 
was  added  to  the  memorial  list. 

The  Secretary  called  the  roll  of  Conferences  for  reso- 
lutions. 

L.  B.  Wilson  presented  the  following: 

Whereas,  The  Discipline  of  the  Church  defines  the  powers  of  the 
General  Conference  as  a  legislative  body,  but  makes  no  mention  of  its 
authority  to  sit  as  a  judicial  body  except  in  the  case  of  appeals ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  important  that  the  several,  functions  of  the  General 
Conference  be  especially  declared ;  therefore,  be  it 

Re$olvedf  That  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  be  requested  to  prepare 
and  submit  for  the  action  of  this  body  a  paragraph  for  insertion  in  the 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 
Day. 

Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Memorial 
service. 


W.P.  Stowe. 


General 
Conference 
as  a  judicial 
body. 


132 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Book  of  Discipline  defining  the  functions  of  the  General  Conference  as 
a  judicial  body. 

A  motion  by  J.  W.  Bashford  to  lay  on  the  table  was 
lost,  and,  on  motion  of  M.  M.  Callen,  it  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

J.  M.  King  presented  the  following,  and,  on  his  mo- 
tion, it  was  adopted: 

National        The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1892, 
denomina-    recognizing  the  peril  to  the  American  principle  of  essential  separation 
tional  pur-    of  the  functions  of  Church  and  State,  as  illustrated  in  the  practice  of 
poses.       ^e  United  States  government  in  making  sectarian  appropriations  for 
Indian  education,  directed  any  missionary  or  educational  society  under 
its  control,  which  has  received  such  appropriations,  to  decline  there- 
after to  either  apply  for  or  accept  them.    This  has  proved  to  be  an 
historic  action : 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  General  Convention 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  National  Council  of  Con- 
gregational Churches  declared  in  this  order  against  further  participa- 
tion in  the  dangerous  division  of  national  funds  for  denominational 
purposes,  and '  together  with  the  highest  assemblies  of  the  Baptist,, 
United  Presbyterian,  and  Methodist  Protestant  Churches,  gave  explicit 
indorsement  to  the  proposed  sixteenth  amendment  to  the  United  States 
Constitution,  prohibiting  sectarian  appropriations  by  Congress  or  by 
the  States. 

Like  action  has  been  taken  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,. 
South ;  and  the  Unitarians,  Friends,  and  Lutherans  have  withdrawn 
from  the  receipt  of  government  subsidies  for  Indian  education,  thus 
reducing  the  participants  in  these  grants  practically  to  a  single  reli- 
gious denomination. 

The  religious  bodies  enumerated  represent  a  constituency  of  not 
less  than  27,000,000  of  the  population  of  the  United  States. 

Any  appropriation  hereafter  made  by  the  United  States  Congress  for 
sectarian  purposes  must  be  made  to  the  one  only  denomination  which 
continues  to  make  its  demands  for  money  from  the  taxes  of  the  peo- 
ple for  sectarian  aggrandizement.  This  constitutes  definite  union  be- 
tween a  Church  and  the  State,  and  this  the  people  will  not  and  ought 
not  to  permit.  While  the  religious  denominations  representing  the 
majority  of  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  nation  have  promptly  and 
irrevocably  withdrawn  from  any  copartnership  with  the  national  gov- 
ernment in  promoting  their  respective  sectarian  views  at  the  national 
expense,  and  have  determined  to  pay  their  own  bills,  they  have  a  right 
to  demand  that  hereafter  taxes  collected  for  the  support  of  the  na- 
tional government  shall  not  be  used  to  effect  the  union  of  Church 
and  State  by  grants  made  to  the  one  denomination  which  continues  to 
make  its  urgent  demand  upon  the  national  treasury. 

This  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as- 
sembled in  Cleveland,  O.,  on  this  8th  day  of  May,  1896,  commends  the 
just,  patriotic,  consistent  action  of  the  United  States  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  cutting  off  all  sectarian  appropriations,  both  for  Indian 
education  and  for  sectarian  charities  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  United  States  Senate  having  proposed  a  gradual  withdrawal  of 
national  government  sectarian  appropriations  for  Indian  education, 
solely  because  of  the  demand  of  one  sect,  we  do  not  ask,  but  we  believe 
we  have  the  right  to  demand,  that  this  copartnership  between  one  sect 
and  the  national  government  shall  immediately  cease. 

This  General  Conference,  representing  the  membership  and  constit- 


MAY  8. 

SEVENTH 

Day. 
Morning. 


1896.' 


Journal  of  the  .General  Conference. 


133 


uency  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  reiterates  its  conviction  that 
the  cure  for  all  of  these  sectarian  and  ecclesiastical  aggressions  is  to 
be  found  in  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  sixteenth  amendment  to  the 
United  States  Constitution,  drafted  and  promulgated  by  "The  National 
League  for  the  Protection  of  American  Institutions." 

It  is  directed  that  a  record  of  this  action  be  promptly  forwarded  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Senate,  the  Secretary  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  at  Washington. 

This  General  Conference  directs  that  the  signature  of  its  President 
and  Secretary  be  signed  to  this  action. 

On  motion  of  G.  P.  Mains,  a  committee  of  five  was 
ordered  on  John  Street  Church,  New  York  city,  to  whom 
all  papers  shall  be  referred  relating  to  that  church. 

On  motion  of  A.  B.  Leonard,  Rev.  R.  S.  Rust,  D.D., 
a  former  secretary  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  was 
invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

On  motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  the  Order  of  the  Day — 
the  reports  of  the  Missionary  Bishops — was  taken  up. 

William  Taylor,  Missionary  Bishop  of  Africa,  read 
his  report,  and  J.  M.  Thoburn,  Missionary  Bishop  of 
India  and  Malaysia,  also  presented  and  read  his  report. 

J.  M.  Buckley  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted : 

Resolved,-!.  That  we  have  received  the  reports  of  Bishop  Taylor  and 
Bishop  Thoburn  with  great  interest  and  profound  gratitude  to  God. 

2.  That  they  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  and  to  the 
Committee  on  Missions,  and  that  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  take 
cognizance  of  those  parts  which  relate  to  the  Missionary  Episcopacy 
and  its  official  exercise,  and  the  Committee  on  Missions  take  cognizance 
of  those  parts  relative  to  the  Missionary  Society,  the  condition  of 
ions,  methods  of  mission  work,  and  their  results. 

F.  M.  Bristol  presented  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Rules  of  Order,  and,  on  his  motion,  it  was  adopted. 
(See  Rules  of  Order,  p.  64.) 

On  motion  of  W.  H.  Jordan,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
rules  be  printed  in  pamphlet  form  for  the  use  of  com- 
mittees. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Palmer,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
announcements  be  made  at  12:15  p.  m.  each  day. 

On  motion  of  D.  H.  Moore,  J.  W.  McCormick,  a  re- 
serve delegate,  was  seated  in  the  place  of  J.  F.  Bash- 
ford,  who  withdrew. 

The  call  of  the  roll  of  Conferences  was  resumed. 

P.  H.  Swift  presented  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  in  every  case  where  a  reserve  takes  the  place  of  a 
regular  delegate  the  expenses  of  only  one  of  such  delegates  shall  be 
paid,  except  in  case  of  sickness. 


MAY  H. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 


John  Street 
Church. 


Dr.  Rust. 


Reports  of 
Missionary 
Bishops. 


Rules  of 
Order- 


Announce- 
ments. 


J.  W.  Mc- 
Cormick. 


delegates. 


134 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 


Cuban  lib- 
erty. 


R.  S.  Borland  moved  to  amend  by  adding,  "  except 
the  ladies  who  have  declined  their  seats."  Laid  on  the 
table. 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  to  amend  by  inserting,  "  or 
other  serious  emergencies." 

On  motion  of  D.  H.  Moore,  the  entire  matter  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 

L.  S.  Rader  presented  the  following: 

Whereas,  The  Cubans  are  trying  to  throw  off  the  galling  yoke  of 
Spanish  tyranny,  and  the  condition  of  that  unhappy  island  is  a  disgrace 
to  the  world  of  Christendom,  owing  to  the  barbarities  perpetrated  by 
the  Spanish,  which  have  shocked  and  appalled  all  civilization ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  has  been  an  almost  universal  recommendation  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  expressed  through  both  branches  of 
Congress,  that  a  condition  of  war  be  recognized  in  Cuba,  and  the 
Executive  Department  has  not  seen  fit  to  act ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  while  we  desire,  if  possible,  that  our  country  pre- 
serve a  position  of  neutrality,  we  sympathize  with  the  patriots  of  Cuba 
in  their  struggle  for  liberty ;  and  we  desire  and  pray  the  Executive 
Department  of  our  nation  to  oppose  any  methods  of  warfare  in  Cuba 
not  recognized  in  the  rules  of  warfare  as  practiced  by  the  civilized 
nations. 


National 
Arbitration 


Western 
Reserve 
University. 


J.  B.  Hinge- 
ley. 


Adjourned. 


J.  E.  Bills  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee  on 
State  of  the  Church. 

W.  H.  Shier  moved,  as  a  substitute,  its  reference  to 
the  Committee  on  Missions.  Lost. 

W.  N.  McElroy  moved  that  it  be  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee of  three,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Chair,  to  be 
called  the  Committee  on  National  Arbitration.  The 
motion  was  lost,  and  the  original  motion  prevailed. 

Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  Committee  on  Dea- 
coness Work.    (See  Committees,  p.  377.) 

A.  J.  Palmer  read  an  invitation  from  President 
Thwing,  of  the  Western  Reserve  University,  to  its 
halls  to-morrow  afternoon,  which,  on  motion,  was  ac- 
cepted. 

The  Secretary  named  J.  B.  Hingeley  as  an  Assistant 
Secretary,  to  act  on  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

Conference  adjourned.  TheDoxology  was  sung,  and 
the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Bishop  W.  X. 
Ninde. 


The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary: 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


135 


DETROIT. 

L.  R.  Fiske  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  : 

To  amend  section  3  of  paragraph  170  of  the  Discipline,  by  inserting 
at  the  end  of  the  second  line  thereof,  after  the  words  "  five  years 
successively,"  the  words,  "  unless  requested  so  to  do  by  all  the  pre- 
siding elders  of  the  Conference ;  "  also  after  the  words  "  five  years  in 
ten,"  at  the  middle  of  the  third  line,  the  following  :  "in  the  same  pas- 
toral charge,  unless  in  like  manner  it  be  requested  by  all  the  presiding 
elders  of  the  Conference,"  so  that  it  shall  read  as  follows  : 

*1.  He  shall  not  allow  any  preacher  to  remain  in  the  same  pastoral 
charge  more  than  five  years  successively  unless  requested  so  to  do  by 
all  the  presiding  elders  of  the  Conference  ;  nor  more  than  five  years  in 
ten  in  the  same  pastoral  charge,  unless  in  like  manner  it  be  requested 
by  all  the  presiding  elders  of  the  Conference." 

C.  M.  Cobern  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee: 

^  m 

Resolved,  That  under  section  3  of  paragraph  186  of  the  Discipline,  in 
the  case  of  a  circuit,  between  the  sessions  of  the  Annual  Conference, 
and  in  the  absence  of  a  Bishop,  and  in  the  presence  of  such  an  emer- 
gency as  to  make  it  seem  to  him  a  necessity,  the  presiding  elder  may 
relieve  the  pastor  from  the  charge  of  one  of  the  appointments,  and  ap- 
point to  its  charge  for  the  remainder  of  the  Conference  year  the  pastor 
of  an  adjoining  charge. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  : 

Resolved,  That  when  the  laws  of  the  State  or  Territory  permit  it,  pas- 
tors, though  unordained,  may  ex  officio  solemnize  marriage. 

ERIE. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  presented  a  resolution,  signed 
by  himself  and  others,  respecting  the  forward  move- 
ment, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Edu- 
cation : 

The  twentieth  century  is  doubtless  to  be  one  of  marvelous  inven- 
tions and  discoveries,  great  literary  achievements,  mighty  intellectual 
conflicts,  gigantic  benevolent  and  philanthropic  enterprises,  unexampled 
Christian  activity  and  triumph,  and  magnificent  educational  endow- 
ment. Our  present  educational  plans  and  appliances  are  not  equal  to 
the  demands  which  are  already  upon  us.  In  the  near  future  the  brain 
of  the  world  shall *be  touched  and  fired  anew  and  man  shall  enter 
fields  of  knowledge  so  vast  as  to  quite  appal  our  still  semi-dormant  im- 
aginations. We  must  be  prepared  to  enter  these  new  worlds  of  con- 
quest. Shall  not  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  lead  the  educational 
hosts?  She  can  assume  her  proper  place  if  she  will  but  rouse  herself. 
But  it  will  demand  all  her  wisdom,  financial  strength,  and  promptness 
of  action.  The  opportunity  is  a  glorious  one,  such  as  the  world  has 
never  seen  before.  We  may  build  an  imperishable  monument.  Builded 
upon  the  rock  it  shall  be  as  imperishable  as  the  throne  of  God.  The 
work  calls  for  princely  benefactions;  it  cannot  be  accomplished  with- 
out magnificent  giving  ;  but  it  also  calls  for  smaller  contributions,  and 
even  the  widow's  mite  and  the  child's  pennies.  Every  name  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  in  her  Sunday  schools  may  be  re- 
corded upon  this  monument  and  thereby  rendered  immortal.    Here  is 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 
Day 

Morning. 


Relief  for 
pastors. 


Forward 
educa- 
tional 
movement. 


136 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


MAY  8.  a  work  to  call  forth  and  tax  all  our  best  energies,  inspire  all  our  faith,, 
SEdayTH  emPl°y  a^  our  sources,  satisfy  all  our  loftiest  ambitions,  nerve  us,  up- 
Morning      lift  us'      our  nearts-    Shall  we  greet  tne  twentieth  century  with  such 

a  preparation  to  solve  its  problems,  do  its  work,  and  bless  and  save  its 

people  ? 

Methodism  demands  nothing  so  much  as  a  great  awakening  along 
the  lines  of  higher  education.  The  coming  century  will  doubtless  be 
the  most  tremendous  in  the  world's  history.  It  will  sum  up  as  its  in- 
heritance all  the  preceding  ages.  We  believe  that  it  will  not  be  ex- 
ceeded by  any  future  century  in  those  elements  which  are  to  determine 
the  destiny  of  the  human  race.  The  true  spiritual  life  of  Methodism 
will  depend  largely  upon  learning,  upon  brains.  Without  great  think- 
ers our  Church  cannot  lead  the  times.  The  coming  century  is  to  be 
distinctively  a  century  of  thought.  We  must  have  thinkers  in  all  our 
work,  and  especially  in  our  pulpits  and  mission  fields.  Our  institutions 
of  learning  must  catch  the  inspiration  in  all  its  fullness.  We  should 
make  a  general,  a  mighty,  a  bold,  a  persistent  appeal  to  all  our  people. 

We  suggest  that  a  plan  for  a  great  forward  educational  movement 
might  include  such  provisions  as  the  following : 

1.  The  appointment  of  a  Central  Committee,  consisting  of  seven  per- 
sons, two  of  whom  may  be  the  Secretaries  of  the  Board  of  Education 
and  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society,  who  shall 
have  general  charge  of  the  work. 

2.  The  appointment  of  similar  committees  in  all  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences on  all  the  districts  and  in  all  the  Quarterly  Conferences. 

3.  The  securing  of  the  active  cooperation  of  all  our  educators  and 
prominent  business  laymen. 

4.  The  organization  of  a  Twentieth  Century  Education  Club  of  lay- 
men in  each  General  Conference  District  to  cooperate  with  the  Central 
Committee  in  impressing  the  importance  of  this  subject  and  the  per- 
sonal responsibility  connected  therewith  clearly  and  forcibly  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  and  consciences  of  those  ministers  and  laymen  whom 
God  has  made  stewards  of  some  portion  of  this  world's  wealth,  and  in 
securing  from  them  those  large  gifts  upon  which  we  must  chiefly  ve\yr 
and  without  which  we  shall  fail  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  great  enter- 
prise. 

5.  Subscription  books  uniformly  bound  shall  be  provided  for  each 
charge  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  an  effort  shall  be 
made  to  get  the  name  of  each  member  of  the  Church  upon  these 
books — to  get  a  subscription  from  the  last  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
the  Church. 

6.  Subscription  books  uniformly  bound  shall  be  provided  for  each 
Annual  Conference,  into  which  all  subscriptions  shall  be  transcribed, 
and  in  which  shall  be  written  the  history  of  this  educational  move- 
ment in  the  Conference,  together  with  all  interesting  incidents  con- 
nected with  the  same.  »  These  subscription  books  shall  be  the  property 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  shall  be  preserved  in  the 
manner  hereinafter  to  be  provided. 

7.  There  shall  be  a  plan  for  holding  educational  conventions  in  the 
great  centers,  and  an  educational  sermon  or  lecture  upon  this  special 
subject  shall  be  delivered  annually  during  the  two  following  quad- 
renniums  at  every  preaching  place  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

8.  Subscriptions  may  be  taken  from  January  1, 1898,  till  the  session 
of  the  General  Conference  in  May,  1904,  under  such  conditions  as  to 
payments  as  may  be  hereafter  provided. 

9.  Subscriptions  may  include  the  regular  collections  for  the  Board  of 
Education  and  the  Freedmen' s  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society, 
to  be  taken,  however,  at  a  separate  time,  and  the  collections  for  these 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


137 


societies  may  be  sent  at  once  to  their  treasurers,  together  with  such  do-  MAY  8. 
nations  as  may  be  especially  designated  for  the  cause  of  education  as  s*gJ5TH 
represented  in  their  work.  Morning. 

10.  Subscribers  may  designate  the  institutions  and  objects  which 
they  desire  to  assist,  such  as : 

(a)   Payment  of  debts. 

(6)   Endowment  of  professorships. 

(c)    Erection,  repairing,  and  furnishing  of  buildings. 

(cZ)  Founding  and  increase  of  libraries. 

(e)    Purchase  of  apparatus. 

(/)  Scholarships  and  fellowships. 

( g)  Assistance  for  needy  students. 

(h)  Prizes  for  original  work. 

11.  An  important  duty  will  demand  early  attention  :  to  free  our  in- 
stitutions of  learning  from  all  indebtedness,  and  put  our  present  build- 
ings in  good  repair.  The  multiplication  of  theological  schools,  colleges, 
and  seminaries — except  as  there  may  be  an  imperative  demand — is  to 
be  emphatically  discouraged.  We  should  strengthen  the  schools  which 
have  already  been  established,  and,  wherever  possible,  concentrate  our 
educational  forces. 

12.  A  special  alcove  in  the  library  of  the  American  University  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  shall  be  consecrated  as  the  ultimate  receptacle  for 
all  the  subscription  books.  Here  shall  be  placed  appropriate  tablets 
inscribed  with  the  names  of  benefactors  whose  gifts  reach  some  fixed 
amount  to  be  hereafter  determined.  This  would  form  a  complete  his- 
tory of  the  whole  forward  movement. 

18.  Suitable  souvenirs  shall  be  prepared  to  be  presented  to  con- 
tributors of  the  sum  of  one  dollar  or  more. 

14.  We  will  raise,  if  possible,  $5,000,000  or  more,  or  such  amount  as 
may  be  determined  upon  after  wide  consultation. 

15.  This  plan  may  be  modified  so  as  to  include  in  its  scope  the  per- 
manent enlargement  of  the  other  benevolences  of  our  Church,  thus 
stirring,  thrilling,  and  inspiring  the  Church  along  every  line  of  activity 
and  benevolence. 

16.  The  details  of  the  plan  to  be  left  to  the  Central  Committee. 

EAST  TENNESSEE. 
J.  S.  Hill  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries  : 

Whereas,  The  Joint  Commission  on  Boundaries,  ordered  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1892,  to  adjust  the  boundary  lines  between  the 
Washington  and  East  Tennessee  Conference,  met  at  Tazewell,  Va.,  Oc-  Boundarie&' 
tober  6,  1893,  and  by  unanimous  action  the  counties  of  Mercer,  Wyo- 
ming, and  McDowell,  in  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  belonging  to  the 
Washington  Conference  were  ceded  to  the  East  Tennessee  Confer- 
ence ;  therefore,  be  it 

Rexolved,  That  the  action  of  the  Joint  Commission  be  and  is  hereby 
ratified. 

IOWA. 

T.  J.  Myers  offered  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  : 

\V7tereas,  The  present  law  of  the  Church  prevents  any  but  ordained  Solemniz- 
preachers  to  solemnize  matrimony,  thereby  putting  unordained  preach-  ifkges." 
£tl  in  many  instances  to  great  disadvantage  ;  therefore, 


138 

MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 


197. 


1  270. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Change  in 
1241. 


Resolved,  That  the  law  of  the  Discipline  be  so  changed  that  all 
preachers  who  are  pastors  of  charges,  under  appointment  by  Bishop  or 
presiding  elder,  shall  be  authorized  to  solemnize  marriage,  whether  in 
orders  or  not,  provided  such  is  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  State. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Revisals  : 

Resolved,  1.  That  paragraph  97,  section  8,  of  the  Discipline  be 
amended  by  adding  the  words  "  on  nominations,"  so  that  the  section 
shall  read  :  "  To  appoint  at  the  Fourth  Quarterly  Conference  Commit- 
tees on  (1)  Missions,  (2),  (3),  (4),  (5),  (6),  (7),  (8),  (9),  (10),  (11),  (12), 
(13)  on  nominations." 

2.  Amend  paragraph  270  of  the  Discipline  by  substituting  for  the 
words,  "  The  pastor  and  the  nominating  committee  shall  have  the 
right  to  nominate  the  stewards,"  so  that  the  paragraph  shall  read  : 
"  The  pastor  and  the  nominating  committee  shall  have  the  right  to 
nominate  the  stewards,  .  .  .  for  one  year,  or  until  their  .  .  .  elected." 

3.  Amend  paragraph  293  of  the  Discipline  by  substituting  for  the 
words  "  Upon  the  nomination  of  the  pastor,"  "  upon  the  nominations 
of  the  pastor  and  the  nominating  committee,"  so  that  the  paragraph 
shall  read :  "  Where  no  specific  .  .  .  upon  the  nominations  of  the 
pastor  and  the  nominating  committee  .  .  .  until  their  successors  are 
elected." 

MISSOURI. 

J.  H.  Poland  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Whereas,  There  is  on  the  rolls  of  the  Church  a  considerable  number 
of  members  who  continually  and  habitually  neglect  the  means  of  grace, 
ignoring  their  obligations  to  the  Church  both  spiritually  and  financially; 
and, 

Whereas,  Our  present  method  of  dealing  with  this  class  of  members 
is  cumbersome  and  difficult  to  handle,  because  it  requires  a  formal 
trial ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  following  changes  be  made  in  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline :  Let  paragraph  241  be  so  amended  as  to  read:  "  When  a 
member  of  our  Church  habitually  neglects  the  means  of  grace,  such 
as  the  public  worship  of  God,  the  Supper  of  the  Lord,  family  and 
private  prayer,  searching  the  Scriptures,  class  meetings  and.  prayer 
meetings,  or  neglects  or  refuses  to  contribute  of  his  earthly  substance, 
according  to  his  ability,  to  the  support  of  the  Gospel  and  the  various 
benevolent  enterprises  of  the  Church, 

"  §  1.  Let  the  preacher  in  charge,  accompanied  by  a  leader  or 
steward,  visit  him,  at  least  twice,  and  explain  to  him  the  consequence 
if  he  continue  his  present  course. 

"  §  2.  If  he  do  not  amend,  let  the  preacher  in  charge  bring  his  case 
before  the  Leaders  and  Stewards'  Meeting,  before  which  he  shall  be 
cited  to  appear.  And  if  he  be  found  guilty  of  willful  neglect  by  a 
decision  of  a  majority  of  those  present  and  voting,  let  him  be  regarded 
as  having  withdrawn.  Nevertheless,  he  shall  not  be  deprived  of  for- 
mal trial  if  he  appear  before  the  Leaders  and  Stewards'  Meeting  and 
demand  it.  If  so,  let  him  be  tried  according  to  the  provisions  of  para- 
graph 240." 

For  paragraph  265  let  the  following  be  substituted :  "  At  the 
Fourth  Quarterly  Conference  of  each  circuit  and  station  there  shall  be 
elected  two  members  of  the  Church,  not  under  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  who  shall  not  be  members  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  who  shall 
be  known  as  Triers  of  Appeals.  If  any  excluded  or  expelled  member 
shall  feel  that  injustice  has  been  done  him,  he  not  having  absented 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


139 


himself  from  trial  after  due  notice  has  been  given  him,  he  shall  notify 
the  presiding  elder  of  the  district,  who  shall  call  together  not  less  than 
seven  nor  more  than  nine  of  the  Triers  of  Appeals,  conveniently  lo- 
cated, before  whom  the  case  shall  be  brought.  The  presiding  elder 
shall  give  due  notice  to  all  concerned.  The  appellant  shall  have  the 
right  of  peremptory  challenge,  yet  so  that  the  Triers  of  Appeals 
present  and  ready  to  proceed  with  the  hearing  shall  not  fall  below 
five.  The  presiding  elder  shall  preside  over  the  Court  of  Appeals,  which, 
when  assembled,  shall  be  competent  to  try  appeals  which  may  be 
brought  before  it  from  any  part  of  the  district.  The  preacher  in  charge 
of  the  appellant  shall  present  exact  minutes  of  the  trial  to  the  Ap- 
pellant Court,  of  the  evidence  and  proceedings,  from  which  minutes 
the  case  shall  be  determined." 

MISSISSIPPI. 

J.  M.  Shumpert,  of  the  Mississippi  Conference,  pre- 
sented the  following,  which  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Episcopacy: 

Whereas,  There  being  no  episcopal  parsonage  in  the  city  of  New 
Orleans,  it  is  but  generous  upon  the  part  of  this  Conference  to  give 
to  the  resident  Bishop  his  choice  of  place  for  the  incoming  quadren- 
nium  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  is  hereby  requested  to 
nominate  to  this  General  Conference  New  Orleans  or  Pass  Christian, 
Miss.,  as  his  place  of  episcopal  residence. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

J.  F.  Rusling  offered  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  : 

Resolved,  That  section  1  of  subdivision  3,  paragraph  170,  page  97, 
of  the  Discipline,  relative  to  the  duties  of  a  Bishop,  be  amended  so 
as  to  read  as  follows  :  "  He  shall  not  allow  any  preacher  to  remain  in 
the  same  pastoral  charge  more  than  five  years  successively,  nor  more 
than  five  years  in  ten.  Nevertheless,  if  in  any  case  the  term  of  five 
years  shall  expire  in  the  interval  between  the  sessions  of  the  Annual 
Conference,  he  may  continue  him  until  the  next  session,  provided,  the 
time  shall  not  be  more  than  six  months ;  and  also,  further  provided, 
that  he  may  continue  any  preacher  for  another  year  beyond  said  years, 
and  from  year  to  year  without  regard  to  the  number  of  years  he  may 
have  already  served  in  said  pastoral  charge,  if  its  Fourth  Quarterly 
Conference  yearly,  by  ballot,  in  the  absence  of  said  preacher,  shall  by 
a  two  thirds  vote  of  its  entire  membership,  or  three  fourths  vote  of  all 
present,  request  his  reappointment,  for  reasons  affecting  the  welfare 
and  prosperity  of  said  pastoral  charge,  to  be  stated  in  writing  and 
approved  by  the  presiding  elder  of  his  district,  and  showing  the  said 
case  to  be  exceptional  or  emergent  in  character." 

NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 

Robert  Forbes  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  a  change  be  made  in  the  Order  of  Public  Worship  as 
follows : 

"  Morning  service :  The  congregation  shall  stand  and  sing  the  long 
meter  doxology,  repeat  the  Apostles'  Creed,  sing  the  Gloria  Patri" 
Then  shall  follow  the  order  of  service  as  now  provided,  except  that 
the  first  hymn  shall  be  sung,  the  people  sitting,  and  the  second  hymn, 
the  people  standing. 


MAY  8. 


Seventh 
Day. 


Morning. 


Episcopal 
residence  in 
New 
Orleans. 


Time  limit. 


Order  of 
public  wor- 
ship. 


140 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 
DAY. 

Morning. 
Consolida- 
tion of  be- 
nevolences. 


Question  of 
law. 


Solemniz- 
ing mar- 


No  Man's 
Land." 


Neglect  of 
the  means 
of  grace. 


He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Benevolences  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  the  Benevolences 
be  instructed  to  consider  both  the  questions  of  consolidation  and  reor- 
ganization of  the  Benevolent  Societies,  and  to  consider  and  report  to 
this  body  at  as  early  an  hour  as  possible  the  practicability  of : 
1.  Uniting  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  with 
the  Board  of  Education.  2.  The  absorption  of  the  Tract  Society  into 
the  Missionary  Society.  3.  Putting  new  life  into  the  Sunday  School 
Union  so  that  at  least  $100,000  can  be  raised  annually  for  Sunday 
school  work  in  neglected  portions  of  large  cities  on  the  frontier,  in  the 
South,  and  other  needy  fields.  4.  The  division  of  the  Missionary  Fund 
into  two  parts — Home  and  Foreign — for  which  collections  are  to  be 
taken  separately.  5.  The  consolidation  of  our  Church  Extension  work 
with  the  J^ome  Department  of  the  Missionary  Society. 

OHIO. 

J.  C.  Arbuckle  presented  the  following  relative  to 
"  Imprudent  and  Unchristian  Conduct,"  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  is  hereby  respectfully 
requested  to  answer  the  following  question  of  law  and  report  the  same 
to  this  General  Conference  before  its  adjournment :  In  cases  of  im- 
prudent and  unchristian  conduct  is  it  required  that  the  two  prelimi- 
nary steps,  as  specified  in  the  Discipline,  paragraph  240,  shall  be 
taken  before  such  cases  under  the  meaning  of  the  Discipline  are 
actionable  ? 

SOUTH  KANSAS. 
J.  E.  Brant  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy : 

Resolved,  That  probationers  in  the  Annual  Conferences  andvlocal 
preachers  not  ordained  who  are  in  charge  of  circuits  or  stations  be 
authorized  to  solemnize  marriages  in  those  States  where  the  law  recog- 
nizes their  right  to  do  so. 

SOUTHWEST  KANSAS. 
W.  H.  Rose  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries: 

Whereas,  The  territory  formerly  known  as  "  No  Man's  Land  "  is 
now  known  as  Beaver  County,  Oklahoma  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  describing  the  bounds  of  the  Southwest  Kansas 
Conference  the  words  "  Beaver  County,  Oklahoma,"  be  substituted  for 
"  the  territory  known  as  1  No  Man's  Land.'  " 

WEST  WISCONSIN. 
W.  J.  McKay  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals : 

Resolved,  That  when  members  of  our  Church  shall  of  choice  neglect 
the  means  of  grace  and  cease  to  have  further  interest  in  the  Church 
and  its  work  for  the  space  of  one  year,  the  customary  effort  having 
been  made  to  renew  them  in  spirit  and  life,  their  names  may,  by  order 
of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  be  stricken  from  the  Church  record,  and 
that  opposite  their  names  shall  be  written  in  the  record,  "  Erased 
after  due  consideration  by  order  of  the  Quarterly  Conference." 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


141 


WYOMING. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 


Third  Quar- 
terly Con- 
ference. 


Superan- 
nuated 
preachers. 


Austin  Griffin  presented  the  following,  which  were 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Third  Quarterly  Conference  of  each  pastoral 
charge  shall  appoint  a  committee  of  three,  who,  with  the  pastor,  shall 
nominate  the  Board  of  Stewards  together  with  all  the  standing  com- 
mittees for  the  ensuing  Conference  year,  said  committee  to  report  to 
the  ensuing  Fourth  Quarterly  Conference. 

Whereas,  The  claims  of  our  superannuated  preachers  for  support 
should  be  considered  by  our  people  as  of  the  same  nature  as  the 
claims  of  the  pastor,  presiding  elder,  and  Bishop,  namely,  as  minis- 
terial support ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  amount  apportioned  to  each  pastoral  charge  for 
the  support  of  the  superannuated  preachers  and  the  widows  and  or- 
phans of  those  who  have  died  in  the  work  shall  be  a  pro  rata  claim 
with  that  of  the  pastor,  presiding  elder,  and  Bishop. 

The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary : 

BALTIMORE. 

Alexander  Ashley  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  ^on^the 
himself  and  W.  G.  Bishop,  respecting  the  Constitution  church, 
of  the  Church.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Con- 
stitution. 

Also,  one,  signed  by  himself  and  W.  G.  Bishop,  re-  Equal  min- 

.     -  °    .    .  -  1  isterial  and 

specting  equal  ministerial  and  lay  representation  in  the  JenVauon" 
General  Conference.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Lay  Representation.  • 

Also,  one  from  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  of  the  Time  limit- 
Baltimore  Conference,  concerning  the  time  limit.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

BLUE  RIDGE. 

Augustus  Graybeal  presented  a  memorial  in  op])o-  Boundaries, 
sition  to  the  one  offered  by  the  Georgia  Conference, 
asking  that  the  boundary  between  the  two  Conferences 
be  changed.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Bound- 
aries. 

Also,  one  on  behalf  of  J.  F.  Matney,  W.  J.  Evans, 
and  J.  L.  Dennis  on  same  subject.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries. 

BOMBAY. 

D.  O.  Fox  presented  a  memorial  concerning  theelec-    Election  of 

1  o  presiding 

tion  of  presiding  elders.    Referred  to  the  Committee  elders* 
on  Itinerancy. 


142 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 
Division  of 
territory. 


Relation  of 
pastor's 
family  to 
Church. 


Time  of 
holding 
Conferences 


Change  in 
Discipline. 


CENTRAL  MISSOURI. 
J.  W.  Jackson  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  C.  P. 
Thompson  and  others,  asking  for  a  division  of  its  terri- 
tory.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 
R.  D.  Munger  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  B.  J. 
Tracy,  respecting  relation  of  pastor's  family  to  the 
Church.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

CENTRAL  OHIO. 

J.  L.  Albritton  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
time  of  holding  District  and  Quarterly  Conferences. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

E.  D.  Whitlock  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  A.  S. 
Watkins,  respecting  a  change  in  Discipline.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Time  limit. 


Eligibility 
of  secre- 
taries, ed- 
itors, and 
agents  as 
delegates. 


Enabling 
act. 


CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 

E.  J.  Gray  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Central 
Pennsylvania  Conference,  with  reference  to  the  time 
limit  for  pastoral  appointments.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Itinerancy. 

CINCINNATI. 

F.  G.  Mitchell  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  T.  H. 
Pearne  and  others,  respecting  the  eligibility  of  secre- 
taries, editors,  and  agents  as  delegates  to  GenerarCon- 
ference.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
the  Church. 

COLORADO. 

D.  L.  Rader  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  E.  E. 
Clough  and  others,  respecting  an  enabling  act.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Consolida- 
tion of  be- 
nevolences. 


Accused 
members. 


Courts  of 
trial. 


DETROIT. 

C.  T.  Allen  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Detroit 
Preachers'  Meeting  on  the  subject  of  consolidating  our 
benevolent  societies.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Consolidation  of  Benevolences. 

John  Sweet  and  W.  H.  Shier  presented  a  memorial 
relating  to  an  accused  member.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Judiciary. 

Also,  one  concerning  courts  of  trial.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Judiciary. 


189G.J 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


143 


EAST  OHIO. 

J.  I.  Wilson  presented  a  memorial  from  the'  East 
Ohio  Conference  praying  that  increased  powers  be 
given  to  presiding  elders.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Itinerancy. 

D.  H.  Muller  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  Wm. 
H.  Rider,  president,  and  ten  others,  in  behalf  of  the 
Cleveland  Preachers'  Meeting,  asking  that  Cleveland  be 
made  an  episcopal  residence.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Episcopacy. 

L.  H.  Stewart  presented  a  memorial  asking  that  all 
persons  received  into  the  traveling  connection  be  or- 
dained deacons  when  admitted.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Itinerancy. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

day. 
Morning. 
Increased 
power  for 
presiding 
elders. 


Cleveland 
as  an  epis- 
copal resi- 
dence. 


Deacons. 


ERIE. 

A.  J.  Merchant  presented  memorials,  signed  by  him- 
self, proposing  changes  in  the  Ritual  on  Baptism.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

Also,  memorials,  signed  by  himself,  concerning  classes 
and  class  meetings,  and  concerning  certificates  of  mem- 
bership.  "Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

Also,  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself,  on  the  subject 
of  amusements.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
State  of  the  Church. 

Also,  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself,  on  the  subject 
of  duties  of  Bishops.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Episcopacy. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  presented  a  memorial  from  James- 
town Methodist  Episcopal  Church  relating  to  Christian 
druggists  handling  intoxicating  liquors.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the 
Liquor  Traffic. 

I  le  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  members  of 
our  Church  dealing  in  or  dispensing  intoxicating 
liquors  except  for  medicinal  and  other  legitimate  pur- 
poses, which  was  referred  to  the  same  committee. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  of  the  Erie  Conference 
relative  to  the  probationary  system.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  H.  E.  V. 
Porter,  respecting  temperance  and  good  citizenship. 
10 


Changes  in 
Ritual  on 
Baptism. 


Classes  and 
certificates 
of  member- 
ship. 


Amuse- 
ments. 


Duties  of 
Bishops. 


Christian 
druggists 
handling  in- 
toxicating 
liquors. 


Members 
dealing  in 
intoxicat- 
ing liquors. 


Probation- 
ary system. 


Temper- 
ance and 
citizenship. 


144 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning.. 
Time  limit. 


Time  limit. 


Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohi- 
bition1 of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

He  also  presented  "a  resolution,  signed  by  W.  P. 
Graham,  respecting  the  time  limit.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

R.  S.  Borland  presented  a  memorial  f  rom  the  Minis- 
terial Association  of  Erie  District  concerning  the  time 
limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


GENESEE. 

c?S£maentsf  ^.  Morse  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  William 
Sciom,  respecting  Conference  claimants.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Change  in 
Discipline. 


Mission 
among  the 
Jews. 


Change  of 
boundary 
line. 


GEORGIA. 

J.  L.  Fowler  presented  a  memorial  concerning  a 
change  in  the  Discipline.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Georgia  Con- 
ference relative  to  a  mission  among  the  Jews.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

Also,  one  memorial  asking  a  change  of  the  boundary 
line  between  the  Georgia  and  Blue  Ridge  Conferences. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


ILLINOIS. 

courses  of  J.  T.  McFarland  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself  and  W.  H.  Wilder,  respecting  rules  regulating 
Conference  Courses  of  Study.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education. 

KANSAS. 

Episcopal       J.  A.  Hotter  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Kansas 

residence.  r  , 

Conference  relative  to  an  episcopal  residence.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


LOUISIANA. 

Freedmen's  J.  C.  Hartzell  presented  a  memorial  from  the  General 
Aid  society.  Committee  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Edu- 
cation Society  relating  to  the  duty  of  pastors  in  con- 
nection with  the  work  of  that  Society.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Edu- 
cation Society. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


145 


MICHIGAN.  MAY  S. 

•                i  Seventh 

Levi  Masters  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  Mrs.  day. 

A.  A.  Knappen  and  others,  respecting  the  Deaconess  Deaconess 

Work.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Deaconess  Work.  wor  ' 


Revision  of 
Constitu- 
tion of 
Church. 


MINNESOTA. 

H.  R.  Brill  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Minne- 
sota Lay  Electoral  Conference  concerning  a  revision  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Reyisals. 

Also,  one  concerning  the  election  of  stewards  and  and  trustees 
trustees.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

H.  C.  Jennings  presented  from  the  National  Woman's 
Christian-  Temperance  Union  a  memorial  for  a  Uni- 
versal Temperance  Sunday.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 


Universal 
Temper- 
ance Sun- 
day. 


NEBRASKA. 

C.  C.  Lasby  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
partial  relief  from  duty  of  the  class  of  Bishops  elected 
in  !872.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


Bishops 
elected  in 


NEWARK. 

G.  W.  Smith  presented  three  memorials.  One  from 
the  First  Church  of  Roseville  concerning  the  Course  of 
Study  for  deacons,  which  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals,  and  two  from  the  Conference,  one 
-concerning  the  ratio  of  representation,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals,  and  one  concern- 
ing the  place  of  next  session  of  the  General  Conference, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal 
Economy. 

Memorials  were  presented  from  J.  F.  Dodd  and 
others  relating  to  time  limit.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Itinerancy. 

Also,  one  from  Newark  Conference  concerning  St. 
John's  Church,  and  from  a  part  of  the  official  members 
and  other  members  of  same  church.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries. 

J.  B.  Faulks  presented  one  from  Bloomingdale 
Quarterly  Conference  asking  that  the  regulations  re- 
specting probationers  be  not  abolished  or  changed. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Course  of 
Study  for 
deacons. 


Ratio  of 
representa- 
tion. 

Next  session 
of  Confer- 
ence. 


Time  limit. 


St.  John's 
Church. 


Probation- 
ers. 


I 


146 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 
Day. 

Morning. 
Tenure  of 
office. 

Statistical 
secretaries 
and  treas- 
urers. 


NEW  JERSEY. 

J.  B.  Graw  presented  a  memorial  concerning  a 
change  in  Discipline  fixing  tenure  of  office.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

Also,  a  memorial  from  H.  G.  Williams  requesting 
certain  changes  in  the  Discipline  concerning  Conference 
statistical  secretaries  and  treasurers.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 


Change  of 
language  in 
Discipline. 


Conference 
missionary 


Boundaries. 


Omaha 
Christian 
Advocate. 


American 
flag  on  our 
churches. 


Conference 
examina- 
tions. 


Mode  of  de- 
termining 
boundaries. 


CINCINNATI. 

C.  H.  Payne  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Board  of 
Education  requesting  certain  changes  in  the  language 
of  the  Discipline.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Education. 

NORTH  INDIA. 

T.  J.  Scott  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  Confer- 
ence missionary  societies.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Missions. 

NORTH  NEBRASKA. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  the  North  Nebraska 
Conference  concerning  the  boundary  line.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

J.  B.  Maxfield  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Omaha 
Preachers'  Meeting  asking  that  the  Omaha  Christian 
Advocate  be  made  a  Book  Concern  publication.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern. 

Also,  one  from  the  North  Nebraska  Conference  upon 
the  same  subject.    Referred  to  the  same  Committee. 

Also,  one,  signed  by  J.  W.  Bovee  and  five  others,  on 
the  subject  of  the  display  of  the  American  flag  in  or  on 
our  Church  edifices ;  and  also  one  from  the  North 
Nebraska  Conference  upon  the  same  subject.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 

Also,  one  from  the  North  Nebraska  Conference  on 
the  subject  of  Conference  examinations.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

NORTH  OHIO. 

W.  F.  Whitlock  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself  and  N.  S.  Albright,  respecting  mode  of  de- 
termining boundaries.  Referred  to  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


147 


NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 

J.  F.  Chaffee  presented  a  memorial  concerning  par- 
agraph 240.    Referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee. 

J.  F.  Force  presented  a  memorial  commending  work 
of  Epworth  League  an,d  Christian  Endeavor  Societies 
in  Methodist  Episcopal  churches.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

Also,  one  from  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  relative 
to  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic.  Referred  to  Com- 
mittee on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor 
Traffic. 

Also,  one  by  J.«B.  Hingeley  asking  that  credit  be 
given  by  Conference  Committees  on  Examination  for 
work  done  in  colleges  and  theological  schools  when  the 
work  is  properly  certified.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Education. 

Also,  one  asking  change  in  the  prefatory  note  to 
the  Course  of  Study.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Education. 

One  by  Robert  Forbes,  asking  that  paragraph  240  be 
stricken  from  the  Discipline.  Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Revisals. 

One  by  A.  W.  Bradley,  asking  changes  of  Discipline 
relative  to  election  of  trustees  and  stewards.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 
IT  240. 

Work  of 
young  peo- 
ple's so- 
cieties com- 
mended. 


Liquor 
traffic. 


Work  done 
in  colleges 
and  schools. 


Course  of 
Study. 


1T240. 


Election  of 
trustees  and 
stewards. 


NORTHERN  NEW"  YORK. 
S.  M.  Coon  presented  a  memorial   from  Charles 
Sheard  requesting  a  change  of  the  Discipline.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Change  of 
Discipline. 


OHIO. 

W.  H.  Lewis  presented  from  the  Ohio  Conference 
a  memorial  concerning  General  Conference  expenses. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

W.  D.  Cherington  also  presented  one  from  the  Ohio 
Conference  concerning  the  making  appointments  at 
Annual  Conferences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

Also,  one  concerning  the  Official  Board.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 

Also,  one  asking  that  provision  be  made  by  which  the 
organist  and  the  chorister  shall  be  added  to  the  Sunday 


General 
Conference 
expenses. 


Making  ap- 
pointments. 


Official 
Board. 


Organist 
and  chor- 
ister. 


us 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 

Member- 
ship records 


Episcopal 
support,  and 
profits. 


To  exclude 
General 

Conference 
officers. 


Ejection  of 
presiding 
elders. 


Pacific 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Chanere  in 
boundaries. 


School  Board.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday 
School  and  Tracts. 

Also,  one  asking  provision  be  made  that  the  mem- 
bership records  of  the  different  societies  on  circuits  be 
kept  in  separate  books.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

D.  Y.  Murdoch  presented  one  concerning  the  law  of 
the  episcopal  support  and  the  profits  of  the  Book  Con- 
cern. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Con- 
cern. 

J.  C.  Arbuckle  presented  one  asking  such  legislation 
as  will  exclude  General  Conference  officers  from  mem- 
bership in  the  General  Conference.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  D.  Y.  Mur- 
doch, respecting  election  of  presiding  elders,  which  was., 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

OREGON. 

J.  F.  Caples  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Portland 
Preachers'  Meeting  asking  that  the  Pacific  Christian 
Advocate  be  adopted  as  a  General  Conference  publica- 
tion.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  North  Pacific 
German  Mission  Conference  asking  for  a  change  in 
boundary  lines.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Bound- 
aries. 

G.  W.  Gue  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Oregon 
Conference  asking  that  the  Pacific  Christian  Advocate 
be  adopted  as  a  General  Conference  publication.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


National 
City  Evan- 
gelization 
Union. 


Official 
Board. 


Transfers. 


PHILADELPHIA. 
J.  E.  James  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself 
and  Horace  Benton,  respecting  National  City  Evan- 
gelization Union.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

M.  E.  Cady  presented  seven  memorials.  One  from 
the  Joliet  District  Ministerial  Association  concerning 
the  Official  Board,  and  one  from  the  ministers  in  Ot- 
tawa, 111.,  concerning  transfers  to  Conferences,  which 
were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy;  one 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


149 


from  the  Joliet  District  Ministerial  Association  con- 
cerning reports  of  treasurers  of  church  societies,  and 
one  from  the  same  Association  concerning  election  of 
stewards  and  trustees,  which  were  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temporal  Economy;  one  from  Richmond 
Church  concerning  a  change  in  boundaries,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries;  and  two 
from  the  Joliet  District  Ministerial  Association,  one 
concerning  the  Index  to  the  Discipline,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals,  and  one  concern- 
ing the  examination  of  candidates  for  the  ministry, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education. 


MAY  8- 

Seventh 
Day. 

Morning. 

Reports  of 


Stewards 
and  trustees 

Change  in 
boundaries. 


Index  to 
Discipline. 


Examina- 
of  candi- 
dates. 


ST.  LOUIS. 

A  memorial  was  presented  on  behalf  of  the  Deaconess 
Home  of  St.  Louis.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Deaconess  Work. 

J.  B.  Young  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Board 
of  Control  of  the  Ep worth  League  respecting  changes 
in  Discipline,  the  publication  of  a  Junior  paper,  etc. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

SOUTHERN'  CALIFORNIA. 
S.  A.  Thomson  j^resented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, respecting  the  organization  of  Quarterly  Confer- 
ences.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Deaconess 
Home. 


Changes  in 
Discipline. 


Organiza- 
tion of 
Quarterly 
Conference. 


SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS. 
William  Wallis  presented  a  memorial  concerning  re- 
ports of  local  preachers.    Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

Also,  one  on  the  subject  of  divorce.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Judiciary. 


Reports  of 

local 
preachers. 


Divorce. 


SOUTHWEST  KANSAS. 
W.  J.  Martindale  presented  a  memorial  requesting  a  Reception 
change  of  the  Discipline  concerning  the  reception  of  m^Jer_ 
probationers  into  full  membership.    Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 

Granville  Lowther  presented  a  memorial  concerning 
the  nomination  of  presiding  elders.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

SWEDEN. 

J.  A.  Anderson  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him-  Time  limit. 


Nomination 
of  presiding 
elders. 


150 


MAY  8. 

Seventh 

Day. 
Morning. 


Changes  in 
II II  543, 545. 


Theological 
students. 


Colored 
Bishop. 


Southwest- 
ern Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate. 


Boundaries. 


Episcopal 
term  of 
office. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 
Re 


self  and  H.   Soderberg,  respecting  time  limit, 
ferred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

UPPER  IOWA. 

S.  N.  Fellows  presented  a  memorial  asking  certain 
changes  in  paragraphs  543  and  545  of  the  Discipline. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

W.  F.  King  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  ex- 
amination of  theological  students  by  Annual  Confer- 
ences.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education. 

WASHINGTON. 

"W.  H.  Brooks  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self and  sixteen  others,  asking  for  the  election  of  a 
colored  Bishop.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy. 

Also,  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself  and  others,  asking 
for  the  location  of  the  Southivestem  Christian  Advocate 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  Book  Concern. 

WESTERN  NORWEGIAN-DANISH. 
C.  J.  Larson  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  E.  E. 
Mork  and  P.  M.  Ellefsen,  relative  to  boundaries.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

WISCONSIN. 

G.  H.  Trever  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself 
and  two  others,  concerning  episcopal  term  of  office. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 

Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Tobacco. 


SATURDAY  MORNING,  MAY  9. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8.30  a.  m., 
Bishop  W.  X.  Ninde  in  the  chair.  The  devotional 
services  were  conducted  by  W.  S.  Edwards,  of  the 
Baltimore  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

The  roll  of  Conferences  was  called  for  resolutions. 

Granville  Lowther  presented  the  following: 

Whereas,  The  manufacture,  sale,  and  use  of  tobacco  is  to  this 
nation,  excepting  the  liquor  traffic,  the  greatest  financial  waste,  costing 
annually  $600,000,000 ;  and, 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


151 


Whereof,  It  is  destroying  every  year  its  thousands,  and  injuring 
thousands  more  ;  and, 

Whereas,  Its  effects  all  along  the  line  of  heredity  create  fearful  con- 
sequences upon  the  children  of  tobacco  users,  which  children  are 
thrust  upon  life  with  inherent  weaknesses  of  body,  mind,  and  soul,  to 
fight  an  unequal  contest  in  the  great  competitive  struggle  for  success ; 
and, 

W?ier>-as,  The  use  of  tobacco  as  indulged  in  by  the  general  public 
violates  the  Scripture  law  of  cleanliness,  the  modern  social  laws  of 
puritv,  and  the  regard  for  the  rights  of  others ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  our  people  to  wholly  abstain  from 
the  use  of  tobacco,  and  that  they  do  not  elect  or  appoint  Sunday 
school  superintendents,  Epworth  League  presidents,  class  leaders,  or 
other  officers  intrusted  largely  with  molding  the  thought  and  directing 
the  lives  of  our  young  people,  unless  they  are  free  from  the  habit. 

J.  F.  Chaffee  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee 
on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 
Levi  Master  moved  to  refer  it  to  the  Committee  on 
State  of  the  Church.  The  amendment  was  lost,  and  it 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temperance  and 
Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

J.  B.  Albrook  presented  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  persons  in  charge  of  the  opening  devotions  of  service? 
this  General  Conference  be  requested  to  follow  the  Order  for  Public 
Worship,  as  found  in  paragraph   56  of  the  Discipline,  as  follows : 
*'  First,  singing ;  second,  prayer  ;  third,  reading  Scripture  lesson  ;  fourth, 
singing." 

J.  H.  Coleman  moved  to  lay  it  on  the  table.  Lost. 
J.  E.  C.  Sawyer  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee 
on  the  State  of  the  Church.  Lost.  Robert  Forbes 
moved  to  refer  it  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals.  Lost. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

The  following,  on  motion  of  I.  L.  Thomas,  was 
adopted : 

Whereas,  There  have  been  such  cordiality  of  feeling  and  expression 
of  good  will  manifested  by  the  pastors  of  the  various  denominations  of 
the  city ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  Monday  at  11  a.m.  be  fixed  as  the  time  to  invite  them 
to  be  present  and  be  introduced  to  the  Conference. 

Merritt  Hulburd  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church: 

/,  <  olution  Olid  Petition  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  for  Con-  Recognition 
stilutional  Amendment :  of  God* 

Whereas,  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  contains  no  recog- 
nition of  God  or  of  his  providence  ;  and, 

Wlweas,  There  is  now  pending  in  Congress  a  joint  resolution  pro- 
posing the  following  amendment:  "That  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  devoutly  acknowledging  Almighty  God  as  the  source  of  all 
authority  in  civil  government,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  ruler  of 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Introduc- 
tion of  pas- 
tors. 


152 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Journal  to 
schools. 


Votes  of  C. 
J.  Little.  F. 
H.  Tanner, 
and  John 
French. 


Petition  of 
superannu- 
ated preach- 
ers. 


nations,  and  the  revealed  will  of  God  as  of  supreme  authority  in 
civil  affairs,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  etc.  ;  "  and, 

Whereas,  The  proposed  amendment,  if  adopted  by  the  constitutional 
majorities  in  Congress  and  the  State  Legislatures  would  change  our 
organic  law  from  the  purely  secular  to  a  theocratic  government,  which 
was  not  intended .  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  or  any  of  the 
States  ratifying  the  same ;  and, 

Whereas,  No  Unitarian,  Jew,  or  Deist,  who,  nevertheless,  might  be 
a  patriotic  and  useful  citizen,  could  conscientiously  swear  to  support 
the  Constitution  containing  said  amendment ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  by  the  members  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  now  sitting  in  Cleveland,  in  the  State  of  Ohio, 
That  we  respectfully  petition  the  honorable  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  to  pass  a 
joint  resolution  submitting  to  all  the  State  Legislatures  for  ratification 
the  following  amendment  to  the  Constitution  :  After  the  word  "  poster- 
ity," in  the  preamble  as  it  now  stands,  insert  the  words,  "  trusting  in  Al- 
mighty God,"  so  that  the  preamble  of  the  Constitution  amended  shall 
read  as  follows :  "  We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to 
form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tran- 
quillity, provide  for  the  common  defense,  promote  the  general  welfare, 
and  secure  the  blessing  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  trust- 
ing in  Almighty  God,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the 
United  States  of  America." 

Resolved,  second,  That  this  resolution  and  petition,  signed  by  the 
President  and  Secretary  of  this  body,  be  forwarded  to  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled. 

L.  L.  Sprague  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  Publishing  Agents  at  New  York  be  requested  to 
furnish,  gratuitously,  a  bound  copy  of  the  General  Conference  Journal 
of  the  session  of  1896  to  the  library  of  any  school,  under  the  control 
of  the  Church,  that  may  ask  for  it. 

C.  J.  Little  and  F.  H.  Tanner  having  been  absent 
when  the  vote  was  taken  on  submitting  the  constitu- 
tional amendment  requested,  and  were  granted,  the 
privilege  of  recording  their  votes  in  favor  of  it;  and 
John  French  was  granted  the  privilege  of  changing  his 


vote  from  "  no 


to  "aye." 


Samuel  Dickie  was  granted  leave  of  absence. 
E.  J.  Gray  presented  the  following,  which  was  read 
and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Superannuated  Ministers'  Petition  to  the  General  Conference : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  In  all  the  legislation  of  your 
honorable  body  relating  to  ministerial  support,  the  superannuated 
ministers  received  equal  recognition  with  their  brethren  until  1852. 
Before  that  date  the  allowance  made  for  the  support  of  superannuated 
ministers  was  equal  in  amount  to  that  provided  for  Bishops  and  effect- 
ive ministers.  In  1852  Annual  Conferences  were  authorized  to  de- 
termine by  a  two  thirds  vote  who  should  be  claimants  on  the  funds  of 
the  Conference  and  the  amount  each  claimant  should  receive.  Bishop 
Scott  interpreted  this  law  to  mean  that  the  claims  of  all  superannuate* 
should  be  allowed,  and  that  to  disallow  any  claim,  in  whole  or  in  part, 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


153 


required  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting. 
This  ruling  was  approved  by  the  General  Conference  of  1860. 

In  1860  the  present  plan  was  adopted.  Under  its  provisions  no 
superannuate  has  a  claim  unless  it  is  granted  by  his  Conference.  It  is 
a  gratuity  which  can  be  withheld  by  vote  of  the  Conference,  and  there 
is  no  redress  for  the  claimant.  It  is  based  upon  necessity,  and  is  be- 
stowed upon  proof  of  great  need.  The  plan  requires  the  Church  to 
provide  a  comfortable  support  for  Bishops,  whether  effective  or  non- 
effective, presiding  elders,  and  pastors.  It  only  suggests  that  Annual 
Conferences  may,  if  they  deem  best,  assist  the  superannuate  in  ob- 
taining a  comfortable  support. 

We  earnestly  petition  your  honorable  body  to  remove  the  discrimina- 
tion made  against  us  in  the  law  of  the  Church.  We  urge  the  adoption 
of  some  plan  for  ministerial  support  which  shall  restore  us  to  our  place 
in  the  itinerant  brotherhood  as  equals  with  our  brethren ;  we  suggest 
that  the  support  of  Conference  Claimants  be  based  upon  the  term  of 
effective  service,  while  compensation  be  made  for  those  who  have  been 
able  to  render  only  a  brief  ministry ;  we  plead  that  no  provision  of 
the  plan  shall  needlessly  humiliate  or  afflict  the  claimants  it  proposes 
to  relieve.  We  entreat  that  relief  shall  be  so  far  connectional  as  to 
supplement  the  provisions  of  Annual  Conferences  with  sufficient  aid 
from  the  denomination  to  furnish  the  superannuates  in  the  poorer 
fields  equally  with  those  in  more  favored  fields  a  support  adequate 
for  their  needs. 

J.  H.  Colt,  Kansas  Conference, 

Joseph  Denison,  Kansas  Conference, 

J.  W.  Miller,  North  Indiana  Conference, 

Francis  Cox,  Northwest  Indiana  Conference, 

G.  W.  Bower,  North  Indiana  Conference, 

And  581  others. 

The  Committee  on  Judiciary  reported  its  organiza- 
tion and  time  of  meetings,    (See  Committees,  p.  377.) 

On  motion,  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  was  in- 
structed to  report  next  Tuesday  on  the  number  of 
Bishops  to  be  elected. 

The  Secretary  read  the  following  communication, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Board  of  Bishops: 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  ses- 
sion at  Cleveland,  0.,  May,  1896: 
Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  General  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  at  its  session  in  Memphis,  Tenn.,  in 
May,  1894,  adopted  the  following  report  of  its  Committee  on  Federa- 
tion : 

"  Whereas,  The  second  Ecumenical  Conference,  assembled  in  Wash- 
ington City,  in  October,  1891,  passed  the  following  resolution: 

"  '  That  the  Conference  recognize  with  gratitude  to  God  the  grow- 
ing desire  for  a  closer  union  among  the  Evangelical  Churches  of 
Christendom,  and  especially  hails  with  devout  thankfulness  the  exten- 
sion of  that  desire  among  the  various  Methodist  Churches. 

14 '  2.  The  Conference  cannot  doubt  that  concerted  action  among  the 
different  Methodist  bodies  upon  many  questions  would  be  greatly  to 
the  advantage  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  the  Conference  would  suggest 
that  such  concerted  action  might  be  possible  and  useful  in  the  follow- 
ing great  provinces  of  the  Methodist  world,  namely  (a)  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  including  affiliated  Conferences  and  missions  ;  (b)  the 
United  States,  including  its  missions  and  missionary  Conferences; 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 

Morning. 


Committee 
on  Judi- 
ciary. 

Committee 
on  Episco- 
pacy. 


Federation. 


154 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Report  No. 
I,  Commit- 
tee on 
Missions. 


German 
Conference. 


Dr.  J.  C. 
» Morris. 


Committee 
on  Consoli- 
dation to 
report. 


Chartered 
Fund. 


(c)  Australia,  with  Polynesia  and  its  other  missions  ;  (d)  Canada,  with  its 

missions. 

" '  3.  This  Conference  therefore  respectfully  requests  the  churches 
represented  in  this  Conference  to  consider  whether  such  concerted 
action  be  possible,  and,  if  so,  by  what  means  and  in  what  way  ;  and 
directs  the  secretaries  to  forward  a  copy  of  this  resolution  to  the 
senior  Bishop  or  President  of  every  Conference  represented  here ; 1 
therefore, 

"  Resolved,  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  South,  now  in  session:  1.  That  while  we  do  not  in 
the  least  recognize  the  Ecumenical  Conference  as  having  any  legisla- 
tive power,  the  Bishops  be  requested  to  appoint  a  Commission  on 
Federation  consisting  of  three  Bishops,  three  ministers,  and  three  lay- 
men, and  that  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  notify  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  this  action,  and  request 
it  to  appoint  a  similar  commission. 

"Resolved,  2.  "That  this  Commission  shall  have  power  to  enter  into 
negotiations  with  said  similar  Commission  from  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  if  one  shall  be  appointed,  and  with  similar  commissions 
from  other  Methodist  bodies,  with  a  view  to  abating  hurtful  competi- 
tions, and  the  waste  of  men  and  money  in  home  and  foreign  fields. 

"  Resolved,  3.  That  any  arrangements  which  such  commission  may 
make  shall  be  reported  to  the  next  General  Conference  for  adoption, 
alteration,  or  rejection." 

In  accordance  with  the  request  contained  in  this  report  adopted  by 
the  General  Conference,  the  College  of  Bishops  appointed  the  following 
Commission  on  Federation : 

"  Bishops :  J.  C.  Granbery,  R.  K.  Hargrove,  and  W.  W.  Duncan ; 
the  Rev.  E.  E.  Hoss,  G.  G.  N.  McDonald,  and  J.  H.  Dye,  and  Messrs. 
Walter  Clark,  R.  W.  Jones,  and  Asa  Holt." 

Praying  the  presence  and  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  your  great 
Quadrennial  Conference  for  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  in 
the  world,  I  remain  yours  very  fraternally, 

John  J.  Tigert, 

Secretary  of  the   General   Conference  of  the   Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South. 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  May  5,  1896. 

The  Committee  on  Missions  presented  Report  No.  I, 
which,  on  motion  of  W.  N.  Brodbeck,  was  read  and 
adopted  by  a  rising  vote.    (See  Reports,  p.  398.) 

On  motion  of  J.  A.  Sargent,  the  Secretary  was  di- 
rected to  send  a  cablegram  to  the  German  Conference 
in  regard  t?o  this  matter. 

W.  V.  Kelley  announced  that  a  telegram  and  letter 
had  been  received  from  Dr.  J.  C.  Morris  stating  that 
he  would  be  with  us  on  the  18th. 

A  motion  by  J.  C.  Arbuckle,  that  the  Committee  on 
Consolidation  of  Benevolences  be  directed  to  report  on 
next  Tuesday,  was,  on  motion  of  M.  C.  Wilcox,  laid  on 
the  table. 

On  motion  of  J.  E.  James,  the  report  of  the 
Chartered  Fund  was  received  and  read,  and  the  elec- 
tion of  John  Gillespie,  Robert  E.  Pattison,  and  Avery 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


155. 


D.  Harrington  as  trustees  to  fill  vacancies,  was  con- 
firmed. 

On  motion  of  G.  E.  Ackerman,  the  following  was 

adopted  by  a  rising  vote: 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  Miss  Clara  Barton,  in  her  heroic,  self- 
sacrificing  work  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  Armenians,  our  most 
cordial  sympathy ;  and  she  may  be  well  assured  that  the  ministry  and 
membership  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  throughout  the 
civilized  world,  believiug  as  they  do  in  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
the  race,  will  ever  stand  by  the  oppressed  and  downtrodden,  and  as- 
sist by  voice  and  pen  those  who  are  earnestly  striving  to  give  relief  to 
human  woe. 

On  motion  of  D.  S.  Monroe,  the  report  of  the 
fraternal  delegates  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  was  received,  and  ordered  to  be  published  in  the 
Journal.    (See  Reports,  p.  487.) 

The  following  was  presented  by  L.  H.  Stewart,  read, 
and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Constitution : 

Resolved,  That  no  overture  of  the  General  Conference  or  the  Annual 
Conference  proposing  a  change  in  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Con- 
ference shall-be  made  without  the  necessary  two  thirds  of  the  General 
Conference  or  the  three  fourths  vote  of  the  Annual  Conference  mak- 
ing such  overtures. 

J.  O.  Cunningham  presented  the  following,  which 
was  read,  and,  on  motion  of  J.  C.  Arbuckle,  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Whereas,  "  The  poor  ye  always  have  with  you  "  in  the  form  of  needy 
and  dependent  children,  helpless  and  infirm,  aged,  or  the  sick  and 
weary ;  and, 

Whereas,  Our  Divine  Master,  in  his  teachings  and  by  imperative 
command,  made  it  the  duty  of  his  followers  to  visit  and  care  for  these 
needy  ones ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Methouist  Episcopal  Church  is  without  organized 
effort  looking  to  the  care  of  these  classes  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  be  instructed 
to  report  to.  this  Conference  some  plan,  wise  in  detail  and  broad  in  its 
scope,  which  shall  look  to  future  organized  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
Church  for  the  establishment  of  systems  of  children's  homes,  homes 
for  the  aged  and  destitute,  and  hospitals  for  the  sick,  from  such  gifts, 
contributions,  and  bequests  as  such  efforts  may  invite  and  call  forth — 
such  institutions  to  be  under  the  patronage  and  care  of  the  Church. 

James  Harlan  moved  that  the  second  Restrictive  Rule 
be  so  changed  as  to  admit  of  equal  representation  by 
the  ministry  and  laity  in  the  General  Conference. 

On  his  motion,  it  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Lay  Representation. 

Daniel  Stevenson  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Da  v. 
Morning. 


Miss  Clara 
Barton. 


Delegates  to 
Methodist 
Episcopal 
Church, 
South. 


Change  in 
Constitu- 
tion. 


Children's 
homes  and 
hospitals. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


156 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 

Armenian 
persecu- 
tions. 


School  Jaws 
of  Florida. 


Tenure  of 
office  of 
Bishops. 


Whereas,  The  persecutions  which  the  Armenian  Christians  have,  for 
the  last  several  years,  been  compelled  to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  the 
Turks,  have  been  unsurpassed,  if  not  unparalleled,  in  the  history  of 
religious  persecutions  ;  and, 

Whereas,  These  people  have  been  made  the  objects  of  these  perse- 
cutions in  consequence  of  their  loyalty  to  the  same  Lord  and  Christ 
whom  we  love  and  serve  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  extend  to  that  brave,  struggling  people 
our  profoundest,  warmest  sympathies  in  their  crushed  and  heartbroken 
condition,  and  do  appeal  to  all  civil  governments  and  to  all  Christians 
to  do  all  that  may  be  possible  to  remove  the  hand  of  cruelty  and  de- 
struction which  rests  upon  that  people,  and  restore  them  to  safety  and 
happiness  and  peace. 

J.  C.  Hartzell  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted : 

Whereas,  The  State  of  Florida  has  recently  enacted  and  is  now  en- 
forcing a  law  making  it  "  a  penal  offense  for  any  individual,  body  of 
individuals,  corporation,  or  association  to  conduct  any  school  of  any 
grade,  public,  private,  or  parochial,  where  white  persons  and  Negroes 
shall  be  instructed  or  boarded  in  the  same  building,  or  taught  in  the 
same  class,  or  at  the  same  time  with  the  same  teachers ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  penalty  for  violating  the  provisions  of  this  act  by 
patronizing  or  teaching  in  such  school  is  a  fine  "not  less  than  $150 
nor  more  than  $500,"  or  imprisonment  "  in  the  county  jail  for  not  less 
than  three  months  nor  more  than  six  months  for  every  such  offense ; " 
and, 

Whereas,  Said  law  is  in  violation  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  in- 
dividuals and  of  philanthropic  organizations  conducting  institutions  for 
educational  and  industrial  work  within  the  State  of  Florida ;  and, 

Whereas,  In  the  enforcement  of  said  law,  the  teachers  of  an  institu- 
tion of  learning  under  the  management  of  the  Congregational  Church 
in  the  State  of  Florida  have  been  arrested  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  officers  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education 
Society  and  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  of  our  own  Church, 
together  with  the  teachers  of  the  three  institutions  in  Florida,  under 
the  direction  of  these  societies,  are  liable  to  be  arrested  and  cast  into 
prison ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  sincerely  deprecates  the  passage  of  such  a  law  in  any 
State  which  invades  the  personal  rights  and  liberties  of  our  people  in 
a  manner  repugnant  to  the  genius  of  our  Christian  civilization,  and,  as 
we  believe,  in  violation  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  those  engaged  in 
educating  people  of  diverse  races  in  our  land. 

2.  That  we  sympathize  with  our  Congregational  brethren  in  the 
heroic  stand  which  they  have  taken  to  resist  the  enforcement  of  this 
law,  and  that  should  a  similar  issue  be  made  by  the  arrest  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act  any  of  the  officers  of  either  of  our  societies  hav- 
ing charge  of  our  educational  work  in  the  State  of  Florida,  or  of  our 
teachers  in  either  of  our  institutions  in  that  State,  we  heartily  approve 
any  efforts  that  may  be  made  to  contest  the  constitutionality  or  secure 
the  repeal  of  a  law  so  un-American  and  unchristian. 

On  motion  of  P.  J.  Maveety,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  be  and  is  hereby  in- 
structed to  report  to  the  General  Conference  all  resolutions  in  relation 
to  the  tenure  of  office  of  Bishops  not  later  than  May  14. 

J.  B.  Graw  moved  that  a  committee  of  seven  be  ap- 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


157 


pointed  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  communications 
concerning  the  place  of  holding  the  next  General  Con- 
ference, the  committee  to  report  to  this  body  at  an 
early  day. 

G.  B.  Wight  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Resolved,  That  Chapter  V,  page  96,  Discipline  of  1892,  be  amended 
by  the  addition  of  the  following  paragraphs,  namely: 

"  Bishops  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  eight  years,  and  shall  be 
eligible  for  reelection. 

"  A  Bishop  who  shall  resign  his  office,  or  who  shall  not  be  reelected, 
shall  resume  his  relation  with  the  Conference  from  which  he  was 
elected  to  the  episcopacy. 

"  Nothing  herein  enacted  by  the  General  Conference  shall  affect  the 
tenure  of  office  of  Bishops  elected  prior  to  1896." 

J.  M.  King  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Whereas,  Our  Bishops,  in  supervising  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
business  of  the  Church,  have  opportunity  to  gather  information  in  re- 
gard to  its  various  forms  of  work  that  would  aid  the  committees  of 
the  General  Conference  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  committees  shall  be  at  liberty  and  are  hereby 
authorized  to  request  any  of  the  Bishops  to  attend  their  sessions  and 
furnish  information  on  any  matters  before  them  for  consideration. 

2.  That  the  Bishops  are  requested  to  comply  with  such  calls  for  in- 
formation. 

He  also  moved  that  all  j^apers  bearing  on  the  subject 
of  election  of  trustees  and  stewards  be  sent  to  the 
Committee  on  Temporal  Economy.  Carried. 

J.  M.  Buckley  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy,  with  instruc- 
tions to  report  not  later  than  May  14: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  be  instructed  to  con- 
sider and  report  upon  the  principles  and  methods  on  and  by  which  the 
residences  of  the  Bishops  are  selected,  and  to  inquire  whether®  more 
efficient  plan  can  be  devised;  and  if  so,  to  recommend  the  same  for  the 
adoption  of  the  General  Conference. 

D.  C.  Plannette  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  three  members  at  large  be  added  to  the  Committee 
on  Lay  Representation,  and  that  said  members  be  appointed  by  the 
Board  of  Bishops. 

On  motion  of  C.  J.  Little,  it  was 

Resolved^  That  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  for  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1900  be  instructed  to  appoint  three  of  its  number  as  a 
Subcommittee  on  Fraternal  Delegates,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  corre- 
-pond  with  all  duly  appointed  fraternal  delegates  to  this  body  and  to 
arrange  for  their  entertainment. 


MAY  9. 

KIGHTH 

Day. 
Morning. 

Next  Gen- 
eral Confer- 
ence. 


Election  of 
Bishops. 


Bishops  to 
.  attend 
meetings  of 
committees. 


Election  of 
trustees  and 
stewards. 


Residences 
of  Bishops. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


Fraternal 
delegates. 


158 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 

Morning. 

John  Street 
Church. 

Amend- 
ments to  the 
Discipline. 


Revision  of 
the  Disci- 
pline. 


Missionary 
Bishops. 


IT  153. 


Pronouns 
'he,"  "his,' 


Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  Committees  on  John 
Street  Church  and  on  National  Arbitration.  (See 
Committees,  p.  378.) 

He  also  presented  a  paper  from  the  Bishops  on  pro- 
posed amendments  to  administrative  law,  which,  on 
motion  of  J.  M.  King,  was  referred  to  appropriate 
committees. 

He  also  presented  the  report  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  Conference  of  1892  for  the 
revision  of  the  Discipline,  of  which  two  special  topics 
were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

On  motion  of  W.  M.  Swindells,  Conference  adjourned. 

The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary : 

ALABAMA. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  presented  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  as  the  limiting  designation  "  Missionary  "  should  no 
longer  apply  to  Bishops  Taylor  and  Thoburn,  we  hereby  remove  the 
same,  and  place  them  on  an  equality  with  the  other  Bishops. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 
He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  section  2  of  paragraph  153  in  our  Discipline  ^be  so 
changed  as  to  read  : 

"  Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  District  Conference  (or  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference  where  no  District  Conference  exists)  the  Annual 
Conference  may  at  any  time  thereafter  recognize  the  orders  of  those 
then  received  ;  may,  upon  like  recommendation,  receive  them  into  the 
Conference,  either  on  trial  or  into  full  membership,  and  shall  require 
then*'  to  pursue  the  Conference  Course  of  Study.  And  if,  after  five 
years  they  shall  not  have  completed  said  studies,  they  shall  cease  from 
the  functions  of  their  office,  until  such  time  as  they  shall  have  mastered 
the  studies." 


CENTRAL  ILLINOIS. 


which  was 


J.  G.  Evans  presented  the  following, 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary: 

Whereas,  According  to  an  established  and  universally  accepted  rule 
of  the  English  language,  the  masculine  pronoun  is  used  to  represent  an 
antecedent  of  the  common  gender,  singular  number,  and  third  person, 
without  any  discrimination  of  sex,  and  any  such  discrimination  of  sex 
is  unwarranted  by  the  law  of  the  language ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  pronouns,  "  he,"  "  his,"  "  him,"  when  used  in  the 
Discipline  to  represent  an  antecedent  of  the  common  gender,  singular 
number,  and  third  person,  shall  not  be  construed  as  making  any  dis- 
tinction of  sex. 


f 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


159 


American 
Antisaloon 
League. 


Withdraw- 
als from  the 
Church. 


CINCINNATI.  MAY  9. 

.      „  „      .  ,  .  ,  Eighth 

J.  W.  Bashford  presented  the  following,  which  was  day. 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibi-  Mormn*- 

tion  of  the  Liquor  Traffic: 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  expresses  its  approval  of  the 
object  of  the  American  Antisaloon  League  as  stated  in  its  Constitu- 
tion, that  we  watch  with  interest  and  prayer  its  efforts  to  suppress  the 
saloon,  and  that  we  cooperate  with  said  league  in  its  work,  so  far  as  is 
-consistent  with  an  avowed  policy  of  legal  prohibition. 

DES  MOINES. 

D.  C.  Franklin  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Whereas,  Difficulties  often  arise  in  carrying  out  the  form  of  with- 
drawal from  the  Church  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  in  paragraph  49,  section  10,  of  the  Discipline,  which 
provides  for  the  withdrawal  of  members  in  good  standing,  there  shall  be 
inserted  after  the  word  "  writing"  in  the  third  line,  these  words,  "or 
verbally  in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses,"  so  as  to  read  :  "  He  shall 
communicate  his  purpose  in  writing,  or  verbally  in  the  presence  of  two 
witnesses,  to  the  pastor  of  the  church." 

EAST  TENNESSEE. 

J.  S.  Hill,  of  East  Tennessee  Conference,  presented  the 

following,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 

Book  Concern: 

Whereas,  Many  of  the  patronizing  Conferences  of  the  Southwestern 
Christian  Advocate  are  expressing  the  opinion  that  the  time  has  come 
when  some  more  central  point  than  New  Orleans  should  be  selected  ; 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  be  requested  to 
take  into  consideration  the  advantages  of  Atlanta  as  a  desirable  and 
central  point. 

ILLINOIS. 

J.  B.  Wolfe  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  section  24  of  paragraph  189  of  the  Discipline  be  Licentiate, 
and  is  hereby  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows  :  "  To  register  care- 
fully marriages   and  baptisms,  and,  though  he  be  unordained,  to 
solemnize' the  right  of  matrimony  in  those  States  and  Territories  where 
the  civil  law  will  permit  the  same." 

KENTUCKY. 

Vincent  Boreing  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  striking  out  the  word 
"Quarterly  "  before  the  word  "  Conference  "  in  paragraph  97,  chapter 
6,  and  elsewhere  in  the  Discipline  where  it  comes  before  the  word 
**  Conference,"  and  inserting  therefor  the  word  "  Semiannual,"  so  as  to 
read  u  Semiannual  Conferences  "  instead  of  "  Quarterly  Conferences  ;  " 
that  the  presiding  elders  be  required  to  make  only  two  visitations  to  the 
pastoral  charges  in  their  districts,  instead  of  four,  as  now  provided ; 
11 


Southwest- 
ern Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate. 


Semiannual 
Confer- 
ences. 


160 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 
Morning. 


TT  42. 


f  543. 


Federation 
with 
Church, 
South. 


Change  of 
sessions  of 
General 
Conference. 


1  56  to  be 
made 
clearer. 


Election  of 
Missionary 
Bishop. 


that  the  Bishops  be  directed  to  lay  off  the  presiding  elders'  districts 
with  reference  to  said  changes. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  wTas  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  striking  out  the  word 
"six"  before  the  word  "  months  "  in  Chapter  IV,  paragraph  42,  and  in- 
serting therefor  the  word  "  three,"  so  as  to  read,  "  three  months  on  pro- 
bation," instead  of  six  ;  "provided,  however,  that  converted  persons  may 
be  received  into  full  membership  at  once,  and  probationers  at  any  time 
after  conversion." 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  the  Discipline  be  changed  by  striking  out  the  words 
"  holy  catholic  "  before  "  Church  "  in  Chapter  I,  paragraph  543,  and 
inserting  therefor  the  words  "  the  universal,"  so  as  to  read  "  the  uni- 
versal," instead  of  "  the  holy  catholic  Church." 

D.   Stevenson  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church: 

Resolved,  That  the  Commission  which  this  Conference  has  ordered  to 
be  appointed  to  meet  with  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  on  Federation, 
be  instructed,  when  appointed,  to  come  to  no  agreement  with  the 
Commission  of  the  Church  South,  whereby  any  ground  which  we  now 
hold  in  the  South  shall  be  abandoned,  or  the  right  which  we  now  pos- 
sess of  establishing  and  maintaining  churches  in  any  part  of  the  South 
where  the  people  may  wish  to  unite  with  us  shall  be  relinquished,  or 
the  hands  of  our  ministers  and  members  in  the  South  be  weakened. 

R.  T.  Miller  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  be  requested 
to  consider  the  expediency  of  changing  the  sessions  of  the  General  Con- 
ference from  once  in  four  years,  as  provided  in  paragraph  63  of  the 
Discipline,  to  once  in  eight  years,  after  the  year  A.  D.  1900,  with 
similar  provisions  for  an  extra  session  as  now  contained  in  said  para- 
graph. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  wTas  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 


That  the  Committee  on  Revisals  be  requested  to  examine 
and  report  what  further  instructions  should  be  added,  for  both 
ministers  and  people,  to  those  now  given  in  the  Liturgy,  that  will  se- 
cure more  intelligent  and  orderly  compliance  with  the  provisions  of 
section  4,  paragraph  56,  of  the  Discipline,  relating  particularly  to  the 
use  of  our  Ritual  in  administering  the  sacraments. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  be  requested  to  examine 
and  report  if  further  legislation  is  needed  to  determine  under  what 
circumstances  and  by  whom  the  provisions  of  paragraph  168  of  the 
Discipline,  authorizing  the  election  of  a  Missionary  Bishop  in  the 
interim  of  the  General  Conference,  shall  be  carried  out,  and  to  recom- 


1S96.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


161 


mend  such  amendments  to  the  Discipline  as  in  its  judgment  is  MAY'  9. 
required.  Eighth 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred  Morning. 

to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern : 

Resolved,  That  for  the  more  thorough  examination  of  book  publica- 
tions, one  or  more  editors  be  elected,  to  be  known  as  book  editors, 
who  shall  first  examine  and  approve  all  manuscript  offered  for  pub- 
lication in  book  form,  before  the  agents  are  authorized  to  publish 
same. 

LOUISIANA. 

J.  C.  Hartzell  and  J.  W.  Hamilton  presented  the 

following,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 

Consolidation  of  Benevolences  : 

Whereas,  There  is  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  best  methods 
of  raising  the  collections  for  the  various  Benevolent  Societies  of  the 
Church ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  diversity  of  opinion  has,  in  spite  of   the  specific 
laws  of  the  Discipline,  led  to  the  adoption  of  various  methods,  some 
1    of  which,  in  the  judgment  of  many,  have  resulted  in  unfavorable 
discriminations  in  some  of  the  societies  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Benevolences  be 
and  is  hereby  instructed  to  consider  and  present  to  the  General 
Conference  some  plan  which  shall  in  its  judgment  be  of  greater 
uniformity  as  to  the  method  of  taking  our  benevolent  collections,  and 
shall  insure  to  each  cause  such  attention  as  its  merits  and  comparative 
importance  justify. 

MICHIGAN. 

J.  I.  Buell  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy : 

Whereas,  There  is  a  very  broad  and  growing  sentiment  in  the 
Church,  both  among  the  ministry  and  laity,  that  a  change  should  be 
made  in  the  tenure  of  office  now  held  by  our  Bishops ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  believed  that  the  change  thus  demanded  would  be 
more  in  harmony  with  our  general  polity  in  the  matter  of  election  of 
General  Conference  officers,  and  more  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the 
•    times ;  therefore,  be  it 

Reserved,  That  should  it  be  determined  to  elect  an  additional  number 
of  Bishops  at  any  time  during  this  General  Conference,  they  be 
elected  for  a  term  of  eight  years,  with  the  privilege  of  a  reelection  ;  and 
no  Bishop  thus  elected  shall  hold  his  office  beyond  the  period  desig- 
nated without  a  reelection. 

P.  J.  Maveety  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  : 

Reserved,  That  Chapter  V,  page  96.  of  the  Discipline  of  1892,  be  Additions  to 
and  is  hereby  amended  by  the  addition  of  the  following  paragraphs :  Cof*D?&r-^ 
'  Bishops  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  eight  years,  and  shall  be  cipline. 
eligible  for  reelection. 

"  A  Bishop  who  shall  resign  his  office,  or  who  shall  not  be  reelected, 
shall  resume  his  relation  with  the  Conference  from  which  he  was 
elected. 

"  Nothing  herein  enacted  by  the  General  Conference  shall  affect  the 
tenure  of  office  of  Bishops  elected  prior  to  1896." 


Book 
editors. 


Method  of 
taking  be- 
nevolent 
collections- 


Change  in 
tenure  of 
office  of 
Bishops. 


162 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Licensing 

local 
preachers. 


Agents  to 
organize 
Sunday 
schools. 


MINNESOTA. 

G.  H.  Bridgman  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals : 

Whereas,  There  is  a  lack  of  definiteness  in  the  requirements  of  the 
Discipline  for  local  preachers'  license,  which  often  occasions  discrepancy 
in  administration ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  in  paragraph  193,  section  1,  last  sentence,  the  initial 
word  "  and  "  be  stricken  out,  and  to  what  remains  shall  be  added 
the  words,  "  and  when  licensed  he  shall  pursue  the  Course  of  Study 
prescribed  for  local  preachers ; "  so  that  the  sentence  shall  read : 
"No  member  of  the  church  shall  be  at  liberty  to  preach  without  such 
license,  and  when  licensed  he  shall  pursue  the  Course  of  Study  pre- 
scribed for  local  preachers." 

John  Stafford  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and 
Tracts : 

Whereas,  Our  Church  in  the  rural  districts,  especially  in  the  West, 
has  greatly  suffered  because  we  have  had  no  one  specially  appointed 
to  organize  Sunday  schools  and  introduce  our  Sunday  schooi  literature  ; 
and, 

Whereas,  Other  societies  and  publishing  houses  send  out  their  agents 
who  operate  to  our  disadvantage  and  hurt ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  provide  for  the  appointment 
of  agents  who  shall  be  employed  by  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  organize 
Sunday  schools,  introduce  our  literature,  and,  when  practicable,  take 
collections  for  our  Sunday  school  work. 


NORTH  INDIANA. 
H.  N".  Herrick  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Be 
nevolences: 

Apportion-  Whereas,  The  apportionments  made  by  the  General  Committees  to 
ments.  ^he  Annual  Conferences  for  benevolent  causes  are  practically  by  the 
same  authority,  and  these  with  all  other  apportionments  are  received 
by  the  Conferences  without  question ;  and, 

Whereas,  A  large  number  of  our  ministers  and  members,  in  obedience 
to  their  church  membership  covenant,  consider  these  apportionments 
when  sent  down  to  the  districts  and  charges  as  a  trustworthy  indica- 
tion from  the  Head  of  the  Church  concerning  the  proper  distribution 
of  their  own  contributions  ;  and, 

Whereas,  In  accordance  with  the  plan  herein  set  forth  the  Discipline 
provides  for  the  distribution  of  money  raised  for  ministerial  support, 
so  that  pastors,  presiding  elders,  and  bishops  receive  only  their  pro  rata 
share  of  the  amount  thus  raised  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Consolidation  or  Unification  of 
the  Benevolences  consider  the  advisability  of  recommending  such  disci- 
plinary provisiou  as  will  make  it  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  distribute 
the  money  he  raises  for  benevolent  causes  on  the  basis  of  their 
apportionments. 

C.  B.  Stemen  presented  the  following  paper,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church : 


1S96.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


163 


We  desire  to  present  to  you  the  importance  of  making  District  Con- 
ferences universal  and  binding  in  all  presiding  elders'  districts,  and  to 
be  held  twice  each  year.    The  reasons  for  this  are, 

First,  In  paragraph  91,  section  2,  we  find  that  the  District  Confer- 
ence is  to  take  coguizance  of  all  the  local  preachers  and  exhorters  in 
the  district  as  provided  in  paragraphs  192-200,  and  to  arrange  a  plan 
of  appointments  for  each  until  the  next  District  Conference.  This 
will  bring  into  active  service  twenty-five  thousand  local  preachers  who 
are  unemployed. 

Second,  by  making  a  larger  number  of  the  Quarterly  Conference 
members  of  the  District  Conference,  a  larger  representation  will  be 
given  the  laity  and  thus  greater  prominence  to  the  consideration  of 
Church  interests  within  the  district. 

This  recommendation  is  made  to  carry  out  the  suggestions  of  the 
Episcopal  Address. 

OHIO. 

W.  D.  Cherington  presented  the  following,  which 

was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals : 

W hereas,  The  great  majority  of  our  charges  are  circuits ;  and, 
Whereas,  It  is  manifestly  unjust  that  in  our  present  form  of  circuit 

reports,  the  appointments  that  do  their  full  part  in  ministerial  support 

should  have  to  share  the  discredit  of  the  societies  that  fail ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  knowledge  that  each  appointment  will  be  reported 

separately  would  make  all  the  societies  more  careful  to  report  up  in 

full  ;  and, 

W hereas,  A  table  of  this  kind  would  take  small  space  in  the  Annual 
Minutes  of  the  Conferences,  and  would  pay  for  itself  many  times  over; 

Resolved,  -That  a  separate  table  be  introduced  into  the  statistics 
of  our  Annual  Conferences,  giving  the  reports  of  circuits  for  ministerial 
support  by  societies. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

W.  H.  Ridgway  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolution  to  amend  the  Discipline,  paragraph  170,  section  3: 
Resolved,  That  item  2,  section  2,  paragraph  170,  be  amended  by  add- 
ing the  following :  "  He  shall  not  transfer  a  preacher  into  an  Annual 
Conference  without  a  corresponding  transfer  from  said  Conference, 
unless  such  transfer  be  at  the  request  of  the  Conference  affected 
thereby." 

SOUTH  KANSAS. 

J.  W.  Stewart  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Resolved,  1.  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Conference  that  the  Bishops 
of  our  Church  should  retire  from  the  episcopal  office  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years. 

Resolved,  2.  That  a  retiring  Bishop  shall  return  to  membership  in 
the  Conference  in  which  he  was  a  member  at  the  time  of  his  election 
to  the  office  of  a  Bishop. 

Resolved,  3.  That  the  above  shall  apply  to  Bishops  elected  after  the 
adoption  of  these  resolutions. 

The  following  was  presented  by  W.  H.  Rose,  and 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries: 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Dav. 

Morn-iny. 

District 
Confer- 
ences to  be 
made  uni- 
versal. 


Statistics 
from  cir- 
cuits by 
societies. 


Transfers. 


To  retire 
from  epis- 
copal office. 


164 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Eighth'         Whereas,  An  agreement  as  to  the  boundary  line  between  the  South- 
"  Day.       west  and  Northwest  Kansas  Conferences  has  been  reached  by  com- 
Morning.     mission,  giving  to  the  Southwest  Kansas  Conference  all  the  territory  in 
Boundaries.   Lane,  Scott,  Wichita,  and  Greeley  Counties ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  in  order  to  conform  to  said  agreement  the  bounds  of 
the  Northwest  Kansas  Conference  be  denned  as  follows : 

"  The  Northwest  Kansas  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  west  and 
north  by  the  Kansas  State  lines,  on  the  east  by  the  sixth  principal 
meridian,  but  shall  include  the  Solomon  Circuit,  and  on  the  south  by 
the  south  line  of  township  seventeen  as  far  west  as  to  the  east 
line  of  Lane  County,  thence  north  to  the  north  line  of  said  Lane 
County,  thence  west  to  the  State  line." 


Connec- 
tional  fund 
for  Confer- 
ence claim- 
ants. 


Election  of 
a  colored 
Bishop. 
X 


TENNESSEE. 

H.  W.  Key  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 

Whereas,  The  connectional  bonds  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
are  more  or  less  impaired  by  our  Annual  Conference  boundary  lines, 
which  tend  to  localize  our  ministry  and  restrict  their  sympathies ;  and, 

Whereas,  These  Conference  lines  are  often  inseparable  barriers  to 
the  transfer  of  the  older  and  more  experienced  of  our  ministry,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  they  may  become  claimants  in  the  collection  for 
superannuated  preachers  in  the  Conference  to  which  they  are  trans- 
ferred ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  when  a  preacher  enters  the  traveling 
connection  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  he  is  only  limited  in  the 
extent  of  his  itinerancy  by  the  legitimate  authorities  of  the  Church, 
and  is  not  to  consider  the  Annual  Conference  into  which  he  is  received 
as  the  utmost  limit  of  his  traveling  ministry ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  early  policy  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  to 
havp  the  whole  Church  aid  in  supporting  the  superannuated  preachers 
of  the  connection ;  and, 

Whereas,  By  the  later  practice  of  the  Church  the  funds  are  expended 
in  the  Conference  where  collected,  making  it  very  desirable  to  remain 
in  what  are  known  as  the  richer  Conferences,  and  these  have  some 
protection  for  themselves  and  their  families  when  worn-out  or  disabled 
from  any  cause ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  policy  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  desires  to 
give  its  active  preachers  only  a  comfortable  support  while  in  the 
active  work,  and  aid  them  when  superannuated  or  disabled  ;  therefore, 
be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Revisals  be  instructed  to  inquire 
what  changes  in  the  Discipline  may  be  necessary  to  make  the  funds 
for  the  Conference  claimants  a  connectional  fund,  as  the  Missionary, 
Church  Extension,  and  other  general  Church  collections. 

He  also  presented  the  followin 

to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy : 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  there  is  a  great  mission  field  in  the  South 
for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  especially  among  the  colored 
people;  and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  the  quarter  of  a  million  or  more  of  mem- 
bers which  have  been  added  to  the  Church  in  the  last  decade  under 
adverse  circumstances  is  only  a  beginning  of  what  it  will  be  in  the 
near  future  if  rightly  fostered  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  been  falsely  repre- 
sented by  its  enemies,  saying  it  is  not  willing  to  do  justice  to  all  of 
its  members ;  and, 


,g,  which  was  referred 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


165 


Whereat,  The  former  General  Conferences  and  the  Church  at  large 
have  declared  that  color  is  no  barrier  to  its  equal  membership ;  and, 

Whereat,  We  believe  the  electing  at  this  session  of  the  Conference 
of  a  man  of  African  descent  to  the  Episcopacy,  will  add  materially 
to  the  interest  of  the  Church  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  is  hereby  requested  to 
recommend  at  least  one  such  man  for  the  Episcopacy. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 
Morning. 


UPPER  IOWA. 

J.  B.  Albrook  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League: 

Whereas,  The  religious  teaching,  molding,  and  training  of  the  stu- 
dents of  our  academies,  colleges,  and  universities  is,  largely,  in  the 
hands  of  an  organization  which  is  not  Methodistic  in  sympathy,  doc- 
trines, or  usages;  and, 

Whereas,  Many  of  our  educated  young  people  are  lost  to  the  Church, 
and  not  a  few  of  those  who  remain  are  less  useful  because  of  lack  of 
proper  training,  or  diminished  loyalty  to  the  Church ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that  it 
is  unwise  and  impolitic  to  intrust  the  religious  culture  and  training  of 
the  students  of  our  institutions  of  learning  to  other  hands  than  those 
of  our  Church. 

2.  That  if  the  Epworth  League  is  not  fully  adapted  to  this  work  it 
ought  to  be  so  modified  as  to  include  work  in  our  higher  institutions  of 
learning. 

3.  That  the  Board  of  Control  be  instructed  to  so  arrange  that  the 
Epworth  League  shall  be  established  in  all  our  institutions  of  learning 
as  soon  as  possible. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League: 

Whereas,  The  Epworth  League  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  great  in- 
stitutions, and  promises  to  become  the  right  arm  of  power,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  should  therefore  be  under  the  im- 
mediate direction  and  oversight  of  the  General  Conference  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  Article  4  of  the  Epworth  League  Constitution  be 
changed  so  as  to  read  as  follows  : 

"  Article  4.  Government.  The  management  of  the  League  shall  be 
vested  in  the  Board  of  Control,  to  consist  (1)  of  one  Bishop  and  three 
members  at  large,  who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Bishops.  The  Bish- 
op shall  be  President  of  the  Epworth  League  and  of  the  Board  of  Con- 
trol, (2)  and  of  one  minister  and  one  layman  from  each  General  Con- 
ference District  who  shall  be  nominated  by  their  several  districts  and 
elected  by  the  General  Conference.  This  Board  of  Control  shall  meet 
twice  each  quadrennium." 


Religious 
training  of 
students. 


Epworth 
League 
under  direc- 
tion of  Gen- 
eral Confer- 
ence. 


WEST  WISCONSIN. 
W.  J.  McKay  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern: 

Wfiereas,  The  power  of  the  daily  paper  is  great  for  good  or  evil  in^^^ty1 
the  work  of  reform  and  the  evangelization  of  the  world  ;  and,  paper. 

Wfiereas,  The  daily  paper  camiot  be  favorable  to  the  ends  above 
mentioned  so  long  as  it  is  edited  from  the  condition  of  the  counting 
room  or  at  the  dictation  of  the  partisan  political  platform  ;  and, 

Whereat,  Our  world-wide  Methodism,  one  in  polity,  faith,  and  the 
proclamation  of  a  Gospel  that  is  now  the  preachable  creed  of  Christian- 


166 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Change  in 
127. 


No  Confer- 
ences on 
Easter  Sun- 
day. 


Change  of 
boundaries 


Episcopal 
residence. 


dom ;  it  would  seem  that  the  hour  has  come  for  our  Church  to  add  the 
only  missing  factor  now  needed  to  declare  the  truth  to  every  creature ; 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  ask  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  to  con- 
sider the  institution  and  publication  of  one  or  more  daily  papers  to  be 
edited  on  the  basis  of  the  two  great  commandments. 

WILMINGTON. 

Alfred  Smith  presented  the   following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  To  amend  the  heading  of  paragraph  27  of  the  Discipline, 
following  the  words  "  In  Europe  "  with  the  words  "  and  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  in  America,"  and  thus  conforming  it  to  the 
facts  of  the  present,  and  of  our  history  since  1784,  so  that  the  para- 
graph referred  to  shall  read  :  "  This  was  the  rise  of  the  United  Society, 
first  in  Europe,  and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America." 

WYOMING. 

G.  S.  Bennett  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Whereas,  Easter  Sunday  commemorates  the  most  important  event 
in  the  life  of  Christ,  when  the  sublimest  expectations  of  the  Old 
Testament  were  fulfilled,  when  Christ  gained  his  greatest  triumph, 
and  we  thereby  have  given  us  the  surest  foundation  for  an  intelligent 
faith,  and  a  competent  hope  of  our  own  resurrection  ;  and, 

Whereas,  Easter  has  become  the  great  Christian  festival  of  the 
year,  is  generally  observed  by  all  the  evangelical  Churches  and  our  own, 
and  many  of  our  churches  and  Sunday  schools  have  a  special  Easter 
and  missionary  service  on  that  day,  which  tends  to  the  edification  of 
the  members,  and  to  the  benefit  of  the  cause  of  missions ;  and, 

Whereas,  Many  of  our  Spring  Conferences  are  held  over  Easter  Sun- 
day, and  thus  many  preachers  are  compelled  to  be  absent  from  their 
churches  and  many  of  these  pulpits  are  left  vacant  on  that  day ;  there- 
fore, be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  of  our  Church  be  requested  to  arrange 
the  sessions  of  the  Spring  Conferences  in  the  future  so  that  no  Con- 
ference shall  be  held  on  Easter  Sunday,  in  order  that  each  preacher 
may  be  in  his  own  pulpit,  and  that  each  church  may  have  the  minis- 
trations of  its  own  pastor  on  that  important  day. 

The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

ALABAMA. 

H.  W.  Perrin  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
change  of  boundaries.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

AUSTIN. 

O.  L.  Fisher  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Austin 
Conference  relative  to  an  episcopal  residence.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

E.  B.  Ailing  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Lay 
Electoral  Conference  relative  to  an  episcopal  residence. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  167 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day, 
Morning. 
Committee 
on  Epworth 
League. 

Judicial 
system. 


BALTIMORE. 

L.  B.  Wilson  presented  two  memorials.  One  re- 
specting Quarterly  Conference  Committee  on  Epworth 
League,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ep- 
worth League,  and  one  respecting  the  judicial  system 
of  the  Church,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Constitution. 

CENTRAL  ILLINOIS. 
H.  D.  Clark  presented  a  memorial  concerning  eligi- 
bility of  women  for  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 
R.  D.  Munger  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Auburn  snYpmber 
District  Conference  concerning  membership  in  the  An- 
nual Conference.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  concerning  duties  of 
presiding  elders.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

C.  C.  Wilbor  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Central 
New  York  Conference  concerning  the  trial  of  minis- 
tens.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 

D.  S.  Monroe  presented  sample  blanks  for  uniformity 
in  making  reports.  These  were  received  by  mail,  and 
it  was  not  known  who  sent  them. 

E.  J.  Gray  presented  a  memorial  concerning  General 
Conference  elections.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  State  of  the  Church. 


Women  el- 
igible as 
trustees. 


in  An- 
nual Con- 
ference. 


Duties  of 
presiding 
elders. 


Trial  of 
ministers. 


Blanks  fox- 
reports. 


General 
Conference 
elections. 


CENTRAL  SWEDISH. 
J.  R.  Lindgren  presented   a   memorial   from  the  /ndKu>S 
North  Swedish  Mission  Conference  relative  to  the  San- 
debudet  and  the  Baneret.    Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  the  Book  Concern. 


CINCINNATI. 

A.  B.  Leonard  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the 
stewards.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  bv  himself  and   Election  of 

stcvvcircls 

F.  M.  Bristol,  with  reference  to  the  method  of  electing 
stewards.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Steward* 


168 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Morning. 
Assistant 
Secretary 
for  Ep  worth 
League. 


Change  in 
boundaries. 


Boundaries. 


Time  of 
holding 
General 
Conference. 


Deaconess 
work. 


Duties  of 
Bishops. 


Neglect  of 
means  of 
grace. 


Credentials. 


Control  of 
Sunday 
schools. 


Reception 
of  children 
into  church. 


Election  of 
stewards 
and  trustees 


Districting 
the  Bishops. 


DELAWARE. 

J.  H.  Scott  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  col- 
ored Conferences,  relative  to  an  Assistant  Secretary  for 
the  Epworth  League.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Epworth  League. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  concerning  a  change  in 
boundaries.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Bound- 
aries. 

H.  A.  Monroe  presented  a  memorial  concerning  a 
change  in  boundaries.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

DES  MOINES. 

J.  M.  Kittleman  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
time  of  holding  General  Conference.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

EAST  GERMAN. 
J.  C.  Deininger  presented  a  memorial  from  Bethany 
Deaconess  Society   concerning  deaconess  work.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Deaconess  Work. 

EAST  OHIO. 

D.  H.  Muller  presented  two  memorials.    One  con- 
cerning the  duties  of  Bishops,   and  one  concerning 
neglect  of  means  of  grace 
on  Revisals. 

ERIE. 

A.  J.  Merchant  presented  two  memorials.    One  con 
cerning  restoration  of  credentials,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals;  the  other  concerning 
control  of  Sunday  schools,  which  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts. 

ILLINOIS. 

J.  T.  McFarland  presented  a  memorial  concerning 
form  for  reception  of  children  into  the  church.  Re 
ferred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  W.  D.  Best  rela- 
tive to  the  election  of  stewards  and  trustees.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

INDIANA. 

H.  J.  Talbott  presented  two  memorials.  One  concern- 
ing districting  the  Bishops,  which  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Episcopacy,  and  one  from  members  of 


one 

Referred  to  the  Committee 


1896. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


169 


Meridian  Street  Church,  Indianapolis,  concerning  the 
relation  of  young  people's  societies,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

ITALY. 

William  Burt  presented  a  memorial  recommending 
the  change  of  boundary  of  the  Bulgaria  Mission.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 

Morning. 
Young  peo- 
ples' so- 
cieties. 


Boundary  of 
Bulgaria 
Mission. 


KANSAS. 

J.  A.  Motter  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Kansas 
Conference  relative  to  deaconess  work.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Deaconess  Work. 

KENTUCKY. 

R.  T.  Miller  presented  two  memorials  relating  to  the 
Ritual.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  two  memorials  relating  to  the 
terms  of  church  membership  and  the  election  of  trustees. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  paragraph 
240.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

Daniel  Stevenson  presented  memorials  relative  to 
changes  in  paragraphs  243,  56,  49,  84,  157,  193,  328, 
352,  74,  172,  70,  72,  and  also  relating  to  reception  on  trial 
in  the  Annual  Conference,  and  page  243.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  financial  re- 
ports at  Quarterly  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  name 
of  the  Official  Board.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Temporal  Economy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  time 
limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

lie  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  episcopal 
decisions.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  use  of  to- 
bacco. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temperance 
and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  proba- 
tionary system.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  support  of 


Deaconess 
work. 


Ritual. 


Terms  of 
member- 
ship and 
trustees. 


T  240. 


Changes  in 
Discipline. 


Financial 
reports  in 
Quarterly 
Conference. 


Name  of 
Official 
Board. 


Time  limit. 


Episcopal 
decisions. 


Use  of  to- 
bacco. 


Probation- 
ary system- 


170 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 
Support  of 
noneffective 
ministers. 
Change  in 
Constitu- 
tion of  Mis- 
sionary So- 
ciety. 


General 
super  in- 
tendency. 


noneffective  ministers.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Temporal  Economy. 

MEXICO. 

•  J.  W.  Butler  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Mexico 
Conference  asking  a  change  in  Article  III  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Missionary  Society.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Missions. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Mexico  Con- 
ference relative  to  the  general  superintendency.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Enabling 
act. 


Course  of 
Study. 


T  85  and 
Mission 
Conferences 


Probation, 
general  ad- 
vice,studies, 
time  limit. 


MICHIGAN. 

Levi  Master  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  an  en- 
abling act.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Bound- 
aries. 

MINNESOTA. 

H.  C.  Jennings  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
Course  of  Study  as  presented  by  the  Board  of  Bishops. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  S.  A.  Bridgman, 
relative  to  paragraph  85,  section  2,  and  one  relative  to 
Mission  Conferences.  They  were  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Boundaries. 

G.  H.  Bridgman  presented  memorials  from  the  St. 
Paul's  Preachers'  Meeting.  One  concerning  probation, 
one  concerning  general  advice  on  the  subject  of  impru- 
dent and  unchristian  conduct,  one  concerning  studies  in 
Conference  courses,  and  one  concerning  time  limit. 
They  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


David  H. 
Laney. 


Probation 
and  full 
member- 
ship. 


Four  years' 
diaconate. 


MISSOURI. 

J.  H.  Poland  presented  an  appeal,  signed  by  J.  W. 
Caughlan,  in  behalf  of  David  H.  Laney,  a  local  elder  in 
the  Missouri  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Judiciary. 

NEWARK. 

R.  R.  Doherty  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Quar- 
terly Conference  of  Westtown  and  Unionville,  and  one 
from  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  Simpson  Church,  Jer- 
sey City,  each  referring  to  probation  and  full  member- 
ship; and  one  from  the  First  Church  of  Roselle  concern- 
ing the  four  years'  diaconate  required  by  the  Discipline, 
which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals  ; 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


171 


one  from  the  Sunday  School  Union,  and  one  from  the 
Tract  Society,  each  asking  for  changes  in  the  Dis- 
cipline, which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts. 

Samuel  Van  Benschoten  presented  a  memorial  from 
the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Sunday  School  Union 
for  more  definite  recognition  in  the  Discipline.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  School  and  Tracts. 

S.  L.  Baldwin  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  H. 
A.  Chamberlain,  concerning  rules  for  Conference 
stewards.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

H.  A.  Buttz  presented  a  memorial  from  the  District 
Stewards  of  Jersey  City  District  against  changes  in 
probationary  system.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

NEW  ENGLAND. 

J.  W.  Hamilton  presented  a  petition  from  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-six  superannuated  ministers.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

C.  R.  Magee  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Lay 
Electoral  Conference  of  the  New  England  Conference 
relative -to  the  election  of  trustees  and  stewards.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 

Day. 
Morning. 
Changes  in 
Discipline. 


Sunday 
School 
Union. 


Rules  for 
Conference 
stewards. 


Probation- 
ary system. 


Petition 
from 
superannu- 
ated minis- 
ters. 


Election  of 
trustees  and 
stewards. 


NEW  ENGLAND  SOUTHERN. 
G.  H.  Bates  presented   a   memorial   requesting  a 
change  in  the  form  of  Certificate  of  Church  Membership. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Certificate 
of  Church 
Member- 
ship. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
S.  E.  Quimby  presented  a  memorial  to  amend  para- 
graphs 329  and  332.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

J.  L.  Roe  presented  a  memorial  recommending  a 
change  in  paragraph  49.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

NEW  YORK. 

J.  R.  Day  presented  three  memorials  from  the  New 
York  Conference.  One  concerning  paragraph  240,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals;  one  refer- 
ring to  location  of  next  General  Conference,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Location  of  next  General 


To  amend 
1  1!  329. 332. 


Change  in 


IT  240. 


Location  of 
next  Gen- 
eral Confer- 
ence. 


172 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 

Morning. 

Assistant 
Secretary  of 

Epworth 

League. 
Time  limit. 


Case  of  A.C. 
Bowdish. 


Church  and 
social  prob- 
lems. 


Boundaries. 


Ninth  Dis- 
trict. 


Course  of 
Study. 


Time  of 
electing  lay 
delegates. 


Conference  and  one  on  Assistant  Secretary  of  Epworth 
League,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ep- 
worth League. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New  York 
Conference  relating  to  time  limit.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

NEW  YORK  EAST. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  Joseph  Pullman  relat- 
ing to  the  case  of  A.  C.  Bowdish.  Appeals  were  pre- 
sented from  Joseph  Pullman  and  A.  C.  Bowdish. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

G.  P.  Mains  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New 
York  East  Conference  on  the  relation  of  the  Church  to 
social  problems.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
State  of  the  Church. 

NORTH  DAKOTA. 
D.   C.  Plannette  presented  a  memorial  relative  to 
boundaries.    Referred  to  Committee  on  Boundaries. 
NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 
J.  F.  Chaffee  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Ninth 
General  Conference  District,  relative  to  said  District. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  General  Conference 
Districts. 

J.  B.  Hingeley  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Min- 
neapolis Preachers'  Meeting  relative  to  the  Course  of 
Study.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education. 
NORTH  INDIANA. 

C.  B.  Stemen  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  time 
of  electing  lay  delegates  to  the  General  Conference. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


Omaha 
Christian 
Advocate. 


NORTH  NEBRASKA. 
Bishop  Newman  presented  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mission appointed  to  publish  the  Omaha  Christian 
Advocate.    Referred  to  the  Book  Committee. 


Episcopal 
residence. 


NORTH  OHIO. 

W.  F.  Whitlock  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
ministers  and  laymen,  and  one  signed  by  Horace  Benton 
and  others,  requesting  to  make  Cleveland,  O.,  an  epis- 
copal residence.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy. 


1896,]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


173 


J.  C.  Arbuckle  presented  the  appeal  in  the  case  of 
C.  W.  Price.    Referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee. 

*  NORTHWEST  IOWA. 
J.  W.  Walker  presented  a  memorial  from  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Clear  Lake,  la.,  asking 
that  said  church  be  transferred  to  the  Upper  Iowa  Con- 
ference.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  ^Boundaries. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 

Morning. 

Appeal  of 
C.  W.  Price- 
Transfer  of 
Clear  Lake 

church. 


NORTHWEST  KANSAS. 
W.  H.  Sweet  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
establishment  of  a  supreme  ecclesiastical  court  to  which 
shall  be  sent  questions  of  law.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Constitution. 


Supreme 
ecclesias- 
tical court. 


PHILADELPHIA. 
T.  B.  Neely  presented  a  petition  in  reference  to  the 
relation  between  the  Epworth  League  and  other  young 
peoples'  societies.    Referred   to   the   Committee  on 
Epworth  League. 

ST.  LOUIS. 

W.  A.  Quay  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  para- 
graph 293  of  the  Discipline.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  Course 
of  Study.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

C.  W.  Drees  presented  a  memorial  to  insert  a  para- 
graph in  the  Discipline  concerning  the  permission  of 
lay  members  as  missionaries.  Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Missions. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  paragraph 
344.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  petitioning  for  the  pub- 
lishing of  books  and  periodicals  in  the  Spanish  language. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  en- 
largement of  the  plans  of  the  Board  of  Education.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Education. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  asking  that  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Church  Extension  society  be  extended  to 
South  America.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Church 
Extension. 


Young  peo- 
ples' so- 
cieties. 


Course  of 
Study. 


Lay  mem- 
bers as  mis- 
sionaries. 


IF  344. 


Literature 
in  Spanish 
language. 


Plans  of 
Board  of 
Education. 


Operations 
of  Church 
Extension 
society. 


174 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


eighth*  He  also  Presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the  consol- 

J>AY-  idation  of  the  Board  of  Education  and  Freedmen's  Aid 

Morning.  0  . 

consoiida-  and  Southern  Education  Society.    Referred  to  Com- 

cieties.  mittee  on  Consolidation  of  Benevolences. 


Stewards 
and  trustees 


Weekly 
paper. 


Change  of 
name. 


Sustenta- 
tion  of  min- 
isters' wid- 
ows. 

Change  in 
Discipline. 


SOUTH  DAKOTA. 

W.  H.  Jordan  presented  a  memorial  concerning  re- 
organization of  Boards  of  Stewards  and  Trustees.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  J.  P. 
Junkins  and  others,  relative  to  a  weekly  paper.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

He  also  presented  three  memorials.  One  from  the 
Conference,  asking  for  a  change  of  name,  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries;  one  from  the  Sioux 
Falls  District  Ministerial  Association,  concerning  the 
sustentation  of  ministers'  widows,  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church;  and  one,  asking 
for  a  change  in  Discipline,  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals. 


Abridged 
edition  of 
Hymnal. 


Episcopal 
residence. 


Use  of  to- 
bacco. 


Preachers' 
salaries. 


Boundaries. 


<>  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 

W.  S.  Matthew  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  pub- 
lication of  an  abridged  edition  of  the  Hymnal  that 
may  be  sold  at  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  cents  per  copy- 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern.' 

S.  A.  Thomson  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Minis- 
ters' Association  of  Los  Angeles  relative  to  an  epis- 
copal residence.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy. 

SOUTHWEST  KANSAS. 
Granville  Lowther  presented  a  memorial  concerning 
the  use  of  tobacco.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

TENNESSEE. 

H.  W.  Key  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the 
preachers'  salaries.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

TROY. 

Homer  Eaton  presented  a  memorial  asking  a  change 
in  boundary  lines.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


175 


UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  MAY  9- 

Eighth 

E.  H.  McKissack  presented  a  memorial  concerning  ^^g. 
Sunday  school  superintendents.    Referred  to  the  Com- 

mittee  on  Revisals.  peeStsend" 

Richard  Sewell  presented  a  memorial   concerning  Lay  repre- 

r  sentation. 

lay  representation  in  the  Annual  Conferences.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation. 


WASHINGTON.  . 

I.  L.  Thomas  presented  a  memorial  to  amend  the  ^^gf 
Constitution  of  the  Missionary  Society 
the  Committee  on  Missions. 


^  Mis- 
Referred  to  sio2fertJSo- 


WEST  NEBRASKA. 

C.  A.  Hale  presented  a  memorial  f  ram  West  Nebraska 
Orleans  District  Ministerial  Association  asking  for  ad- 
mission of  laymen  to  Annual  Conferences,  and  that  each 
charge  shall  have  official  recognition  in  making  the  ap- 
pointments. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Rep- 
resentation. 

He  also -presented  a  memorial  relative  to  presiding 
elders.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  West  Nebraska 
Conference  relative  to  the  Omaha  Christian  Advocate, 
and  that  a  Book  Depository  be  established  at  Omaha. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  Orleans  District 
Ministerial  Association  asking  a  change  of  Discipline 
such  that  the  membership  may  have  a  right  to  vote  in 
the  Fourth  Quarterly  Conferences.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


Laymen  in 
Annual 
Confer- 
ences. 


Presiding 
elders. 


Omaha 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Change  in 
Discipline. 


WEST  WISCONSIN. 

John  Holt  presented  a  memorial  recommending  the 
change  of  paragraph  230.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

WILMINGTON. 

Merritt  Hulburd  presented  a  petition  to  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  concerning  the  recognition  of  God 
in  the  Constitution.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  State  of  the  Church. 


Change  of 
1  230. 


Petition  to 
Congress. 


176 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  9. 

Eighth 
Day. 
Morning. 

General 
Secretary  of 
Epworth 
League. 


Reporting 
collections 
at  Confer- 
ence. 


Duties  of 
Book  Com- 
mittee. 


WISCONSIN. 

G.  H.  Trever  presented  a  memorial  recommending  to 
suspend  the  office  of  General  Secretary  of  the  Epworth 
League.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epworth 
League. 

WYOMING. 

M.  S.  Hard  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Confer- 
ence concerning  reporting  collections  in  the  Annual 
Conferences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Consoli- 
dation of  Benevolences. 

A  memorial  was  presented,  signed  by  Asbury  Lowrey 
and  others,  relative  to  the  duties  of  the  Book  Com- 
mittee and  our  publishing  interests.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Meeting 
places  of 
General 
Conference. 


Entertain- 
ing General 
Conference. 


Duties  of  the 
Secretary. 


MONDAY  MORNING,  MAY  11. 

The  Conference  convened  at  the  usual  hour,  Bishop 
J.  M.  Walden  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  L.  R. 
Fiske,  of  the  Detroit  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  Saturday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

The  roll  of  the  Conferences  was  called  for  resolu- 
tions. 

S.  C.  Swallow  presented  the  following,  which,  on 
motion  of  Allen  Lewis,  was  laid  on  the  table: 

Resolved,  1.  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that 
future  sessions  of  the  General  Conference  should,  whenever  practicable, 
be  held  in  church  buildings. 

2.  That  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  to  be  appointed  for  the 
General  Conference  of  1900  is  hereby  respectfully  requested  to  comply 
with  the  implied  request  contained  in  the  foregoing  resolution. 

H.  A.  Monroe  presented  the  following,  which,  on 
motion  of  J.  H.  Scott,  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  we  highly  appreciate  the  wisdom  and  fairness  of  the 
present  method  of  entertaining  the  General  Conference,  and  recom- 
mend that,  in  future,  invitations  from  cities  offering  to  entertain  the 
General  Conference  be  accompanied  by  like  guarantees  of  equal  treat- 
ment to  all  delegates  who  may  attend ;  and  where  there  is  a  failure  to 
send  such  guarantee  with  the  invitation,  the  Committee  on  Entertain- 
ment of  the  General  Conference  be  requested  to  ask  for  the  same  be- 
fore concluding  arrangements. 

J.  M.  Shumpert  presented  the  following,  which  was 

adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  General  Conference  shall  be  the 
lawful  custodian  of  the  Journal  and  papers  of  this  General  Confer- 


1896.J 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


177 


euce,  and  shall  deliver  the  same  to  his  successor,  and  it  shall  be  his 
duty  to  make  up  the  roll  of  the  ensuing  General  Conference,  and  in 
of  his  death  the  assistants  in  order  of  their  appointment  shall  at- 
tend to  these  duties. 

On  motion  of  G.  H.  Bridgman,  the  Re"v.  Luke 
Hitchcock  was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

J.  M.  King  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  be  instructed  to  pre- 
pare and  present  to  this  Conference  for  consideration  and  action  a 
plan  concerning  the  number,  the  names,  and  order  of  the  Standing 
Committees,  and  define  their  powers  and  scope. 

On  motion  of  J.  B.  Hingeley,  the  Secretary  was  re- 
quested to  refer  papers  relating  to  the  Conference 
Course  of  Study  to  the  Committee  on  Education. 

W.  H.  Hickman  presented  the  following,  which  was 
read  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid 
and  Southern  Education  Society: 

Whereas,  Our  mission  in  school  work  in  the  South  is  to  raise  up 
leaders  among  the  people  we  teach,  and  not  to  furnish  primary  educa- 
tion for  the  masses ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  public  schools  of  the  South  have  greatly  improved  in 
the  last  few  years ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  report  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Educa- 
tion Society  ishovvs  that  over  fifty  per  cent  of  all  the  students  en- 
rolled in  our  schools  in  the  South  are  pursuing  the  English  course 
only,  and  that  out  of  the  8,725  students  enrolled  there  are  but  218  in 
college  classes ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  is  a  growing  demand  for  greater  economy  on  the 
one  hand  and  better  equipped  schools  on  the  other ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  General  Committee  and  Board  of  Managers  of 
tiie  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  be  instructed  to 
so  ad  just  our  schools  as  not  to  duplicate  the  public  schools  in  the  same 
locality. 

2.  That  our  schools  of  higher  grade  should  be  strengthened  in  ap- 
paratus and  teaching  force,  so  as  to  furnish  the  best  possible  facilities 
for  training  Christian  leaders  for  professional  and  industrial  pursuits. 

H.  G.  Jackson  presented  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  be 
hereby  authorized  to  transfer  the  title  of  the  church  property  of  the 
rose  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,   Chicago  Northern  District, 
Rock  River  Conference,  invested  in  them,  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
that  society. 

J.  E.  Bills  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee  on 
Judiciary.  A  motion  by  S.  M.  Fellows  to  lay  this  on 
the  table  prevailed,  and  the  resolution  was  adopted. 

B.  F.  Witherspoon  presented  the  following,  which, 
on  motion  of  G.  E.  Ackerman,  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  questions  of  color  and  caste  prejudice  are  in  no 
way  entertained  by  this  General  Conference,  and  that  the  election  of  a 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Da  y 

Morning. 


Rev.  L. 
Hitchcock. 


Standing 
Committees. 


Course 
of  Study. 


Schools  in 
the  South. 


Montrose 
Church. 


Colored 
Bishop. 


♦ 


178 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 
Morning. 


Tenure  of 
Bishop. 


Commit- 
tees' reports 
presented. 

Report 
No.  I  on 
Sunday 

Schools  and 
Tracts. 
Report 
No.  I  on 

Freed  men's 
Aid  and 
Southern 
Education 
Society.  * 


Secretaries 
of  Freed- 

men's  Aid 

and 
Southern 

Education 
Society. 


Commission 
on  Fra- 
ternity. 


man  to  the  Episcopacy  does  not  depend  upon  his  complexion,  but  his 
ability  to  fill  the  office. 

2.  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that  to  elect  a 
man  of  African  descent  to  the  Episcopacy  is  no  more  than  to  elect  a 
man  to  that^office  of  German  descent,  and  that  such  a  step,  if  taken, 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  class  legislation,  but  as  a  legitimate  and 
righteous  method  to  promote  the  cause  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  our 
world-wide  Methodism. 

P.  O.  Jamison  presented  the  following,  which,  on 
motion  of  J.  F.  Chaffee,  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Episcopacy : 

Whereas,  Any  limit  of  time  put  upon  the  term  of  the  Episcopal 
office  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  would,  in  our  judgment, 
lessen  the  dignity  of  the  office,  introduce  more  frequent  elections,  and 
injure  the  efficiency  of  our  superintendency  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  do  not  favor  any  change  from  the  life  term  which 
has  been  a  part  of  our  polity  from  the  beginning. 

The  roll  of  Committees  was  called  for  the  presenta- 
tion of  reports. 

The  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts  pre- 
sented Report  No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern 
Education  Society  presented  Report  No.  I,  and  D.  H. 
Moore  moved  its  adoption. 

J.  A.  Motter  moved  to  lay  the  report  on  the  table 
until  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Benevolences 
reports. 

The  motion  was  lost,  and  the  report  was  adopted. 
(See  Reports,  p.  409.) 

J.  T>.  Walsh  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  South- 
ern Education  Society: 

Whereas,  The  report  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education 
Society,  as  contained  in  the  Agenda,  page  246,  shows  that  the  society 
has  paid  during  the  last  three  years  an  average  of  about  $20,000  for 
salaries  and  traveling  expenses  of  the  secretaries  of  that  Society. 

Resolved,  That  this  Conference  inquire  into  the  propriety  and  utility 
of  ordering  for  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society 
one  corresponding  secretary  and  one  assistant  secretary  ;  the  assistant 
secretary  to  be  elected  by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  society. 

J.  C.  Hartzell  moved,  that  as  the  General  Conference 
of  1892.  requested  the  Bishop  to  appoint  a  Commission 
on  the  subject  of  Fraternity  and  Organic  Union  with 
other  Methodist  bodies  of  the  United  States,  that  we 
request  a  report  from  that  commission  at  the  earliest 
practicable  hour.  Carried. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


179 


On  motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  it  was  ordered  that  each 
Standing  Committee  meeting  to-day  be  instructed  to 
have  at  least  one  report  ready  for  presentation  at  the 
session  to-morrow  morning. 

Lewis  Curts  presented  the  report  of  the  Commission 
on  Insurance  appointed  in  1892,  and  moved  its  refer- 
ence to  a  Special  Committee  of  five. 

On  motion  of  L.  B.  Wilson,  it  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Church  Extension. 

W.  F.  T.  Bushnell  moved  that  the  Committee  on 
Entertainment  be  •  instructed  to  provide  two  bulletin 
boards  for  the  announcement  of  committees,  one  for  the 
Standing  Committees  and  the  other  for  Special  Com- 
mittees, and  that  the  chairmen  of  the  committees  be 
instructed  to  place  the  calls  of  the  day  on  the  bulletin 
boards. 

J.  B.  Hobbs  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  informa- 
tion be  published  in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate. 
The  substitute  was  accepted,  and  adopted. 

J.  B.  Graw  moved  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which 
the  time  for  elections  was  fixed  for  next  Monday,  and 
proceed  to  elect  on  the  13th. 

W.  S.  Matthew  moved  to  amend  so  as  to  have  the 
elections  begin  on  Thursday,  the  14th. 

The  amendment  was  adopted,  and  the  motion,  as 
amended,  was  passed. 

Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  Committee  on  the 
Seat  of  the  Next  General  Conference,  and  the  three  at 
large  on  Lay  Representation.   (See  Committees,  p.  377.) 

The  Secretary  called  the  roll  of  Conferences  for  reso- 
lutions. 

W.  H.  Wilder  presented  the  following,  which,  on 
motion  of  Harry  Swan,  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temporal  Economy: 

Whereas,  The  reports  from  the  several  boards  of  our  connectional 
volences  show  large  indebtedness,  and  in  some  instances  a  de- 
crease in  income ; 

Whereas,  The  financial  condition  of  the  country  has  already  called 
for  retrenchments  and  most  rigid  economy  in  our  expenditures,  re- 
ducing the  salaries  of  missionaries  and  teachers,  also  retiring  a  num- 
bci  of  efficient'  men  and  women  who  have  rendered  valuable  service ; 
therefore,. 

Resolved,  That  the  Committees  on  the  Book  Concern,  the  Missionary, 
the  Church  Extension,  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education, 
the  Sunday  School  Union  and  Tract,  and  the  Educational  Societies  be 


Mm  ii. 

NinthDav 

Morning. 
Reports. 


Insurance. 


Bulletin 
boards. 


Time  of 
elections. 


Committees 
announced. 


Salaries  of 
officers. 


180 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


^1AY         and  are  hereby  instructed  to  consider  the  wisdom  of  reducing  the  sal- 

Momirw*  aiieS  and  °ffice  exPenses  of  the  aforesaid  societies  and  General  Con- 
ference officers. 

Bboardsn        0n  motion  of  F.  J.  Cheney,  the  resolution  of  W.  F. 

T.  Bushnell  relating  to  bulletin  boards  was  reconsid- 
ered, and  G.  C.  Sturgiss  moved  that  notices  be  pub- 
lished both  in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  and  on 
the  bulletin  boards. 

The  amendment  prevailed,  and  the  resolution,  as 
amended,  was  adopted. 

The  following,  presented  by  W.  H.  Jordan,  was  laid 
on  the  table: 

Cbajrmen       Resolved,  That  hereafter  the  persons  receiving  the  highest  number  of 
°  tionsg  "    votes  of    his  Conference  shall  be  chairman  of  his  delegation,  but 
choice  of  place  on  the  Standing  Committees  shall  be  by  lot. 

C.  D.  Hills  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  : 

gelization"  Whereas,  In  the  address  of  the  Bishops  it  was  declared  that  Christ 
formed  a  "  new  order  of  hand-to-hand,  heart-to-heart  contact  with 
lepers  of  all  sorts,  which,  if  perpetuated  in  the  lives  of  his  followers, 
will  heal  all  the  running  sores  of  the  world  ;"  and, 

Whereas,  The  National  City  Evangelization  Union  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  "  has  espoused  the  cause  of  the  City  Evangelization 
Union"  to  help  such  a  union  wage  a  "hand-to-hand,  heart-to-heart1' 
conflict  to  win  souls  to  God ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  recommends  to  the  National 
City  Evangelization  Union  to  encourage  the  City  Evangelization  Unions 
or  combinations  of  Quarterly  Conferences  in  cities  to  arrange  to  ob- 
tain names  and  residences  of  persons  of  certain  nationalities  in  a  par- 
ticular ward  or  contiguous  locality,  and  see  to  it  that  every  man  and 
woman  included  in  the  scope  of  this  resolution  in  that  locality,  as  far 
as  practicable,  be  assigned  to  some  Christian  man  or  woman  to  be 
visited  by  the  same  as  long  as  evident  good  results  therefrom. 

H.  W.  Key  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church : 

Mob  Whereas,  Certain  sections  of  our  country  have  been  the  disgraceful 

vio  ence.  scene  0f  mo\y  violence,  in  which  men  charged  with  crime  have  been 
taken  from  prison  and  the  officers  of  the  law  and  executed  without 
trial,  in  many  instances  having  been  flayed,  burned,  and  most  shock- 
ingly treated ;  and, 

Whereas,  Such  lawlessness  subverts  the  true  end  of  government, 
renders  property  and  life  insecure,  and  disgraces  our  Christian  land  and 
nineteenth  century  civilization  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  condemn  mob  violence  in  all  form,  wherever  com- 
mitted, by  whatever  crime  incited.  That  we  note  with  gratification  the 
growing  sentiment  in  the  various  States  against  this  lawlessness — a 
sentiment  crystallizing  in  legislative  enactment,  rendering  it  possible- 
for  damages  to  be  secured  from  the  county  or  State. 

2.  That  this  Conference  urge  upon  all  State  Legislatures  the  passage 
of  such  laws  as  will  eradicate  this  evil,  and  to  secure  for  every  citizen  a 
just  and  impartial  trial  for  all  crime  charged. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


181 


J.  M.  Buckley  moved  that,  in  the  presentation  of 
memoirs,  fifteen  minutes  shall  be  the  limit  in  the  case  of 
an  official  of  the  Church,  and  in  case  of  members  of  the 
last  General  Conference  the  limit  shall  be  five  minutes, 
and  that  the  chairman  who  officiates  on  that  occasion 
shall  indicate  when  the  time  here  mentioned  has  ex- 
pired. 

John  Lanahan  moved  to  strike  out  all  reference  to 
members  of  the  last  General  Conference.  The  amend- 
ment was  adopted,  and  the  motion,  as  amended,  was 
passed. 

On  motion,  the  Order  of  the  Day  was  taken  up,  and 
the  ministers  of  the  city  present  were  introduced. 
The  Conference  and  the  audience  joined  in  singing, 

"  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds." 

Lewis  Curts  presented  what  is  known  as  the  "  World's 
Women's  Temperance  Union  Petition  for  the  Protec- 
tion of  the  Hall,"  a  polyglot  petition  in  fifty  languages, 
and  asked  the  indorsement  of  this  body  to  that  petition, 
signed  by  the  president  and  secretary. 

On  motion  of  John  Lanahan,  consent  was  given  with- 
out reading. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Palmer,  it  was  ordered  that  when 
we  adjourn  it  be  to  7:30  p.  m.,  to  hear  the  fraternal  del- 
egates from  the  British  Wesleyan  and  the  Irish  Meth- 
odist Conferences. 

On  motion  of  W.  M.  Frysinger,  the  Conference  ad- 
journed. The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  the  benediction 
was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Luke  Hitchcock. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Da  v 
Morning. 
Memoirs. 


Ministers 
introduced. 


Evening 
session. 


MONDAY  EVENING,  MAY  11. 

The  Conference  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  Bishop 
R.  S.  Foster  in  the  chair.  The  devotional  services 
were  conducted  by  W.  F.  Warren,  of  the  New  England 
Conference. 

C.  H.  Payne  introduced  to  the  President  the  Rev. 
W.  L.  Watkinson,  fraternal  delegate  from  the  British 
Wesleyan  Conference.  His  credentials  having  been 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary,  he  then  addressed 
the  Conference. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 

Evening. 


Fraternal 
address. 


182 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 

Evening. 

Fraternal 
address. 


C.  H.  Payne  handed  to  the  Secretary  the  credentials 
of  the  Rev.  R.  Crawford  Johnson,  D.D.,  fraternal  del- 
egate from  the  Irish  Methodist  Conference.  J.  T. 
McFarland  introduced  Dr.  Johnson  to  the  President, 
who  presented  him  to  the  Conference,  and  he  addressed 
the  body.    (See  Fraternal  Addresses,  p.  461). 

Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology  was  sung, 
and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Luke 
Hitchcock. 


Efficient 
manage- 
ment of  be- 
nevolent 
societies. 


The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

ARKANSAS. 

J.  H.  Clendenning  presented  the  following,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of 
Benevolences : 

Whereas,  In  order  to  the  attainment  of  the  greatest  measure  of  success 
of  the  several  benevolent  societies  of  the  Church,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  utmost  confidence  in  the  efficiency  and  economy  of  the  manage- 
ment should  exist ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Unification  and  Consolidation  of 
the  Benevolent  Societies  be  directed  to  investigate  and  report  upon 
the  following  points : 

1.  The  receipts  of  each  and  every  one  of  the  General  Conference 
Societies,  and  from  what  source  or  sources. 

2.  The  cost  of  management  and  expenditure  of  the  same. 

3.  What  measures,  if  any,  looking  toward  a  more  economical  man- 
agement of  such  societies  can  be  adopted. 


CENTRAL  OHIO. 
E.  T.  Nelson  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions: 


Detailed 
missionary 
report  in 
Minutes. 


Committee 
on 
Temper- 
ance and 
Temper- 
ance Sun- 
day. 


Whereas,  The  mission  fields  both  at  home  and  abroad  are  embar 
rassed  by  diminished  appropriations  ;  therefore,  the  Committee  on  Mis- 
sions of  this  General  Conference  is  respectfully  requested  to  report 
upon  the  wisdom  of  the  further  publication  of  the  detailed  missionary 
report  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Annual  Conferences  at  the  expense 
of  the  collections  made  for  missions  in  the  several  stations  and 
charges. 

CINCINNATI. 

J.  W.  Bashford  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Pro- 
hibition of  the  Liquor  Traffic: 

Resolved,!.  That  the  Committee  on  Temperance,  provided  for  in  the 
Discipline,  paragraph  97,  section  8,  be  comprised  of  men  and  women. 
2.  That  with  the  cooperation  of  the  pastor  of  the  church  the  Com- 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


183 


mittee  on  Temperance  arrange  for  two  or  more  public  meetings  to  take  MAY  11. 
the  place  of  the  regular  Sunday  morning  or  evening  services.  Ninth  Day 

3.  That  the  Committee  on  Temperance  see  that  the  Sunday  schools 
within  its  car*  be  supplied  with  the  best  temperance  books  and  papers. 

4.  That  a  roll  of  honor  containing  the  total  abstinence  pledge  and 
the  names  of  scholars  who  have  signed  it  be  hung  upon  the  walls  of 
each  Sunday  school,  and  be  presented  for  additional  signatures  twice 
a  year. 

5.  That  the  Committee  on  Temperance  arrange,  in  .connection  with 
the  Sunday  school  superintendents,  for  the  holding  of  from  two  to 
four  temperance  meetings  in  the  Sunday  school  each  year,  either  by 
the  use  of  a  temperance  lesson  from  the  Bible,  or  by  shortening  the 
exercises  of  the  school  for  brief  temperance  addresses  or  concert 
exercises.  v 

6.  That  the  General  Conference  indorse  the  quarterly  temperance 
lesson  selected  by  the  International  Lesson  Committee. 

7.  That  the  General  Conference  recommend  that  the  fourth  Sunday 
in  November  be  observed,  so  far  as  practicable,  by  our  churches  and 
pastors  as  Temperance  Sunday. 

Note. — This  Sunday  has  been  accepted  as  the  Temperance  Sunday 
by  the  Sunday  School  Union,  by  the  Triennial  Council  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church,  and  by  the  Sunday  School  Department  of  the 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union. 


COLORADO. 

D.  L.  Rader  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern : 

Resolved,  That  owing  to  the  great  distance  between  Denver  and  the  Official 
location  of  any  of  our  official  Church  papers,  and  the  rapidity  with  Denver1 
which  that  mountain  country  is  filling  up  with  people  from  all  lands ; 
and  in  view  of  the  importance  of  giving  those  people  pure  and  helpful 
literature  in  the  early  days  of  their  settlement  in  that  new  section  of 
our  country,  therefore,  we  earnestly  memorialize  this  General  Conference 
to  establish  an  official  paper  in  Denver,  Colorado,  to  be  known  as  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Christian  Advocate,  which  shall  be  under  the  control 
and  management  of  the  Western  Book  Concern  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

DETROIT. 

R.  S.  Copeland  presented  the  following,  which  was 
Tef erred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation: 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  hereby  recommends  the  fol-      Ratio  of 
lowing  proposition  to  the  Annual  Conferences  to  be  held  in  1897,  ^tfoaf^ 
to  wit :  To  amend  section  2,  paragraph  67,  of  the  Discipline,  so  that 
the  section  shall  read  as  follows : 

"  The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  of  more  than  one  minis- 
terial representative  for  every  fourteen  members  of  an  Annual  Confer- 
ence, nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  every  forty-five,  nor  of 
more  than  two  lay- delegates  for  an  Annual  Conference ;  provided, 
nevertheless,  that  when  there  shall  be  in  any  Annual  Conference  a 
fraction  of  two  thirds  the  number  which  shall  be  fixed  for  the  ratio  of 
representation,  such  Annual  Conference  shall  be  entitled  to  an 
additional  delegate  for  such  fraction ;  provided,  that  hereafter  as  the 
membership  of  an  Annual  Conference  increases  till,  under  the  rule, 
that  Conference  would  be  entitled  to  another  ministerial  delegate, 


184 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896, 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 
Evening. 


instead  of  electing  such  ministerial  delegate,  the  Lay  Electoral  Con-' 
ference  shall  choose  an  additional  lay  delegate ;  and  provided,  also, 
that  no  Conference  shall  be  denied  the  privilege  of  one  ministerial 
and  of  one  lay  delegate,  and  that  the  number  of  lay  delegates  from 
any  Conference  shall  never  exceed  the  ministerial  delegates." 


Article  on 
"  Foreign 
Episcopal 

Resi- 
dences." 


GENESEE. 

J.  D.  Williams  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy : 

Resolved,  That  the  article  entitled  "  Foreign  Episcopal  Residences," 
by  Bishop  Walden,  which  appeared  in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate 
of  May  the  8th,  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


Organiza- 
tion of  An- 
nual Con- 
ferences. 


ILLINOIS. 

W.  H.  Wilder  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 

Whereas,  Paragraph  71  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  provides  for  the 
organization  of  an  Annual  Conference  with  twenty  effective  members  -r 
and, 

Whereas,  In  this  provision  is  found  a  ground  for  serious  objection  to 
any  change  in  the  ratio  of  representation  in  the  General  Conference, 
and,  doubtless,  contributed  largely  toward  the  defeat  of  the  proposition 
submitted  during  the  last  quadreuuium  to  change  the  ratio  of  repre- 
sentation in  this  body ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  paragraph  11  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  shall  be  so- 
amended  as  to  read:  "No  Annual  Conference  shall  be  organized  with 
less  than  thirty  effective  members." 


Secretaries 
of  Freed- 
men's Aid 
Society. 


Reunion  of 
Churches. 


KENTUCKY. 

J.  D.  Walsh  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Education  Society: 

Whereas,  The  reports  (see  Agenda,  page  246)  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid 
and  Southern  Education  Society  show  that  the  society  has  paid  in  the 
past  three  years  an  average  of  about  $20,000  per  year  for  salaries  and 
traveling  expenses  of  the  secretaries  of  that  society ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  Conference  inquire  into  the  propriety  and  utility 
of  ordering  for  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society 
one  corresponding  secretary  and  one  assistant  secretary,  the  assistant 
to  be  elected  by  the  board  of  managers  of  said  society. 

Daniel  Stevenson  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church: 

Wliereas,  It  is  the  belief  of  this  General  Conference  that  all  the 
reasons  which  exist  for  nearer  and  more  amicable  relations  between 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  exist  with  equal  force  for  the  reunion  of  the  two  Churches ; 
and, 

Wliereas,  It  is  the  belief,  further,  of  this  General  Conference,  that 
such  reunion  would  tend  to  a  purer  peace  and  a  more  agreeable  har- 
mony between  the  members  of  the  two  Churches  as  they  now  exist 
apart,  and  to  the  more  rapid  promotion  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom 
in  this  country  and  in  all  the  world ;  therefore, 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


185 


Resolved,  1.  That  this  General  Conference  instruct  the  Bishops  to  MAY  11. 
appoint  a  commission  on  the  subject  of  the  reunion  of  the  two  N^"i1,^ 
Churches  named. 

2.  That  the  said  commission  shall  consist  of  ifteen  members,  eight 
of  them  ministers  (one  of  whom  shall  be  a  Bishop)  and  seven  laymen, 
at  least  three  of  the  ministers  and  two  of  the  laymen  to  be  selected 
from  that  part  of  the  Church  which  lies  south  of  thy}  Ohio  River.  x 

3.  That  said  commission  shall  make  known  the  fact  and  the  object 
of  its  appointment  to  the  next  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  request  the  appointment  of  a  similar 
commission  by  that  body,  empowered  to  act  with  our  commission  with 
reference  to  the  reunion  of  the  two  Churches. 

4.  That  it  is  the  design  of  this  General  Conference  that  whatever 
agreement  shall  be  reached  by  the  two  commissions  shall  be  alike 
honorable  to  both  Churches. 

5.  That  nothing  that  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  two  commissions 
shall  be  binding  till  approved  by  the  General  Conference  of  1900,  to 
which  body  the  commission  now  to  be  appointed  shall  report. 


MICHIGAN. 

P.  J.  Maveety  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Education  Society: 

Whereas,  The  Theological  Department  and  School  of  Arts  in  Grant 
University  are  located  more  than  fifty  miles  apart;  and, 

Whereas,  It  might  be  possible  by  locating  these  two  departments  at 
the  same  place  to  secure  a  reduction  of  expenses  for  instruction; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern 
Education  Society  be  and  is  hereby  instructed  to  inquire  into  trans- 
ferring the  Theological  Department  to  Athens. 


MONTANA 

Jacob  Mills  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern : 

Whereas,  Certain  outside  publishers  make  earnest,  and  too  often  sue-  m^  toiae  a 
cessful,  efforts  to  get  their  literature  into  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  weekly  pub- 
school  s  ;  and,  lication. 

Whereas,  It  appears  that  there  is  no  weekly  paper,  in  grade,  between 
the  Ef/worth  Herald  and  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  issued  by  our 
publishing  house,  which  fact  is  taken  advantage  of  by  others,  who  thus 
occupy,  in  many  places,  such  field  to  the  injury  of  our  children  and 
the  financial  interests  of  our  Book  Concern ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That   this   General  Conference  instruct  the  Publishing 
Agents  of  the  Church  to  supply  the  need  suggested  by  making  The 
mate  a  weekly  publication,  instead  of  a  semimonthly  as  at  present, 
at  the  lowest  possible  price. 


NEW  ENGLAND  SOUTHERN. 
S.  O.  Benton  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 

Resolved,  That  the  -Committee  on  Itinerancy  be  instructed  to  report  Yaccob°-~ 

to  the  General  Conference  on  the  question  whether  it  would  not  be  presiding 
wise  for  the  Bishops  to  be  advised,  in  the  appointment  of  new  pre-  elders, 
siding  elders,  to  select  ministers  not  addicted  to  the  use  of  tobacco. 


186 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 
Evening. 


Reports 

from 
Epwor^i 
League. 


NEW  YORK. 

A.  D.  Peake  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Colnmittee  on  the  Epworth  League: 

Resolved,  That  there  be  added  to  the  blanks  printed  for  the  purpose 
of  gathering  statistics  for  the  Annual  Conferences  sufficient  space 
properly  arranged  for  full  reports  from  Epworth  League  chapters. 


Change  of 
adminis- 
tration of 
Board  of 
Church  Ex- 
tension. 


Book  Depos- 
itories. 


Suspension 
of  members 
of  Annual 
Conference. 


NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 
J.  F.  Chaffee  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Church  Extension: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Church  Extension  be  instructed  to 
report  to  this  Conference  as  to  the  ad  visibility  of  so  changing  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  that  the  moneys  avail- 
able for  distribution  among  the  Conferences  as  donations  be  paid  to 
the  Conferences,  and  be  administered  by  the  Conference  boards 
severally. 

NORTHWEST  KANSAS. 
E.  S.  Chenoweth  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern: 

Resolved,  That  paragraph  414,  page  203,  of  the  Discipline  of  1892 
be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows : 

u  There  shall  be  Depositories  of  our  books  at  Cincinnati,  New  York, 

Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Denver,  and  San  Francisco,  with  full  supplies  of 

the  books  of  our  General  Catalogues,  Sunday  school  books  and  tracts, 

to  be  sold  for  the  Concern  at  the  same  terms  as  at  New  York,  said 

books  to  be  supplied  by  the  Agent  at  New  York,  and  the  amount  of 

books  to  be  kept  on  hand  at  each  place  is  to  be  left  to  the  judgment 

of  the  Book  Committee." 
« 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  paragraph  289,  pages  149  and  150,  of  the  Discipline 
of  1892  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows : 

"  When  a  member  of  an  Annual  Conference  is  accused  of  crime  in 
the  interval  of  his  Conference  session  and  is  suspended  by  a  commit- 
tee, subsequently  convicted  by  his  Conference  and  expelled,  his  claim 
upon  the  funds  of  the  Conference'  shall  cease  from  the  time  of  his 
suspension,  and  when  a  member  of  an  Annual  Conference  is  sus- 
pended and  afterward  restored,  he  shall  have  claim  on  the  congrega- 
tion and  upon  the  funds  of  the  Conference  during  the  period  of  such 
suspension. 

"  Providing  that  said  congregation  has  not  been  to  the  expense  of 
supporting  a  minister  during  the  period  of  such  suspension." 


PUGET  SOUND. 

T.  J.  Massey  presented  the  following,  whi^h  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions : 

Field  Believing  that  the  present  exigency  of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the 

ilfssionary    Methodist  Episcopal  Church  demands  that  the  General  Conference 
Society.      should  take  some  definite  action  to  avert  the  possibility  of  retro- 
gression in  the  work  of  the  society,  and  speedily  extricate  it  from  its 
present  embarrassing  debt,  and  enlarge  its  powers  for  the  extension  of 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


187 


Christ's  kingdom  in  the  earth,  we,  the  undersigned  delegates,  would 
respectfully  submit  for  your  consideration  and  adoption  the  following 
proposition,  namely:  "  The  election  or  appointment  of  Field  Agents  or 
District  Secretaries  who  shall  devote  their  entire  time  and  energies  to 
the  work  of  disseminating  missionary  intelligence  by  means  of  public 
addresses  from  pulpit  and  platform,  the  distribution  of  missionary 
publications,  by  correspondence  and  otherwise,  pressing  upon  the 
Church  the  claims  of  the  society  and  raising  funds  for  its  work. 

4>  Such  Agents  or  Secretaries  shall  be  under  the  direction  and  control 
of  the  Board  of  Managers.  We  recommend  the  election  of  one  Secre- 
tary for  each  General  Conference  District  or  such  smaller  numbers  as 
in  vour  judgment  may  be  required  to  do  the  work." 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 
Evening. 


SOUTH  DAKOTA. 
R.  N.  Kratz  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and 
Tracts: 

Whereas^  Our  frontier  Sunday  schools  need  to  be  brought  in  more 
direct  contact  with  the  Sunday  School  Department  of  our  Church; 
and, 

Whereas,  In  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  our  Sunday 
School  Union  this  fact,  together  with  a  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  both 
of  schools  and  pastors,  is  referred  to  and  deplored ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  any  Annual  Conference  may  appoint  a  general  super- 
intendent of  all  Sunday  school  interests  within  its  bounds  who  shall 
have  authority  from  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  our  Church  to  assist 
the  pastors  of  said  Conference  in  organizing  new  Sunday  schools,  and 
to  secure  a  more  general  use  of  our  Sunday  school  literature,  and  a 
more  faithful  observance  of  the  normal  and  other  methods  by  which 
the  Union  desires  to  improve  the  condition  of,  and  work  in,  our 
Sunday  schools  ;  provided,  that  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  our  Church 
shall  in  nowise  be  responsible  for  the  compensation  of  said  general 
superintendent  so  appointed. 


General 
superin- 
tendent of 

Sunday 
school  inter- 
ests. 


SOUTHWEST  KANSAS. 
Granville  Lowther  presented  the  following,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church : 

WJierem,  A  large  number  o'f  unordained  men  are  employed  in  our 
frontier  work,  and  it  is  often  exceedingly  inconvenient  and  even  at 
ti tries  impossible  to  obtain  ordained  men  to  bury  the  dead,  perform 
marriage,  and  to  baptize,  and  as  a  consequence  many  of  the  converts 
of  such  ministers  are  annually  lost  to  our  Church  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  do  give  to  unordained  men, 
who  are  supplying  charges,  under  the  regularly  constituted  authority  of 
the  Church,  the  right  to  bury  the  dead,  perform  marriage,  and  to 
baptize  ;  provided,  such  authority  shall  not  cover  any  period  of  time 
for  whi«h  they  are  not  employed  as  above  designated. 

W.  II.  Rose  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals': 

Wfterefis,  Paragraph  45  of  the  Discipline  provides  that  the  pastor 
shall  make  an  accurate  register  of  the  names  of  all  baptized  children 
within  his  pastoral  care  ;  and, 

Wfureas,  Our  church  registers  in  general  use  provide  space  only  for 


Unordained 
preachers 
in  frontier 
work. 


Registering 
baptized 
children. 


188 


Journal  of  the  General  Co?iference. 


[1896. 


MAY  11.    the  names  of  those  whose  baptism  occurs  within  the  charge  for  which 

^Jinth  Day  such  register  is  used  ;  and, 
Evemng.         Whereas,  The  prevailing  custom  is  that  baptized  children  are  ex- 
pected to  unite  with  the  church  on  probation  the  same  as  those  not 
baptized ;  and, 

Whereas,  No  provision  is  made  for  the  transfer  of  baptized  children 
from  one  charge  to  another  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  paragraph  45  be  amended  by  adding :  "  and  shall 
give  a  certificate  of  such  registration  to  the  parents  of  all  such  children 
removing  from  his  charge,  which  certificate  shall  transfer  the  relation 
of  said  children  to  the  charge  to  which  they  are  removed." 


Removals 
without 
letter. 


WEST  WISCONSIN. 

W.  J.  McKay  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  when  any  member  of  our  Church  shall  remove  without 
letter  from  his  church,  the  pastor  may  after  the  lapse  of  one  year 
erase  the  name  from  the  record,  the  statement  for  the  erasure  of  said 
name  to  be  made  in  writing  opposite  the  name  so  erased. 


Laymen  in 

Annual 
Conference. 


Deaconess 
work. 


Deaconess 
Home  of 
Baltimore. 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary : 

BALTIMORE. 

D.  S.  Monroe,  Secretary,  presented  a  memorial  from 
the  Baltimore  Conference  relative  to  admission  of  lay- 
men to  the  Annual  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Lay  Representation. 

L.  B.  Wilson  presented  a  memorial  on  behalf  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  of  the  Lucy  Webb  Hayes  Deacon- 
ess Home  relative  to  deaconess  work. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Board  of 
Deaconesses  concerning  the  Deaconess  Home  of  Balti- 
more. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Deaconess  Work. 


CENTRAL  ILLINOIS. 
servance°bo"f      J.  G.  Evans  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 

the  Sabbath  r  ° 

proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


CENTRAL  OHIO. 
E.  T.  Nelson  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  ap- 


Appropri- 
ations  by 
Missionary 

society,     propriations  made  by  the  General  Missionary  society. 


Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 


CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 
CsOTance?"  S.  Monroe,  Secretary  of  the  General  Conference, 

presented  a  memorial  referring  to  church  insurance. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


189 


He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  Grace  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Worcester,  Mass.,  in  reference  to  a 
change  in  the  Creed.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Re  vi  sals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Philadelphia 
clergy  and  the  Hall  of  Carpenters  Company  in  relation 
to  a  meeting  of  the  human  family  at  Jerusalem  in  the 
year  1900.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
the  Church. 

He  also  presented  from  the  Ecclesiastical  Peace  Con- 
ference a  petition  for  arbitration.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  appeals  from  episcopal  decisions. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  Central  China 
Mission  relative  to  episcopal  residence,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  ;  another  rela- 
tive to  a  China  Mission  Conference,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Missions;  and  another  relative  to 
a  Missionary  Bishop,  which  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Episcopacy. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 

Evening. 
Change  in 
the  Creed. 


Human 
family  at 
Jerusalem 

in  1900. 


Arbitration. 


Episcopal 
decisions. 


Episcopal 
residence. 


China  Mis- 
sion Confer- 
ence. 

Missionary 
Bishop. 


CENTRAL  SWEDISH. 
J.  F.  Wigren  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him-  p^lSs 
self  and  others,  respecting  Swedish  periodicals.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

DETROIT. 

G.  O.  Robinson  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  De^£e" 
deaconess   work.     Referred   to   the   Committee  on 
Deaconess  Work. 

ERIE. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  presented  a  memorial  from  the  t2*°- 
Clarion  District  Epworth  League  Convention  relative 
to  paragraph  240.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
State  of  the  Church. 


GULF  MISSION. 

A  memorial  was  received  from  the  Gulf  Mission,    Growth  of 

7  Gulf 

signed  by  Cyrus  A.  King  and  others,  referring  to  its  Mission, 
growth,  and  asking  to  be  erected  into  a  Mission  Con- 
ference.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 


190 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  11.  . 

Ninth  Dav 

Evening. 
Subsidy  lor 
Methodist 
Advocate 
Journal 


New 
Orleans 
University. 


Lay  repre- 
sentation. 


HOLSTON. 

R.  J.  Cooke  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  seventy 
persons,  asking  subsidy  for  the  Methodist  Advocate 
Journal.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 

ILLINOIS. 

J.  A.  Kumler  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the 
New  Orleans  University  administration.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Edu- 
cation Society. 

INDIANA. 

W.  R.  Halstead  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  lay 
representation.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay 
Representation. 

IOWA. 

F.  J.  Myers  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Keokuk 
District  Conference  relative  to  paragraph  240.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Electing 
faculties. 


LITTLE  ROCK. 

W.  O.  Emory  presented  a  memorial  from  the  trus- 
tees of  Philander  Smith  College  relative  to  electing 
faculties.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's 
Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society. 


Freedmen's 
Aid  Society. 


Church 
Extension 
Society. 


Board  of 
Education. 


MEXICO. 

J.  W.  Butler  presented  three  memorials.  One  for  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society  to  extend  its  territory,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Be- 
nevolences; one  on  the  Church  Extension  Society  in 
Mexico,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Church  Extension;  and  one  to  enlarge  the  scope  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  which  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education. 


Book  Depos- 
itory at  * 
Detroit. 


T  240. 


MICHIGAN. 

J.  H.  Potts  presented  a  memorial  to  establish  a  Book 
Depository  at  Detroit,  Mich.  Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  Book  Concern. 

Levi  Master  presented  a  memorial  from  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  pro- 
testing against  any  change  in  paragraph  240.  Referre 
to  the-  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


191 


NEW  ENGLAND. 

W.  F.  Warren  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New 
England  Conference  on  the  subject  of  ministerial  ex- 
aminations.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  James  Mudge 
relative  to  International  arbitration.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  students  of 
Boston  University  School  of  Theology.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Education. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  Daniel  Steele  and 
others  concerning  the  doctrinal  teaching  of  books  pub- 
lished.by  our  Book  Concern.  Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  Book  Concern. 

E.  M.  Taylor  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New- 
England  Conference  relative  to  the  time  limit.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day" 

Evening. 

Ministerial 
examina- 
tions. 

Interna- 
tional arbi- 
tration. 


Boston  Uni- 
versity. 


Doctrinal 
teaching  of 
our  books. 


Time  limit. 


NEW  YORK. 

C.  C.  McCabe  presented  a  communication  from  G.  S. 
Davis  and  others  of  the  Bulgarian  mission  in  reference 
to  boundaries.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Bound- 
aries. 

A.  D.  Peake  presented  a  memorial  in  relation  to 
statistics  of  the  Epworth  League.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Epworth  League. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  W.  E. 
Brooks,  on  the  subject  of  church  membership.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

J.  R.  Day  presented  a  memorial  from  the  New  York 
Conference  relative  to  the  Epworth  League  Board  of 
Control,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ep-' 
worth  League  ;  another  relative  to  paragraph  240, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals;  and 
another  relative  to  the  seat  of  the  ensuing  General  Con- 
ference, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lo- 
cation of  the  next  General  Conference. 


Boundaries. 


Statistics  of 
Epworth 
League. 


Church 
member- 
ship. 


Epworth 
League. 


Seat  of  next 

General 
Conference. 


NEW  YORK  EAST.  ' 
C.  J.  North  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  the 
laymen  of  New  Haven  District  relating  to  the  time 
limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


Time  limit. 


192 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  11. 

Ninth  Day 

Evening. 
Statistical 
cards. 

Boundaries. 


No  chan^ 
in  bounc 
aries. 


Support  of 
ministers' 
widows. 


Ratio  of  rep- 
resentation. 


Districting 
the  Bishops. 


Time  limit. 


Church 
Insurance 
Company. 


NORTH  INDIANA. 

W.  D.  Parr  presented  a  memorial  recommending  the 
adoption  of  Neal's  Statistical  Cards.  Referred  to  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals. 

Also,  a  memorial  relative  to  boundary  lines.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

A.  E.  Mahin  presented  a  memorial  from  the  District 
Stewards  of  the  Kokomo  District  protesting  against  a 
change  in  the  boundaries  of  the  North  Indiana  Confer- 
ence.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  delegation  of 
the  North  Indiana  Conference  on  the  same  subject. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries* 
NORTH  NEBRASKA. 

J.  B.  Maxfield  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
Joseph  Pritchard,  concerning  support  of  ministers' 
widows.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

OHIO. 

D.  Y.  Murdoch  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Ohio 
Conference  relative  to  the  ratio  of  representation.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

J.  C.  Arbuckle  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Ohio 
Conference  relative  to  districting  the  Bishops.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

W.  D.  Cherington  presented  a  memorial  from  the 
Ohio  Conference  relative  to  the  time  limit.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

Lewis  Curts  presented  a  report  of  Commission  on 
Church  Insurance  Compairy.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Church  Extension. 


Educa- 
tional work. 


SOUTH  INDIA. 

J.  H.  Stephens  presented  a  memorial  requesting  an 
inquiry  in  reference  to  the  educational  work  of  India. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


Insurance 
of  Church 
property. 


SOUTHWEST  KANSAS. 
Granville  Lowther  presented  a  memorial  recommend- 
ing the  Board  of  Church  Extension  to  adopt  plan 
for  insurance  of  Church  property.    Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Church  Extension. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


193 


ST.  JOHN'S  RIVER.  MAY  11. 

Ninth  Da  y 

L.  S.  Rader  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  a  trans-  Evemm- 
position  of  paragraph  193,  section  2,  of  the  Discipline.  tTornof^°i93. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


ST.  LOUIS. 

J.  B.  Young  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the 
subject  of  Church  insurance.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temporal  Economy. 


Church 
insurance. 


TEXAS. 

W.  H.  Logan  presented  a  memorial  asking  that  an 
enabling  act  be  granted  the  Texas  and  West  Texas  Con- 
ferences.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Enabling 
act. 


TROY. 

W.  W.  Hughes  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Quar-  Next  session 
terly  Conference  at  Saratoga  Springs  inviting  the  next  conference 

J  o       r      to  &  at  Saratoga 

session  of  the  General  Conference  to  be  held  at  that  springs, 
place,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Loca- 
tion of  next  General  Conference. 


UPPER  IOWA. 

A.  J.  Kynett  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  the 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Deaconess  Work. 

W.  F.  King  presented  a  memorial  in  reference  to  the 
administration  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern 
Education  Society.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society. 


Woman's 
Home  Mis- 
sionary 
Society. 


Adminis- 
tration of 
Freedmen's 
Aid  and 
Southern 
Education 
Society. 


WASHINGTON. 

W.  H.  Brooks  presented  a  memorial  to  change  par- 
agraph 168.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy. 

WEST  NEBRASKA. 
C.  A.  Hale  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
examinations  of  undergraduates.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals. 

WISCONSIN. 

G.  H.  Trever  presented  a  memorial  recommending  Se?retlrayof 
the  abolishing  of  the  office  of  General  Secretary  of  the  ieagu? 
Epworth  League. 


To  change 
1 168. 


Examina- 
tions of 
undergrad- 
uates. 


194 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


may  11.      jje  aiso  presented  two  memorials.    One  concerning 

*JinthDay 

Evening,  the  Epworth  League  Board  of  Control,  which  was  re- 

1Xgueh  ferred  to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League;  the 

control,  other  for  expunging  absent  members'  names.  Referred 

meSers.  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


S.  S.  Reid. 


Periodicals 
to  schools. 


Index  to 
Discipline. 


Book  Con- 
cern re- 
ports, 1872. 


TUESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  12. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  C.  H.  Fowler  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  H.  G. 
Jackson,  of  the  Rock  River  Conference. 

The  Journals  of  yesterday  morning  and  evening  ses- 
sions were  read  and  approved. 

Simon  S.  Reid,  a  reserve  delegate  of  the  Texas  Con- 
ference, was  seated  in  the  place  of  T.  A.  Fortson,  called 
home. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  presented  'the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  publishers  be  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  and 
requested  to  furnish  gratis  to  any  university,  theological  school,  col- 
lege, academy  or  seminary,  regularly  under  the  control  of  our  Church, 
on  application  of  the  president  or  principal  thereof,  one  copy  of  all  our 
official  Advocates  and  one  of  the  Methodist  Revieiv. 

C.  C.  Wilbor  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Whereas,  The  present  Index  of  the  Discipline  is  imperfect  in  that 
subjects  sought  for  are  often  found  with  difficulty  owing  to  the  differ- 
ent titles  by  which  different  minds  will  seek  for  the  various  topics ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  editor  or  editors  of  the  new  Discipline  be  directed 
to  make  the  Index  more  specific  and  comprehensive,  giving  double 
references  where  subjects  will  admit,  by  printing  subtopics  in  their 
alphabetical  order  and  place,  and  by  adding  the  number  of  the  para- 
graph where  such  topics  elsewhere  appear. 

The  following,  presented  by  John  Lanahan,  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern: 

Whereas,  Among  the  important  reports  presented  to  the  General 
Conference  of  1872  was  one  by  Mr.  John  A.  Gunn,  more  than  half  of 
which  report  was  left  out  of  the  Journal  of  that  Conference ;  and, 

Whereas,  Attention  to  said  mutilated  report  has  recently  been  called  ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  be  and  they  are 
hereby  instructed  to  inquire  into,  and  report  upon  the  propriety  of 
publishing  the  said  report  in  full  in  the  forthcoming  Journal  of  this 
Conference. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


195 


Elvin  Swarthout  presented  the  following,  which  was  may  12. 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Constitution:  DAvf 

Wiereas,  It  is  evident  from  the  discussions  in  General  Conferences  ^stitu 
and  in  books  and  periodicals  for  eight  years  and  more  that  it  is  morally  tionai  Corn- 
impossible  to  agree,  even  approximately,  among  ourselves  what  part  of  mission, 
the  Discipline,  if  any,  "  has  the  nature  and  force  of  a  constitution ; " 
and, 

Whereas,  The  recognized  process  of  amending  whatever  is  claimed 
as  Constitution  is  both  slow  and  unsatisfactory  and  out  of  harmony 
with  the  spirit  of  American  ideas  of  equality,  putting  it  in  the  power 
of  a  small  minority  of  the  traveling  preachers  to  obstruct  the  wishes 
of  more  than  two  thirds  of  their  ministerial  brethren,  and  to  wholly 
ignore  the  almost  unanimous  wishes  of  the  laity,  as  has  been  lately 
shown  by  the  votings  on  equal  lay  representation  and  the  admission 
of  women ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  absolutely  impossible  for  such  a  body  as  this  General 
Conference  to  give  the  deliberation  necessary  for  the  preparation  of 
matter  for  the  action  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  even  if  there  were 
not  inherent  objections  to  that  method  of  amending  the  Constitution; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  there  be,  and  is  hereby  created,  a  Constitutional 
Commission  with  full  power  to  revise  and  amend  the  Constitution  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  its  present  world- 
wide field,  and  in  the  language  of  the  Bishops  in  their  Address  of  1888 
to  "  remove  ambiguity,  extirpate  doubt,  and  obviate  possible  perplex- 
ing discussions  in  the  future."  Said  Constitutional  Commission  shall 
be  composed  of  two  ministers  and  two  laymen  from  each  of  the  Gen-  ' 
eral  Conference  Districts  as  they  now  exist,  the  ministerial  members 
thereof  and  one  reserve  to  be  elected  by  ballot,  by  the  ministerial  mem- 
bers of  the  present  General  Conference  from  the  several  General  Con- 
ference Districts  and  the  lay  members  thereof,  and  one  reserve  to  be 
elected  in  like  manner  by  the  lay  members  of  this  General  Conference. 
All  representatives  thus  chosen  to  be  not  less  than  thirty  years  of  age 
^nd  to  reside  in  the  district  they  represent. 

2.  The  Constitutional  Commission  thus  chosen  shall  meet  in  the  city 
•of  Chicago  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  August,  1896,  at  10  o'clock  a.  m., 
at  such  place  as  may  be  provided  for  the  Book  Agent  resident  at 
Chicago.  It  shall  organize  by  the  election  of  one  of  its  members  as 
president  and  one  as  secretary,  and  such  other  officers  as  the  Commis- 
sion thus  organized  may  deem  necessary.  It  shall  be  governed  by  the 
Rules  of  Order  of  the  present  General  Conference,  as  far  as  they  may  be 
applicable,  until  the  same  is  changed  by  the  said  Commission.  A  ma- 
jority of  the  members  elected  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  trans- 
action of  business,  but  no  measure  that  does  not  on  its  final  passage 
receive  a  majority  of  the  members  elected  shall  be  adopted. 

3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  Commission  to  formulate  therein,  so 
much  of  the  present  Constitution  and  laws  and  usages  of  the  Church 
as  it  shall  deem  wise,  and  to  make  such  alterations  and  revisions  as  in 
its  judgment  ought  to  be  made  to  better  adapt  it  to  the  present  and 
probable  future  wants  of  the  Church.  When  it  shall  have  completed 
its  work,  the  president  and  secretary  of  said  Commission  shall  cause 
the  form  of  Constitution  agreed  upon  to  be  published  twice  in  alternate 
weeks  in  every  official  weekly  paper  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States, 
and  request  all  other  Methodist  papers  to  copy  the  same  within  thirty 
days  of  the  adjournment  of  said  Commission.  They  shall  also  desig- 
nate some  calendar  month,  not  less  than  three  months  nor  more  than 
six  months  from  the  adjournment  of  the  Commission,  in  which  the 
vote  shall  be  taken  on  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  said  proposed  Con- 
stitution by  every  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  who  shall  be  twenty-one  years  of  .age  and  over.  The 


196 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Edit  the 
Discipline. 


Coordinate 
adminis- 
tration. 


Secretary 
of  the  Sun- 
day School 
Union. 


Additional 
Missionary 
Bishops. 


Commission  shall  formulate  rules  and  regulations  for  the  taking  of 
votes  and  for  certifying  the  result  to  the  Secretary  of  this  General 
Conference,  who  shall  tabulate  the  same  as  early  as  possible  after  re- 
ceiving the  returns,  and  he  shall  publish  the  result  in  every  official 
weekly  paper  in  the  United  States  as  soon  as  the  result  is  known,  and 
he  shall  assume,  in  the  absence  of  information  to  the  contrary,  that  all 
returns  have  reached  him  within  ninety  days  after  the  time  designated 
for  taking  the  vote.  If  it  shall  appear  that  the  proposed  Constitution 
has  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  and  returned,  then  it  shall 
become  the  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  all 
officers  and  members  of  said  Church  shall  at  once  be  governed  by  it ; 
provided  that  no  present  rule  or  regulation  of  the  Church,  which  is 
purely  statutory  or  administrative,  shall  be  superseded  or  revoked  by 
the  operation  of  said  Constitution  until  acted  upon  by  the  first  General 
Conference  succeeding  the  adoption  of  said  Constitution,  unless  pro- 
vision for  such  change  shall  be  especially  made  in  a  schedule  accom- 
panying the  Constitution  and  the  schedule,  the  time  of  the  meeting  of 
said  Commission  shall  designate  in  the  next  General  Conference  and 
the  time  and  manner  of  the  election  of  delegates,  if  any  change  from 
the  present  time  and  manner  shall  be  made  necessary. 

4.  Each  member  of  said  Commission  shall  keep  an  accurate  detailed 
account  of  his  expenses  incurred  in  attending  the  meeting  or  meetings 
of  said  Commission,  which  when  certified  to  shall  be  paid  out  of  the 
funds  of  the  Book  Concern,  and  shall  be  charged  to  General  Con- 
ference expenses  and  incorporated  in  the  expenses  of  the  next  General 
Conference,  to  be  collected  with  the  expenses  of  the  next  General  Con- 
ference. 

J.  M.  Shumpert  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews  edit  the  Discipline  of  1896, 
with  whatever  assistance  he  may  employ. 

J.  M.  Buckley  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  be  instructed  to  in- 
quire into  the  relation  between  the  General  Superintendent  and  the 
Missionary  Bishop,  especially  as  to  the  best  methods  practicable  for 
their  "  coordinate  "  administration,  as  implied  in  the  Discipline,  para- 
graph 178. 

W.  H.  Maxwell  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and 
Tracts: 

Judging  by  the  report  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  this  department  is  not  receiving  the  support  of  the 
Church  as  it  should  ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  is  a  wide  and  increasing  demand  that  the  periodical 
literature  issued  by  said  board  should  be  greatly  improved ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  judgment  of  this  General  Conference  that , 
whoever  my  be  elected  to  the  secretaryship  of  said  board  shall  devote 
his  entire  time  and  attention  to  the  promotion  of  this  end. 

William  Wallis  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Whereas,  The  frequent  visitations  of  our  foreign  mission  fields  by 
our  Bishops  is  attended  with  great  expense ;  and, 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


197 


Whereas,  The  development  of  our  missions  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  MAY  12. 

Africa  indicate  providential  guidance  ;  therefore,  "day" 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Conference  that  additional  Mommy. 
Missionary  Bishops  should  be  elected  by  this  body  to  represent  our 
work  in  Europe,  .A*ia,  and  Africa. 

S.  W.  Trousdale  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 


Time  of 
meeting  of 
the  General 
Conference. 


Restrictive 
rules. 


Whereas,  The  proposition  submitted  by  the  West  Wisconsin  Annual 
Conference  to  change  the  time  of  meeting  of  the  General  Conference 
from  the  first  day  of  May  to  the  first  Wednesday  of  May  has  received 
more  than  the  necessary  three  fourths  votes  of  the  Annual  Conferences 
(the  actual  vote  being  8,663  for  to  167  against) ; 

Resolved,  That  this  body  make  the  Order  of  the  Day  for  voting  upon 
this  amendment  9  a.  m.  Wednesday,  May  13. 

The  following,  presented  by  T.  L.  Matthews,  was,  on 
motion  of  J.  F.  Chaffee,  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Constitution: 

Whereas,  Under  the  law,  as  it  now  is,  governing  the  submission  of 
propositions  to  change  or  amend  the  Restrictive  Rules,  the  membership, 
other  than  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conference,  have  no  voice 
further  than  an  expression  of  an  opinion  ;  and, 

Whereas,  Any  proposition  changing  or  amending  the  organic  law  of 
the  Church  is  a  matter  of  vital  importance  in  which  every  member 
of  the  Church  is  interested,  and  should  have  a  voice  and  a  vote ;  there- 
fore, 

Resolved^. That  the  proviso  to  the  Restrictive  Rules,  paragraph  68, 
Discipline,  1892,  be  amended  as  follows :  After  the  word  Con- 
ferences in  lines  three  and  ten  insert  the  words,  "and  members 
of  the  Church  over  (21)  twenty-one  years  of  age,"  so  that,  when 
so  amended,  the  proviso  will  read  as  follows : 

*~  68.  Provided,  nevertheless,  that  upon  the  concurrent  recommenda- 
tion of  three  fourths  of  all  the  members  of  the  several  Annual  Con- 
ferences, and  the  members  of  the  Church  over  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  who  shall  be  present  and  vote  on  such  recommendation, 
then  a  majority  of  two  thirds  of  the  General  Conference  succeeding 
shall  suffice  to  alter  any  of  the  above  Restrictions,  excepting  the  first 
article ;  and  also,  whenever  such  alteration  or  alterations  shall  have 
been  first  recommended  by  two  thirds  of  the  General  Conference,  so 
soon  as  three  fourths  of  the  members  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences 
and  the  members  of  the  Church  over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who 
shall  be  present  and  vote  on  such  recommendation,  shall  have  con- 
curred as  aforesaid,  such  alteration  or  alterations  shall  take  effect; 
provided,-  further,  that  the  procedure  hereby  established  in  the  matter 
of  altering  the  Restrictive  Rules  apply  to  changing,  amending,  or  alter- 
ing the  organic  law  and  Constitution  of  the  Church. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Haley,  A.  F.  Chase,  a  reserve  a.  f.  chase, 
delegate  of  the  East  Maine  Conference,  was  seated  in  ¥ 
the  place  of  W.  L.  Brown,  called  home  on  account  of 
sickness. 

The  roll  of  the  Conferences  was  called  for  the  pres- 
entation of  reports. 

J.  M.  Buckley  reported  that  the  Committee  on  Epis- 


198 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
Day. 
Morning. 
Reports 
presented. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Report  No.  I 
on  Deacon- 
ess Work. 


Report  No.  J 
on  Sunday 
Schools  and 
Tracts. 


Secretary  of 
Epworth 
League. 


copacy  was  not  ready  to  report  as  required  by  former 
action  of  this  body. 

The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  presented  Report  No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Re vi sals  presented*Report  No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  reported  that 
certain  papers  referred  to  it  should  be  referred  to  other 
committees,  which  was  ordered. 

The  Committee  on  State  of  the  Church  presented 
R-eport  No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Deaconess  Work  presented  Re- 
port No.  I. 

G.  O.  Robinson  moved  that  it  lie  over,  be  printed  in 
the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  to-morrow,  and  be  made 
the  Order  of  the  Day  for  11  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 

C.  J.  Little  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  we  proceed 
to  its  consideration  at  once.  Lost. 

On  motion  of  John  Lanahan,  the  motion  was  divided, 
the  first  part  was  ordered  to  be  printed,  and  the  last 
part  was  laid  on  the  table. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools 
and  Tracts  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  405.) 

H.  J.  Talbot  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League: 

Whereas,  The  Secretaries  of  all  the  Church  societies  underlie  con- 
trol of  the  General  Conference  are  elected  by  the  General  Conference, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Epworth  League ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Constitution  of  the  Epworth  League  provides  for  the 
election  of  the  Editor  of  the  Epworth  Herald  by  the  General  Confer 
ence,  but  leaves  the  election  of  the  General  Secretary  in  the  hands  of 
the  Board  of  Control ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  interests  of  uniform  administration  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  Epworth  League  should  be  so  changed  as  to  provide  for 
the  election  of  the  General  Secretary  of  the  League  also  by  the  General 
Conference. 


Rev.  C.  H. 
Phillips. 


Amanda 
Smith. 


The  Rev.  C.  H.  Phillips,  fraternal  delegate  from  the 
Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  introduced. 

On  motion  of  J.  W.  E.  Bowen,  Amanda  Smitji,'a 
world-wide  evangelist,  was  introduced,  and  complied 
with  a  request  to  sing. 

C.  D.  Hills  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 


Section 
helpers. 


Whereas,  Many  of  the  aged,  invalid,  sick,  non-resident,  and  other 
members  of  the  local  churches  cannot  or  do  not  attend  class  meetings ; 
and, 

Whereas,  They  should  be  reached  and  their  religious  state  be  ascer- 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


199 


tuned  from  their  own  testimony  as  a  means  of  grace  to  them ;  there- 
fore, 

Resolved,  That  the  classes  be  divided  into  sections,  and  section 
'helpers  be  appointed  thereto  by  the  pastor  so  that  semiannually,  if  not 
quarterly,  at  a  general  class  meeting  the  Church  roll  may  be  called 
and  testimonies  be  given,  either  personally  or  by  the  section  helper  or 
•class  leader  or  pastor  or  by  letter.  By  this  method  the  moral  ai«l 
geographical  whereabouts  of  each  member  will  be  constantly  known. 

On  motion  of  A.  B.  Leonard,  the  Conference  ad- 
journed. The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  the  benediction 
was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rust. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary : 

CENTRAL  OHIO. 
L.  D.  Belt  presented  the  following,  which  w^as  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Benevo- 
lences : 

Whereas:,  In  the  providence  of  God  the  beneficent  operations  of  the 
General  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  have 
extended  into  nearly  every  portion  of  the  globe ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  complex  and  difficult  problems  arising  in  the  prosecu- 
tion and  administration  of  our  mission  work  in  foreign  lands  are  in 
important  respects  essentially  different  from  those  arising  at  home ; 
and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  there  would  be  a  marked  increase  in  the  ag- 
gregate gifts  of  our  people  for  work  at  home  and  abroad  if  the  pro- 
posed action  were  taken  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  undersigned,  respectfully  petition  this  General 
■Conference  to  provide  for  the  division  of  the  General  Missionary 
♦Society  of  our  Church  into  societies  for  home  and  foreign  missions. 

CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 
D.  S.  Monroe  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Resolved,  That  immediately  after  paragraph  56,  and  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  words  "  in  order,"  there  be  inserted  the  following :  "  all  the 
religious  services  and  matters  pertaining  thereto  shall  be  under  the 
control  of  the  pastor,"  so  as  to  read : 

"I  56.  All  the  religious  services  and  matters  pertaining  thereto 
•shall  be  under  the  control  of  the  pastor.    In  order,"  etc. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Resolved,  That  after  paragraph  298  add  another  paragraph  :  "  Our 
-churches  shall  be  used  for  purposes  of  worship  and  the  regular  meet- 
ings of  our  Church  organizations  only,  except  by  consent  of  the  pastor 
and  the  Board  of  Trustees." 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Resolved,  That  the  following  be  substituted  for  paragraph  99,  namely  : 
u  IT  99.  It    shall  be  the  duty   of   the   Committee    on  Church 
Records  and  Audits  to  see  that  records  of  membership,  the  records  of 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Adjourned. 


Division  of 
Missionary 
Society. 


Services  to 
be  in  control 
of  pastor. 


Churches 
for  worship 
Only. 


Records and 
Audits  to  be 
properl  y 
kept. 


200  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896 


MAY  12.  the  Leaders  and  Stewards'  Meeting,  of  the  Official  Board,  of  the  Board 
TDay?  of  Trustees>  of  tlle  Sunday  School  Board,  and  of  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
Motning.  ence  are  properly  kept,  and  all  the  financial  accounts  of  the  charge  are 
audited  and  properly  certified  in  the  books  and  to  the  fourth  Quarterly 
Conference,  and  when  any  of  these  books  are  filled  up,  and  no  longer  in 
use,  they  shall  be  deposited  with  the  Recording  Stewards  for  preserva- 
tion." 

2.  That  paragraph  98,  question  31,  read.  "Are  the  Church  Records 
and  Audits  properly  kept  ?  " 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 
Chapter II,       Chapter  II,  paragraph  75,  strike  out  "president." 


Educa- 
tional col- 
lections. 


ILLINOIS. 

W.  H.  Wilder  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education  : 

Whereas,  Although  wise  provision  has  been  made  for  the  separation 
of  the  "  Children's  Fund  "  from  the  annual  public  collection  for  educa- 
tion, much  confusion  prevails  among  our  preachers  and  people  as  to 
the  meaning  of  paragraph  321  in  the  Book  of  Discipline; 

Wliereas,  Often  no  distinction  has  been  made  by  them  between  the 
annual  public  collection  which  is  to  be  taken  in  all  our  churches  for 
education  and  the  annual  collection  which  is  to  be  taken  in  our 
Sunday  schools  on  "  Children's  Day  "  for  the  "  Children's  Fund ; " 

Whereas,  This  failure  to  distinguish  between  these  two  collections, 
both  of  which  are  ordered  by  the  General  Conference,  has  been  a 
positive  disadvantage  in  securing  funds  for  the  great  cause  of  Chris- 
tian education,  and  especially  to  the  annual  collection  for  education. 
•  Resolved,  That  paragraph  84  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  under  "  Statis- 
tics No.  IV,"  where  it  reads : 

"  Education : 

a.  Children's  Fund. 

b.  Other  Educational  Objects." 
Shall  be  so  amended  as  to  read : 
"  Education : 

a.  Educational  Collection. 

b.  Children's  Fund." 


Sunday 
Service, 
Ritual,  and 
Hymnal. 


Sunday 
Service, 
Catechism, 
and  Ep- 
worth 
Hymnal. 


KENTUCKY. 

R.  T.  Miller  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  be  requested  to 
consider  and  report  on  the  propriety  of  publishing  in  one  volume  the 
Sunday  Service,  Ritual,  and  Hymnal,  in  suitable  and  convenient  form 
for  use  in  our  public  worship. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts  be  re- 
quested to  consider  and  report  on  the  propriety  of  publishing  the  Sun- 
day Service,  Catechism,  and  Epworth  Hymnal  in  suitable  form  for  use 
in  our  Sunday  school  and  Epworth  League  services. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


201 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary : 

*  BALTIMORE. 

W.  S.  Edwards  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
order  of  public  worship.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

Alexander  Ashley  presented  a  memorial  from  the 
official  members  of  Hamline  Church,  Washington,  con- 
cerning the  Certificate  of  Membership.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
Day. 

Morniny. 


Order  of 
public  wor- 
ship. 


Certificate 
of  Member- 
ship. 


CENTRAL  GERMAN.  * 

Jacob  Rothweiler  presented  a  memorial  from  the  TMadSon°f 
German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Madison,  Ind.,  church- 
requesting  to  be  transferred  to  the  Indiana  Conference. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

CENTRAL  ILLINOIS. 

J.  G.  Evans  presented  a  memorial  from  Libbie  R.  League. 
Hamsher  in  reference  to  the  work  of  the  Junior  League. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Epworth  League. 

CENTRAL  OHIO. 

L.  A.  Belt  presented  from  Hon.  William  Lawrence  Rrengfonof 
a  memorial  concerning  Articles  of  Religion.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 

D.  S.  Monroe,  Secretary,  presented  memorials  which 
he  had  received  by  mail.  One  from  L.  S.  Rader  con- 
cerning paragraph  193  of  the  Discipline,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals  ;  one  from  the 
Nebraska  Conference  concerning  districting  the  epis- 
copacy, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epis- 
copacy; one  from  the  same  Conference  relating  to  the 
Omaha  Christian  Advocate,  which  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  ;  one  from  the 
Society  of  Friends  for  united  action  of  religious  denom- 
inations in  promoting  reforms,  which  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  ;  and  one 
from  A.  J.  Joslin  relative  to  the  Pacific  Christian  Ad- 
'• orate,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
Book  Concern. 


Districting 
the  Bishops. 


Omaha 
Christian 
Advocate. 

United 
action  of 
Churches. 


Pacific 
Chrisiia  n 
Advocate. 


202 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


>IAY  12. 

Tenth 
Day. 

Morning. 

To  change 
7  98. 


.  Delegates 
to  reside 

within 
bounds  of 

Conference. 


General 
Conference 
officers. 


It  243  to  245. 


CENTRAL  TENNESSEE. 
J.  M.  Carter  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  change 
paragraph  98,  item  11.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

CINCINNATI. 

G.  B.  Johnson  presented  a  memorial  for  the  Lay 
Association  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference,  asking  that 
all  delegates  to  the  General  Conference  shall  be  resi- 
dent within  the  bounds  of  the  Conference  they  repre- 
sent.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Constitution. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  General 
Conference  membership  of  officers  elected  by  the 
General  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  Constitution. 

DES  MOINES. 

L.  M.  Shaw  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  para- 
graphs 243  to  245.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
State  of  the  Church. 


DETROIT. 

Episcopal  W.  H.  Shier  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  con- 
residence.  r 

tinuing  the  city  of  Detroit  as  an  episcopal  residence. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


1217. 


EAST  OHIO. 

D.  C.  Osborne  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  par- 
agraph 217.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 


1240. 


Duties  of 
Bishops. 


Children's 
Fund. 


Change  in 
7  47. 


ERIE. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  presented  a  memorial  relative  to 
paragraph  240.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ju- 
diciary. 

A.  J.  Merchant  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
duties  of  Bishops.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Episcopacy. 

ILLINOIS. 

W.  H.  Wilder  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  Chil- 
dren's Fund  and  educational  collections.  Referred  to 
Committee  on  Education. 

J.  B.  Wolfe  presented  from  himself  and  one  other  a 
memorial  for  a  change  in  paragraph  47.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


1896.]  journal  of  the  General9 Conference. 


J.  T.  McFarland  presented  a  memorial  for  the  amend- 
ment of  paragraph  95.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

INDIANA. 

William  Newkirk  presented  a  memorial  to  amend 
paragraph  285.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Tem- 
poral Economy. 

IOWA. 

T.  J.  Myers  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Keokuk 
District  Conference  asking  for  change  in  the  Discipline. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
Dav. 
Morning, 
Amend- 
ment of  1  95. 


To  amend 
1285. 


Change  in 
Discipline. 


KANSAS. 

J.  M.  Miller  presented  the  appeal  of  John  D.  Knox 
from  the  action  of  the  Kansas  Conference.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 


Appeal  of 
J.  D.  Knox, 


LEXINGTON. 

Joseph  Courtney  presented  a  memorial  for  a  change  gj^fj^^ 
in  Discipline.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


MICHIGAN. 

t 

P.  J.  Maveety  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
statistical  tables.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

MINNESOTA. 

John  Stafford  presented  a  memorial  from  G.  A. 
Cooke  relating  to  the  election  of  stewards.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

H.  C.  Jennings  presented  from  himself  and  one  other 
a  memorial  for  an  Intermediate  Epworth  League.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 


Statistical 
tables. 


Election  of 
stewards. 


Intermedi- 
teEpw 
Leagi 


ate  Epworth. 
pit. 


MISSOURI. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  W.  J.  Gibson  rela-  ^g^tum 
tive  to  equal  representation.    Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Lay  Representation. 

MONTANA. 

Jacob  Miller  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  SmS- 

Methodist  Hymnal  and  Methodist  Sunday  school  liter-  ature- 
ature.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


NEBRASKA. 


J.  H.  Mickey  presented  from  Charles  L.  Smith  a  me- 


Lay  dele- 
gates. 


204 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Class  meet- 
ing testi- 
monies. 


morial  concerning  lay  delegates  to  the  Electoral  Confer- 
ence. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representa- 
tion. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
C.  D.  Hills  presented  for  himself  and  three  others  a 
memorial  relating  to  obtaining   class   meeting  testi- 
monies.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


NEW  JERSEY. 

SeGenera!xt      J-  B.  Graw  presented  a  memorial  for  J.  Q.  Daniels 
conference,  pg^jyg  to  seat  0f  next  General  Conference.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  that  subject. 


Board  of 
Stewards. 


Antisaloon 
League. 


Election  of 
stewards. 


Malaysia 
Mission 
Conference. 


NEWARK. 

G.  W.  Smith  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
composition  of  the  Board  of  Stewards  in  Annual  Con- 
ferences.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

NORTH  OHIO. 

W.  F.  Whitlock  presented  a  memorial  relating  to 
the  American  Antisaloon  League.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the 
Liquor  Traffic. 

A  memorial  from  P.  E.  Graham  was  presented  con- 
cerning the  election  of  stewards.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals. 

NORTHWEST  INDIA. 

W.  H.  Daniels  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self and  others,  relative  to  the  Malaysia  Mission  Con- 
ference.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Admission 
in  full  mem- 
bership. 


Court  of  Ap- 
peals for 
laymen. 


Amend- 
ments to 
1  If  54.  98. 


NORTHWEST  INDIANA. 
Allen  Lewis  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  admis- 
sion into  full  membership.    Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

NORTHWEST  IOWA. 
Robert  Smylie  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  a 
Court  of  Appeals  for  laymen.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Judiciary. 

OKLAHOMA. 

J.  F.  Palmer  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  an 
amendment  to  paragraph  54.  Also,  for  an  amendment 
of  paragraph  98.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


-205 


PUGET  SOUND. 

C.  S.  Barlow  introducd  a  memorial  requesting  the 
establishment  of  an  official  paper  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

T.  B.  Ford  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  Pa- 
cific Christian  Advocate.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  the  Book  Concern. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

M.  E.  Cady  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  amend 
paragraph  269.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  changes  in 
the  questions  asked  in  the  Quarterly  Conference.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Chicago 
Preachers'  Meeting  relating  to  election  of  stewards  and 
trustees.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal 
Economy. 

ST.  LOUIS. 

W.  A.  Quayle  presented  a  memorial  asking  the  sup- 
pression of  irresponsible  Church  papers.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
dav. 
Morniny. 
Official 
paper  on 
Pacific 
coast. 

Pacific 
Christian 
Advocate. 


To  amend 
1269. 


Questions 
asked  in 
Quarterly 
Conference. 


Stewards 
and  trustees 


Irresponsi- 
ble Church 
papers. 


SOUTH  KANSAS. 
J.  W.  Stewart  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
number  of  Secretaries  of  the  benevolent  societies.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


Secretaries 
of  benevo- 
lent socie- 
ties. 


UPPER  IOWA. 

A.  J,  Kynett  presented  a  memorial  requesting  an 
inquiry  in  reference  to  the  publication  of  a  magazine  on 
benevolences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Con- 
solidation of  Benevolences. 


Magazine 
on  benevo- 
lences. 


WEST  NEBRASKA. 

J.  L.  McBrien  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Lay 
Electoral  Conference  of  West  Nebraska  Conference 
asking  that  the  Omaha  Christian  Advocate  be  made 
the  regular  publication  of  the  Book  Concern.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 

By  O.  R.  Beebie,  from  Orleans  Ministerial  Associ- 
ation, asking  a  change  of  Discipline  allowing  all  mem- 
bers of  twenty-one  years  of  age  of  good  standing  to 


Omaha 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Change  of 
Discipline. 


206 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


MAY  12. 

Tenth 
-Day. 

Morning. 
Laity  in  An- 
nual Con- 
ferences. 


Election  of 
presiding 
elders. 


Swedish 
papers. 


vote  at  Fourth  Quarterly  Conferences.  Referred  to- 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

J.  L.  McBrien  introduced  a  memorial  on  the  intro- 
duction of  the  laity  into  the  Annual  Conference.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  election 
of  presiding  elders.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Temporal  Economy. 

WESTERN  SWEDISH. 
O.  J.  Swan  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Confer- 
ence concerning  the  publication  of  Swedish  papers. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


Addition  to 
198. 


WISCONSIN. 

G.  H.  Trever  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  the 
northwestern  branch  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  asking  to  include  another  question  or 
item  in  paragraph  98.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Missions. 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 

Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Dr.  A.  S. 
Hunt. 


C.  E.  Lane. 


W.  T. 
Hagan. 


Dr.  R. 
Haney. 


WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  13. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  J.  H.  Vincent  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  R.  E. 
Gillum,  of  the  Central  Missouri  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and 
approved. 

On  motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  the  Rev.  A.  S.  Hunt 
was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

On  motion  of  J.  W.  Walker,  C.  E.  Lane,  a  reserve 
delegate  of  the  Northwest  Iowa  Conference,  was  seated 
in  the  place  of  C.  B.  Kilbourne,  who  had  returned  home 
on  account  of  sickness. 

W.  T.  Hagan,  a  reserve  delegate  of  the  Liberia 
Conference,  was  seated  in  the  place  of  J.  H.  Deputie, 
deceased. 

On  motion  of  W.  A.  Spencer,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richard 
Haney  was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

The  roll  of  the  Conferences  was  called  for  resolu- 


tions. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


The  following  was  presented  by  W.  EL  Perrin,  and 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church: 

Whereas,  On  the  11th  instant,  under  the  heading  of  "More  Butchery," 
the  Cleveland  Leader  published  the  substance  of  a  letter  dated  from 
Chunkoosh,  Armenia,  March  5,  1896,  from  an  American  lady  to  her 
son  in  this  city,  in  which,  after  describing  in  detail  the  recent  renewed 
and  terrible  outbreak  of  the  bloodthirsty  Kurds  against  the  defense- 
less and  stricken  Armenians,  in  which  instance  five  thousands  Kurds 
pillaged,  devastated,  robbed,  murdered,  and  otherwise  persecuted  the 
Armenian  inhabitants,  hundreds  of  men,  women,  and  children  being 
murdered  in  cold  blood ;  the  letter  closes  with  an  appeal  to  the 
civilized  world  for  help,  and  asks  why  Europe  and  America  do  not 
come  to  the  aid  of  the  unfortunate  land ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  appeal  comes  to  America  with  more  significance, 
more  deeply  pathetic,  and  with  intensely  greater  anguish  of  heart  than 
did  the  M  Macedonian  cry  "  come  up  in  the  vision  of  Paul,  and  as  that 
u  cry  was  heard  and  heeded,"  so  must  this  louder  cry  from  stricken 
Armenia  be  heard  and  heeded  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  her  true  missionary 
spirit  has  ever  sought  to  carry  the  Gospel  with  its  peace-giving  in- 
fluence into  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  world,  and  has  always  cast  its 
influence,  sympathy,  and  support  in  behalf  of  the  downtrodden  and 
persecuted  of  every  land  and  nation,  and  does  now  extend  its  teuderest 
ties  of  sympathy  to  these  poor  stricken  Armenians ;  at  the  same 
time  we  must,  as  a  Church,  express  our  deep  sense  of  humiliation  and 
sorrow  that  in  this  Christian  and  enlightened  age  there  should  be  such 
apparent  lack  of  interest  or  so  much  apathy  shown  by  the  civilized 
and  so-called  Christian  governments  of  Europe  and  America  in  taking 
no  decisive  action  to  stop  this  awful  crime  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  \.  That  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  assembled  at  Cleveland,  0.,  May,  1896,  does  hereby  petition 
Congress  to  pass  a  joint  resolution  at  the  earliest  possible  date,  author- 
izing the  President  of  the  United  States  to  enter  into  negotiations  with 
the  European  powers  most  directly  interested,  with  the  view  and  to  the 
end  that  such  powers  or  governments  be  requested  in  the  name  of 
humanity  and  civilization  to  take  such  united  action  as  will  forever  put 
a  stop  to  these  atrocious  and  shameful  outrages ;  further, 

Resolved,  2.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  both  Houses 
of  Congress  immediately  upon  their  adoption,  and  that  said  copies  shall 
be  signed  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  this  Conference. 

On  motion  of  S.  W.  Trousdale,  the  Order  of  the 
Day  was  taken  up. 

The  following,  having  received  the  vote  of  three 
fourths  of  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences, 
was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  397  ayes  to  19  nays. 

To  amend  paragraph  63  of  the  Discipline  of  1892,  so  that  it  shall 
read  as  follows,  to  wit :  "  Paragraph  63.  The  General  Conference  shall 
meet  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1900, 
and  thenceforward  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  May  once  in  four  years, 
perpetually,  at  such  hour  and  in  such  place  in  the  United  States  as  the 
General  Conference  may  from  time  to  time  direct;  but  the  General 
Superintendents,  or  a  majority  of  them,  by  and  with  the  advice  of  two 
thirds  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences,  shall  have  power  to  call  an 
extra  session  of  the  General  Conference  to  be  constituted  in  the  usual 
way.  But  if  there  shall  be  no  General  Superintendent,  then  two 
thirds  of  the  Annual  Conferences  shall  have  power  to  call  such  extra 
session." 
14 


MAY  13 

Eleventh 

OA  V. 

Morning. 

Armenian 
persecution 


Time  of 
meeting  of 

General 
Conference 


208 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 

Day. 
Morning. 

Trial  of 
ministers. 


The  following  was  presented  by  C.  C.  Wilbor,  who 
moved  to  refer  it  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

The  Central  New  York  Conference  to  the  General  Conference,  held  at 
Cleveland,  0.,  May,  1896: 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  Whereas  experience  has  shown  that 
trials  of  ministers  at  or  during  the  session  of  an  Annual  Conference 
are  often  accompanied  by  inconvenience,  embarrassment,  and  delay  ;  we, 
the  members  of  the  Central  New  York  Conference,  do,  therefore, 
respectfully  memorialize  your  honorable  body  to  inquire  into  the  ex- 
pediency of  so  enacting  that  the  trial  of  an  accused  member  of  an 
Annual  Conference  may  be  held  at  another  time  than  during  the  session 
of  the  Conference,  to  wit : 

1.  Change  paragraph  216,  section  1,  by  striking  out  all  after  the 
words  "  face  to  face,1'  and  inserting  the  words,  "  if  said  committee  shall 
discover  reasonable  ground  they  shall  formulate  charges,  and  the 
accused  shall  be  brought  to  trial  as  hereinafter  provided." 

2.  Add  a  new  section  2,  as  follows  : 

"  §  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  presiding  elder  of  such  accused 
member  of  the  Annual  Conference  to  give  him  a  certified  copy  of  the 
charges  and  specifications,  and  not  less  than  thirty  days  to  prepare  for 
the  defense ;  to  fix  the  time  and  place  for  his  trial ;  to  call  together 
not  less  than  nine  nor  more  than  fifteen  of  the  traveling  elders  of  the 
Conference  of  which  the  accused  is  a  member,  who  shall  constitute  the 
select  number  for  the  trial ;  and  further,  he  shall  notify  the  Bishop 
having  charge  over  the  Conference,  who  shall  preside  at  the  trial  or 
appoint  a  traveling  elder  to  preside,  and  the  records  shall  be  kept  and 
preserved  by  the  Secretary  of  the  last  Conference,  or  by  any  one  whom 
he  may  appoint  as  his  assistant.  This  court  shall  have  full  power  to 
try,  reprove,  suspend,  deprive  of  ministerial  office  and  credentials, 
expel  or  acquit,  subject  to  an  appeal  to  the  Judicial  Conference." 

3.  Change  section  2  to  section  3,  and  by  striking  out  the  word 
"  adjoining  "  and  inserting  the  word  "  other  "  in  its  place ;  also  by  strik- 
ing out  all  after  the  words  "who  shall,"  and  inserting  the  words,  "pro- 
ceed in  the  case  as  directed  in  section  3." 

Change  section  3  to  section  4,  and  omit  all  after  the  words  "inves- 
tigation and  trial,"  and  add,  "  described  in  sections  1  and  2,"  so  the 
whole  passage  shall  read  : 

"*f[216.  When  a  member  of  an  Annual  Conference  is  under 
report  of  being  guilty  of  some  crime  expressly  forbidden  in  the  word 
of  God,  sufficient  to  exclude  a  person  from  the  kingdom  of  grace  and 
glory. 

"  §  1.  In  the  interval  between  the  sessions  of  an  Annual  Conference 
the  presiding  elder  shall  call  not  less  than  five  or  more  than  nine  mem- 
bers of  the  Conference  to  investigate  the  case,  and  if  possible  bring 
the  accused  and  the  accuser  face  to  face  ;  and  if  said  committee  shall 
discover  reasonable  grounds,  they  shall  formulate  charges  and  the 
accused  shall  be  brought  to  trial  as  hereinbefore  provided. 

"  §  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  presiding  elder  of  such  accused 
member  of  the  Annual  Conference  to  give  him  a  certified  copy  of  the 
charges  and  specifications,  and  not  less  than  thirty  days  to  prepare 
for  his  defense ;  to  fix  the  time  and  place  for  his  trial ;  to  call  to- 
gether not  less  than  nine  nor  more  than  fifteen  of  the  traveling  elders 
of  the  Conference  of  which  the  accused  is  a  member,  who  shall  con- 
stitute the  select  number  for  the  trial ;  and  further,  he  shall  notify 
the  Bishop  having  charge  over  the  Conference,  who  shall  preside  at 
the  trial  or  appoint  a  traveling  elder  to  preside,  and  the  records  shall 
be  kept  and  preserved  by  the  Secretary  of  the  last  Conference,  or,  by 
any  one  whom  he  may  appoint  as  his  assistant.  This  court  shall 
have  full  power  to  try,  reprove,  suspend,  deprive  of  ministerial  office 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


209 


and  credentials,  expel  or  acquit,  subject  to  an  appeal  to  the  Judicial 
Conference. 

"  3.  But  if  the  accused  be  a  presiding  elder,  three  of  the  senior 
members  of  his  district  shall  inquire  into  the  character  of  the  report, 
and  if  they  judge  it  necessary  they  shall  call  the  presiding  elder  of  any 
other  district  of  the  Conference,  who  shall  proceed  in  the  case  as 
directed  in  the  sections  1  and  2. 

"  §  4.  A  supernumerary  or  superannuated  minister  residing  without 
the  bounds  of  his  own  Conference  shall  be  subject,  under  authority  of 
the  presiding  elder  of  the  district  within  which  he  resides,  to  the  in- 
vestigation and  trial  as  described  in  sections  1  and  2." 

H.  R.  Brill  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals.    Laid  on  the  table. 

W.  S.  Matthew  moved  its  reference  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Itinerancy.    Laid  on  the  table. 

The  original  motion  was  carried. 

L.  R.  Fiske  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Constitution: 

Whereas,  The  sessions  of  the  General  Conference  impose  on  the  A  sexten- 
Church  heavy  financial  burdens  ;  and,  Conference. 

Whereas,  In  the  holding  of  these  sessions  pastors  and  other  servants 
of  the  Church  are  withdrawn  from  their  regular  fields  of  labor  to  the 
detriment  of  the  cause  of  Christ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  believed  that  none  of  the  interests  of  our  Zion  would 
suffer  should  the  General  Conference  be  held  less  frequently  than  at 
present ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  the  Annual  Conferences  that  para- 
graph 63  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  inserting  after  the  word 
I  years."  in  the  fourth  line,  the  words,  "  up  to  and  including  the  year 
1896,  that  it  shall  meet  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  May  in  the  year 
1900,  and  thereafter  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  May  once  in  six 
years,"  so  that  it  shall  read :  "  The  General  Conference  shall  meet  on 
the  first  day  of  May  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1812,  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  and  thenceforward  on  the  first  day  of  May  once  in  four  years 
up  to  and  including  the  year  1896;  and  that  it  shall  meet  on  the 
first  Wednesday  of  May  in  the  year  1900,  and  thereafter  on  the  first 
Wednesday  of  May  once  in  six  years,  perpetually,"  etc. 

C.  M.  Cobern  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church : 

WJiereas,  There  is  a  growing  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  to  change 
the  time  of  meeting  of  the  General  Conference  from  once  in  four 
years  to  once  in  six  years,  for  the  following  reasons,  among  others : 

I.  It  would  save  a  large  expenditure  of  money,  the  expenses  of  the 
General  Conference  having  been  estimated  at  over  $2,500  a  day. 

2.  It  would  save  much  valuable  time,  since  according  to  the  present 
order  some  five  hundred  and  forty  men  are  removed  from  the  ordinary 
activities  of  Church  work  for  a  period  of  four  weeks  at  each  General 
Conference,  an  aggregate  loss  of  forty-five  years  to  the  local  churches. 

8.  It  would  reduce  the  total  amount  of  anxiety  and  excitement  at- 
tending, preceding,  and  following  the  election  of  Bishops  and  other 
officials. 

4.  It  would  afford  a  more  satisfactory  test  of  the  fitness  for  their 
respective  positions  of  our  connectional  elective  officers. 

5.  It  would  give  a  longer  period  of  rest  from  the  heated  criticisms 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 

DAY. 
Morning. 


A  sexten- 
nial  General 
Conference. 


210 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


MAY  13.    of  our  Discipline  and  polity,  which  are  invariably  invoked  by  the 
ELdatITH    assembling  of  this  supreme  court  and  legislature  of  the  Church. 
Morning.        6-  It  would  give  a  longer  time  in  which  to  test  the*  value  or  defects 
of  changes  in  the  Discipline. 

7.  It  would  tend  to  the  greater  stability  and  permanency  of  our 
legislation  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  matter  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
State  of  the  Church,  with  instructions  to  prepare  and  report  an  amend- 
ment to  paragraph  63  of  the  Discipline  in  harmony  with  the  aim  of 
this  memorial. 


J.  A.  Kumler  presented  the  following,  which,  on 
motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Judiciary  : 

disagree5-  Whereas,  The  settlement  of  disagreements  by  arbitration  is  a  grow- 
ments.      ing  and  Christian  conviction  among  our  people  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  present  plan  set  forth  in  our  Book  of  Discipline  is- 
liable  to  many  abuses,  much  dissatisfaction,  and  is  too  narrow  in 
range,  engendering  much  evil  by  its  partisan  and  unwise  privileges  in 
selfish  cunning  allowed ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  desirable  to  avoid  doubt  and  unrighteousness  in 
motives  and  methods  throughout ;  and  to  place  the  whole  matter 
safely  under  the  control  and  wisdom  of  those  who  love  the  peace, 
welfare,  equity,  piety,  and  fellowship  of  our  people  in  the  Church ; 

We  therefore  recommend  that  paragraph  of  Discipline,  No.  243, 
under  the  title,  "  Disagreements  in  Business — Arbitration,"  be  stricken 
out.    The  paragraph  reads  as  follows,  namely : 

"  §  243.  On  any  disagreement  between  two  or  more  members  of  our 
Church  concerning  business  transactions,  which  cannot  be  settled  by 
the  parties,  the  preacher  in  charge  shall  inquire  into  the  circumstances- 
of  the  case,  and  shall  recommend  to  the  parties  a  reference,  consisting 
of  two  arbiters,  chosen  by  one  party,  and  two  chosen  by  the  other 
party,  which  four  arbiters  so  chosen  shall  choose  a  fifth  ;  the  five  arbiters 
being  members  of  our  Church.  The  preacher  in  charge  shall  pre.-ide, 
and  the  disciplinary  forms  of  trial  shall  be  observed." 

And  we  recommend  that  the  following  be  substituted  for  said  para- 
graph 243,  to  make  the  paragraph  read  as  follows,  namely  :  "  ^[  243.  On 
any  disagreement  between  two  or  more  members  of  our  Church  con- 
cerning business  transactions  or  personal  matters,  which  cannot  be 
settled  by  the  parties,  the  preacher  or  preachers  in  charge  shall  in- 
quire into  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  if  the  same  be  of  vital 
concern,  he  or  they  shall  recommend  to  the  parties  a  reference  consist- 
ing of  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  nine  men,  to  be  chosen  by  the 
parties  in  disagreement,  to  act  as  arbiters,  and  each  of  said  arbiters  so 
chosen  shall  represent  equally  each  and  all  parties  in  disagreement, 
without  fear,  favor,  prejudice,  or  reward,  and  shall  hear  and  determine 
the  matters  in  disagreement.  The  arbiters  so  chosen  shall  be  mem- 
bers of  our  Church  and  may  hold  their  membership  in  the  same  charge, 
or  in  charges  other  than  that  in  which  the  parties  may  reside  or  hold 
their  membership.  In  case  the  parties  may  reside  or  hold  their  member- 
ship in  different  charges,  either  preacher  in  charge  may  preside,  or 
they  may  select  some  other  preacher  to  preside.  The  disciplinary 
forms  of  trial  shall  be  observed ;  the  findings  of  the  arbiters  shall  be 
made  in  writing,  and  a  decision  of  a  two  thirds  majority  shall  be  bind- 
ing." 


W.  H.  Wilder  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals : 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


211 


Whereas,  Paragraph  324,  article  2,  of  the  Book  of  Discipline,  1892, 
makes  it  the  duty  of  the  presiding  elder  every  year  at  the  last  Quar- 
terly Conference  in  each  charge  to  inquire: 

"  1.  Has  the  sermon  on  Education  been  preached  during  the  year, 
when,  and  by  whom  ? 

"  2.  Has  the  canvass  for  education  been  made  and  the  collection  for 
education  been  taken  ?  Has  Children's  Day  been  observed  and  its  col- 
lection taken  as  required  by  the  Discipline,  and  how  much  was  con- 
tributed for  each  of  these  purposes  ? 

"  3.  What  students  in  the  charge  are  attending  any  of  the  secondary 
schools,  colleges,  universities,  or  theological  schools  of  the  Church  ?  " 

Whereas,  These  disciplinary  questions  do  not  appear  in  paragraph 
98,  which  gives  the  order  of  business  in  the  Quarterly  Conference ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Editor  of  the  Discipline  be  instructed  to  insert  the 
questions  1,  2,  and  3,  in  paragraph  324  of  the  Discipline  of  1892,  in  the 
proper  place  under  the  paragraph  relating  to  the  order  of  business  in 
the  Quarterly  Conference. 

The  following,  presented  by  Morris  Sharp,  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern : 

Whereas,  The  business  interests  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
have  grown  to  enormous  proportions  ;  and, 

Whereas,  A  business  name  of  honorable  mention  and  long  standing 
carries  with  it  prestige  and  great  influence  ;  and, 

Whereas,  Many  of  the  business  interests  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  are  carried  on  in  the  name  of  the  agents  appointed  to  conduct 
the  business,  and  these  agents  are  frequently  changed  by  reason  of 
death,  resignation,  removal,  or  failure  to  reelect,  thus  causing  the  busi- 
ness lo  appear  unstable  and  temporary,  and  in  some  cases  making  con- 
spicuous the  agent,  rather  than  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  whose 
property  and  business  it  is  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  all  the  business  organizations  within  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  and  the  conducting  of  the  same  ought  and  should 
be  done  in  the  name  of  and  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the 
agent's  name  appearing  only  when  officially  required. 


W.  Butler,  was 


there- 


The  following,   presented  by  J. 
adopted  : 

Whereas,  There  exists  a  diversity  of  opinion  on  the  subject  i 
fore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  be  and  is  hereby  in- 
structed to  investigate  and  report  to  this  body  not  later  than  May  16, 
whether  there  is  anything  in  the  charter  of  the  Book  Concern  which 
prohibits  the  granting  of  subsidies  to  official  organs  of  the  Church  in 
foreign  mission  fields. 

C.  C.  Morse  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Constitution  : 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  Constitution  be  so  amended  that  the  General 
Conference  shall  have  power  to  act  only  as  a  legislative  body. 

2.  That  supreme  judicial  power  rests  only  with  the  Board  of  Bishops 
fitting  in  semiannual  session  and  at  stated  times  during  the  session 
of  the  General  Conference. 

S.  E.  Quimby  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 
Morning. 
Quarterly 
Conference 
questions. 


Business  of 
Book  Con- 
cern. 


Subsidies. 


Powers  of 
the  General 
Conference. 


212 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Missionary 
appropri- 
ations. 


Rules  of 
Order. 


MAY  13.       Whereas,  The  opening  devotional  exercises  of  the  daily  sessions  of 
ELday!TH  tne  Conference  are  seriously  disturbed  by  the  entrance  of  belated 
Morning.     members,  making  it  impossible  either  to  hear  or  to  reverently  enjoy 
Devotional    the  services  ;  therefore, 

services.  Resolved,  That  the  sergeant-at-arms  be  requested  to  keep  the  doors 
closed  during  the  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

C.  C.  McCabe  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Missions  : 

The  General  Committee  must  not  appropriate  for  any  one  year  a 
greater  sum  than  the  total  amount  of  the  income  of  the  society  for  the 
year  preceding. 

W.  M.  Swindells  moved  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Rules  of  Order  be  so  amended  that  on  the  call  of 
Conferences  for  resolutions  to  be  put  upon  their  passage,  the  author  of 
a  resolution  shall  have  priority  of  right  to  the  floor  if  he  desires  to 
address  the  Conference,  and  if  the  resolution  be  seconded. 

Adopted. 

On  motion  of  Lewis  Curts,  the  following  was 
adopted: 

Subsidies.  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  be  requested  to  inquire 
and  report  not  later  than  May  16,  whether  there  is  anything  in  the 
Restrictive  Rules  or  law  of  the  Church  authorizing  or  preventing  the 
granting  of  subsidies  by  the  Book  Concern  to  publications  in  foreign 
countries. 

The  following,  offered  by  J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  was  laid 
on  the  table  : 

Fraternity.       Whereas,  The  General  Conference  of  1892  appointed  a  Commission; 

on  Fraternal  Relations  and  Organic  Union  to  confer  with  a  like  Com- 
mission from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  ignoring  the  question  of  organic  union,  appointed  a 
Commission  on  Federation  ; 

Resolved,  That  the  Commission  appointed  by  this  General  Confer- 
ence to  confer  with  said  Commission  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  be  and  hereby  is  instructed  to  confer  with  said  Com- 
mission from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  only  on  condition 
that  the  subject  of  Organic  Union  shall  be  part  of  the  matters  to  be 
considered. 

The  following,  presented  by  Granville  Lowther,  was, 
on  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Eligibility: 

Word  "lay-       Whereas,  This  Conference  has  decided  to  send  to  the  Annual  Con- 
man."      ferences  the  question  as  to  whether  the  word  "  layman  "  shall  be  so 
construed  as  to  include  woman  ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  believed  by  many  that  on  scriptural  grounds  women 
cannot  be  admitted  to  the  General  Conference  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  also  submit  to  the  Annual  Conferences  the  fol- 
lowing questions : 

1.  Are  women  included  in  our  Articles  of  Religion,  paragraph  7, 
which  reads,  "  Man  is  very  far  gone  from  original  righteousness  ?  " 

2.  While  this  question  is  pending  it  be  the  order  of  this  General 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


213 


Conference  that  the  women  of  the  Church  obey  the  apostolic  injunc- 
tion, "  Let  your  women  keep  silence  in  the  churches." 

3.  That  they  do  also  refuse  the  knowledge  that  comes  from  books, 
papers,  magazines,  lectures,  lyceums  and  reading  circles,  and  "  if  they 
would  learn  anything,  let  them  ask  their  husbands  at  home." 

4.  Since  "on  scriptural  grounds"  some  of  our  brethren  have  served 
notice  that  they  will  raise  this  question  on  the  day  of  judgment,  that 
the  Annual  Conferences  decide  by  vote  whether  women  are  included  or 
excluded  in  the  language,  "  every  man  in  his  own  order,"  in  Paul's 
chapter  on  the  resurrection. 

I.  L.  Thomas  presented  the  following : 
Whereas,  His  motto,  "  The  world  is  my  parish,"  has  been  an  in- 
spiration to  men  and  women  whose  lives  and  deeds  have  been  marvel- 
ous in  the  extension  of  our  work,  both  at  home  and  abroad ;  and, 

Whereas,  Divine  Providence  has  led  and  is  still  leading  our  branch  of 
the  Christian  Church  into  fields  that  are  now  white  for  the  harvest ;  and, 
Whereas,  Several  of  our  missionaries,  foreign  and  domestic,  and 
deaconesses  are  in  attendance  at  the  sessions  of  this  General  Confer- 
ence ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  have  no  language  which  could  fully  express  our  high 
esteem  for  the  men  and  women  who  have  sacrificed  home  comforts 
and  family  and  friendly  ties  to  respond  to  the  Macedonian  cry  of  our 
brethren  beyond  the  seas  and  in  America ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  Tuesday,  May  19,  11  a.  m.,  be  the  time  fixed  to  in- 
troduce them  to  this  body. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee 

n  the  State  of  the  Church.  Lost. 

A  motion  by  E.  W.  Parker,  that  it  be  laid  on  the 

table,  was  lost,  and  the  resolution  was  adopted. 

The  roll  of  committees  was  called  for  reports. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  was 

taken  up. 

The  following  changes  in  the  Discipline  were  ap- 
proved: The  last  four  lines  on  page  13,  paragraphs  41, 
46,  189,  and  98.  By  general  consent  these  paragraphs 
as  adopted  constitute  Report  No.  I.  And  the  other  items 
of  the  report  were  recommitted. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Revisals  was 
read  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  305.) 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
hurch  was  taken  up,  and  A.  J.  Palmer  moved  its 
adoption.    After  consideration  it  was  recommitted. 

Reports  Nos.  I  and  II  of  the  Committee  on  Book 
Concern  were  taken  up  and  adopted.  (See  Reports, 
p.  393.) 

Report  No.  Ill  was  read. 

J.  W.  Butler  moved  to  insert,  instead  of  "Spanish 
Missions,"  the  words,  "Publishing  Committee  of  any 
Spanish  Mission." 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 
Morning. 


Introduc- 
tion of  dea- 


Report  No.  I 
on  Itiner- 
ancy. 


Report  No.  I 
on  Revisals. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
State  of  the 
Church. 


Reports 
Nos.  I  and  II 
on  Book 
Concern. 


Report 
No.  Ill  on 
same. 


214  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


may  13.       The  amendment  passed,  and  the  report,  as  amended, 

Eleventh  r  7  r      *  * 

DAY-      was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  394.) 

Morning.  \.  .  v  r        '  r  .  ' 

Reports        I  he  Committee  on   Education   presented  Report 

presented.     ^,  T 

No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts  pre- 
sented Report  No.  II. 

The  Committee  on  Church  Extension  j^resented  Re- 
ports Nos.  I  and  II. 

The  Committee  on  Missions  presented  Report  No.  II. 
Adjourned.  On  motion,  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by 
Bishop  J.  H.  Vincent. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary: 

CALIFORNIA. 

E.  R.  Willis  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries: 


Change  of 
line  of  Cali- 
fornia Con- 
ference. 


Unordained 

local 
preachers. 


Whereas,  As  considerable  territory,  really  neutral,  though  nomi- 
nally attached  to  the  Southern  California  Conference,  can  be  more 
easily  reached  and  served  if  connected  with  the  California  Conference ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  line  of  the  California  Conference  be  changed  as 
follows : 

"  Beginning  at  the  north  line  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  and  running 
eastward  to  the  west  line  of  Tulane  County,  and  running  north  along  the 
line  of  Fresno  County  to  the  summit  of  the  Sierras,  thus  throwing  into 
the  California  Conference  all  that  part  of  Monterey,  Merced,  and  Mari- 
posa Counties  now  included  nominally  within  the  bounds  of  the  Southern 
California  Conference." 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Whereas,  Unordained  local  preachers  have  interpreted  the  first  clause 
of  item  5,  paragraph  196,  as  authorizing  them  to  solemnize  marriage, 
thus  giving  rise  to  serious  embarrassments  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  to  said  item  5,  paragraph  196,  the  following  note,  in 
parenthesis,  be  added,  "  if  he  be  ordained,"  so  it  will  read: 

"  5.  Marriages  solemnized  (if  he  be  ordained),"  etc. 


Amend- 
ment to 
Discipline. 


KANSAS. 


W.  P.  Fryhofer  presented  a  resolution,  signed  by  him- 
self, respecting  proposed  amendment  to  Discipline. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools. 


KENTUCKY. 

R.  T.  Miller  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


215 


Resolved.  That  a  committee  be  appointed  by  the  Bishop  to  prepare 
a  section  for  insertion  in  Chapter  II  of  the  Discipline,  which  shall  de- 
fine the  composition  of  the  Annual  Conference  in  like  manner  with  that 
of  the  General,  District,  and  Quarterly  Conferences. 

INDIANA. 

W.  R.  Halstead  and  J.  H.  Martin  presented  the  fol- 
lowing, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Education: 

Whereas,  The  General  Conference  of  1892  created  a  University  Senate 
with  authority  to  determine  the  minimum  equivalent  of  academic  work 
in  all  our  Church  schools  for  the  Baccalaureate  degree ;  and, 

Wliereas,  The  University  Senate,  in  pursuance  of  its  functions,  has 
formulated  a  Course  of  Study  in  the  Preparatory  Department  requiring 
three  years  of  Latin  and  two  years  of  Greek  for  admission  to  the 
Freshman  year ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  is  found  to  be  a  serious  embarrassment  to  some  of  our 
Church  schools,  especially  those  which  are  brought  into  competition 
with  State  institutions,  in  which  no  such  requirements  are  made  ; 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  that  the  word  "collegiate"  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  word  "  academic  "  in  section  1,  paragraph  323,  of  the 
Discipline,  so  that  it  shall  read :  "  Shall  determine  the  minimum 
equivalent  of  collegiate  work  in  our  Church  institutions  for  gradua- 
tion to  the  Baccalaureate  degree,"  etc. 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  further,  that  the  work  in  the  three 
years  of  Preparatory  Study  shall  be  arranged  by  the  local  authori- 
ties to  suit  the  needs  and  environments  of  their  respective  schools. 


LITTLE  KOCK. 

W.  O.  Emory  offered   the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary: 

Whereas,  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  meaning  intended 
to  be  conveyed  by  the  words,  "  and  in  all  cases  the  presiding  elder  shall 
share  with  the  pastors  in  his  district  in  proportion  to  what  they  have 
respectively  received,"  as  found  in  the  Discipline,  paragraph  282,  on 
support  of  presiding  elders  ;  and, 

Whereas,  Much  trouble  arises  between  pastors  and  presiding  elders 
as  to  the  interpretation  or  meaning  of  the  same ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  request  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee to  give  us  what,  in  its  judgment,  is  the  meaning  of  these 
words,  and  that  its  decision  be  printed  in  the  Appendix  of  the 
Discipline. 

LOUISIANA. 

C.  C.  Morse  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern: 

Resolved,  That  the  Advertising  Agents  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  s^qH^' 

Publishing  Houses  be  requested  to  insert  the  Southwestern  Christian  tianAdvo- 

Advocate  in  their  published  schedules  at  such  rates  as  shall  be  deemed  cate- 
equitable. 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 
Morning. 
Composi- 
tion of  An- 
nual Con- 
ference. 


Course  of 
Study  in 
University 
Senate. 


Meaning  of 
1283. 


216 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


eleventh      He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
day.  tiie  game  committee: 

Morning. 

Depository        Whereas,  A  large  and  increasing  constituency  of  our  Church  live 
Orleans.      adjacent  to  the  rapidly  growing  city  of  New  Orleans,  whose  orders  for 
books  and  Church  requisites  can  be  more  speedily  filled  therefrom; 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  a  Depository  be  established  in  the  said  city. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern : 


The  Quar- 
terly Pro- 
gram. 


Whereas,  A  large  sum  can  be  saved  in  postage  by  publishing  our 
anniversary  programs  in  periodical  form  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  a  periodical  be  established,  named  The  Quarterly 
Program,  which  shall  contain  the  Easter,  the  Children's  Day,  the 
Harvest  Home,  the  Christmas  Exercise,  and  such  programs  as  may  be- 
prepared  for  use  in  our  churches. 


NEW  ENGLAND  SOUTHERN. 

G.  H.  Bates  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Status  of  Whereas,  There  is  embarrassment  and  burden  arising  on  account  of 
for  clufrch    members  "  removed  without  certificate  "  (see  section  6,  paragraph  49) ; 

members.  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Revisals  is  hereby  requested  to 
consider  the  advisability  of  establishing  a  status  of  suspension  for 
church  members  whose  location  is  lost,  and  for  such  other  cases  as 
should  not  be  reported  in  the  Minutes. 


NEW  JERSEY. 

J.  F.  Rusling  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals : 

To  amend  Resolved,  That  paragraph  240  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by 
striking  out  the  words  "  dancing,  playing  at  games  of  chance,  attend- 
ing theaters,  horse  races,  circuses,  dancing  parties,  or  patronizing 
dancing  schools,  or  taking  such  other  amusements  as  are  obviously  of 
misleading  or  questionable  moral  tendency,"  and  inserting  the  words,. 
"  taking  such  diversons  as  cannot  be  used  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,"  so  that  the  whole  shall  read  : 

"  ^[  24^3.  In  cases  of  neglect  of  duties  of  any  kind,  imprudent  con- 
duct, indulging  sinful  tempers  or  "words,  the  buying,  selling,  or  using 
intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage,  signing  petitions  in  favor  of 
granting  license  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  becoming 
bondsmen  for  persons  engaged  in  such  traffic,  renting  property  as  a 
place  in  or  on  which  to  manufacture  or  sell  intoxicating  liquors,  taking 
such  diversions  as  cannot  be  used  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  or 
disobedience  to  the  order  and  Discipline  of  the  Church,  first  let  private 
reproof  be  given  by  the  pastor  or  leader,  and  if  there  be  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  fault,  and  proper  humiliation,  the  person  may  be 
borne  with.  On  a  second  offense  the  pastor  or  leader  may  take  one 
or  two  discreet  members  of  the  Church.  On  a  third  offense  let  him  be 
brought  to  trial,  and  if  found  guilty,  and  there  be  no  sign  of  real 
humiliation,  he  shall  be  expelled." 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


217 


NORTH  DAKOTA. 

D.  C.  Plannette  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern: 

Whereas,  There  is  a  large  and  rapidly  growing  Methodist  population 
in  the  Northwest,  of  which  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  are  the  business 
and  religious  centers  ;  and, 

Whereas,  Thesecities  are  over  400  miles  from  Chicago,  necessitating 
a  great  delay  and  inconvenience  in  the  distribution  of  our  books  and 
periodicals  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  authorize  the  Book  Com- 
mittee to  locate  a  Depository  and  official  Church,  paper  in  one  or  the 
other  of  what  is  known  as  the  twin  cities  of  the  Northwest. 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 

Morning. 


Book  De- 
pository and 

Church 
paper  in  St. 

Paul  or 
Minneapolis 


NORTH  INDIANA. 

H.  N.  Herrick  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 


Resolved,  That  paragraph  96  be  amended  by  adding  in  the  first  line, 
after  the  words  "  The  presiding  elder  shall,"  the  words  "  fix  the  time 
of  and,"  so  that  the  sentence  shall  read :  "  The  presiding  elder  shall 
fix  the  time  of  and  preside  in  the  Quarterly  Conference." 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Whereas,  The  Bishops,  in  making  the  annual  appointments  of  cor- 
responding secretaries,  publishing  agents,  editors,  presidents  and  pro- 
fessors in  our  institutions  of  learning,  and  others,  uniformly  fix  their 
Quarterly  Conference  membership  within  the  bounds  of  the  Annual 
Conferences  to  which  they  belong,  making  it,  by  reason  of  distance,  in 
many  instances  practically  impossible  for  these  ministers  to  attend  the 
Quarterly  Conferences  where  they  belong,  or  to  be  fully  identified  with 
the  work  of  the  church  where  they  may  chance  to  reside ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1892,  in  response  to  a  request  from  the  Bishops  to  determine  "  whether 
superannuated  and  supernumerary  preachers,  residing  out  of  the 
bounds  of  their  Conferences,  are  members  of  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ferences where  they  reside  in  such  a  sense  as  to  entitle  them  to 
vote  therein,"  reported  that  they  were  members  in  this  sense,  and  this 
report  was  adopted  by  the  General  Conference,  indicating  that  there 
is  no  law  compelling  traveling  preachers  to  hold  their  Quarterly 
Conference  membership  within  the  bounds  of  their  Annual  Confer- 
ences ;  and, 

Whereas,  Presiding  elders  are  not  recognized  as  members  of  any 
Quarterly  Conference,  and  as  a  consequence  are  often  not  able  to  fully 
identify  themselves  with  the  work  of  the  church  where  they  reside ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  consider  the  wisdom  of 
recommending  the  addition  of  the  following,  to  be  known  as  item  4, 
section  3,  paragraph  170: 

"  He  shall,  upon  consultation,  designate  for  officers  elected  by  the 
General  Conference,  for  presiding  elders,  and  for  all  others  than 
pastors  who  are  subject  to  his  appointment,  such  Quarterly  Conference 
membership  as  will  be  most  convenient  and  desirable.^' 


To  amend 
IT  96. 


Presiding 
elders  and 
all  others 
not  pastors 
as  members 
of  Quarterly 
Conference. 


218 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


NORTHWEST  KANSAS. 

W.  H.  Sweet  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 

Women  as        Whereas,  It  was  written  by  the  prophet,  "It  shall  come  to  pass  in 
ay  !sts?ge "  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh: 
and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  .  .  .  and  on  my  serv- 
ants and  on  my  handmaidens  I  will  pour  out  in  those  days  of  my  Spirit, 
and  they  shall  prophesy  ;  "  and, 

Whereas,  In  apostolic  times,  in  fulfillment  of  this  prophecy,  there 
were  women  who  were  accredited  as  prophets  and  teachers ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  are  women  in  the  Church  whose  labors  as  evangel- 
ists and  preachers  have  been  and  are  being  singularly  blessed  and 
owned  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  souls  ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  are  others  who  impose  themselves  upon  pastors  and 
societies  to  their  hurt  and  detriment ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  be  requested  to  pro- 
vide for  the  licensing  of  women  by  Quarterly  and  District  Conferences 
as  lay  evangelists,  which  license  shall  be  renewed  from  year  to  year 
the  same  as  that  of  a  local  preacher. 

2.  That  after  the  year  1897  pastors  or  societies  shall  not  be  at  liberty 
to  admit  to  their  pulpits  women  who  are  not  so  authorized  either  by  our 
own  or  some  other  evangelical  Church. 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 

Morning. 


OHIO. 

D.  H.  Moore  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

Term  of        Resolved,  1.  That  the  term  of  office  of  all  General  Superintandents 
General11    an(*        Missionary  Bishops  elected  after  the  adoption  of  this  resolu- 
Superin-     tion  shall  expire  when  they  reach  the  age  of  seventy  years  ; 
tendents.        2.  That  at  the  first  session  of  their  respective  Annual  Conferences, 
*       after  they  reach  this  age,  they  shall  cease  to  exercise  the  rights  and 
prerogatives  and  to  enjoy  the  emoluments  of  the  Episcopal  office,  and 
become  amenable  to  their  respective  Annual  Conferences  the  same  as 
before  their  election  to  the  Episcopacy. 


ST.  LOUIS. 

W.  A.  Quayle  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education: 

Division  of  Whereas,  In  view  of  the  fact  that  such  disposition  of  funds  is  pos- 
°Day  rcol-S  un(*er  tne  cnarter  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Methodist 

lections.     Episcopal  Church  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  during  the  ensuing  quadrennium  the  collections  on 
Children's  Day  be  equally  divided  between  loans  to  students  in  our 
schools  and  donations  to  our  literary  institutions  needing  assistance, 
such  moneys  to  be  applied  on  current  expense  or  on  the  endowment  of 
the  college,  as  may  be  determined  by  the  trustees  of  said  institution. 

SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS. 

J.  W.  Van  Cleve  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 


1 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


219 


Whereas,  The  title  Missionary  Bishop  is  in  some  of  our  mission 
fields  regarded  as  belonging  to  an  office  greatly  inferior  to  that  of 
General  Superintendent ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  impression,  where  it  exists,  tends  to  take  from  the 
office  of  Missionary  Bishop  something  of  the  weight  and  dignity  which 
it  ought  to  possess  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  submit  to  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences a  proposition  to  amend  the  third  Restrictive  Rule  by  striking 
out  the  word  "  missionary,"  so  that  it  shall  read  as  follows  : 

"  The  General  Conference  shall  not  change  nor  alter  any  part  or 
rule  of  our  government  so  as  to  do  away  with  Episcopacy,  nor  destroy 
the  plan  of  our  itinerant  General  Superintendency ;  but  may  appoint  a 
Bishop  or  Superintendent  for  any  of  our  foreign  missions,  limiting  his 
Episcopal  jurisdiction  to  the  same  respectively." 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 

Morning. 
Missionary 

Bishops. 


SOUTH  KANSAS. 

S.  S.  Murphy  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy : 

Whereas,  There  is  an  increasing  number  of  self-constituted,  so-called  ^^geUstsf 
evangelists  seeking  employment  among  our  churches  ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  are  others  specially  gifted  for  evangelistic  work,  and 
worthy  of  the  churches'  confidence  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference,  that  in 
order  to  protect  the  Church  against  imposition  from  unworthy  men, 
the  Bishops,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Annual  Conference, 
may  appoint  Conference  evangelists. 


UPPER  MISSISSIPPI. 

Richard  Sewell  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Education: 

Whereas,  Rust  University  is  located  in  or  about  the  center  of  the 
colored  population ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  building  of  Rust  Hall  is  incomplete,  and  for  this 
reason  many  of  our  boys  and  girls  are  forced  to  go  elsewhere  for 
better  accommodation  ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  the  importance  of  completing  said  build- 
ing would  so  greatly  enhance  its  importance  as  an  institution  compe- 
tent to  compete  with  others  of  its  kind  so  as  to  be  more  than  filled 
wiih  students;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  ask  the  General  Board  of 
Managers  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  to 
arrange  for  the  completion  of  Rust  Hall,  at  Rust  University,  Holly 
Spring,  Miss.,  at  as  early  date  as  practicable. 


Rust 
University. 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

BLUE  RIDGE. 

Augustus  Graybeal  presented  from  the  Conference  a 
memorial  concerning  Methodist  Advocate- Journal.  It 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


Methodist 
Advocate- 
Journal. 


220 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 
Morning. 
Use  of  to- 
bacco. 


CENTRAL  ILLINOIS. 
J.  G.  Evans  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself 
and  four  others,  concerning  the  use  of  tobacco  by  min- 
isters.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


Trial  of 
ministers. 


CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 

C.  C.  Wilbor  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  Charles 
Eddy  and  others,  respecting  "on  trial  of  ministers." 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 


Schools  in 
the  South. 


Cheaper 
edition  of 
the  Hymnal 


CENTRAL  TENNESSEE. 

J.  M.  Carter  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, concerning  schools  in  the  South.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Educa- 
tion. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself, 
respecting  a  cheaper  edition  of  the  Hymnal,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


Church  Fed- 
eration. 


DETROIT. 

J.  F.  Berry  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  Charles 
E.  Simmons  and  others,  concerning  Church  Federa- 
tion. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church. 

L.  R.  Fiske  presented  a  memorial  asking  a  change  of 


Change  in 
meetings  of 

conference,  the  time  between  the  meetings  of  the  General  Confer- 


ence to  six  years  instead  of 
Committee  on  Constitution. 


four.    Referred  to  the 


EAST  OHIO. 

conference  C.  Osborne  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 

claimants.  selfj  respecting  Board  of  Conference  Claimants.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


Employ- 
ment of 
local 
preachers. 


No  change 
in  T  240. 


ERIE. 

A.  J.  Merchant  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, in  reference  to  the  employment  of  local  preachers. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

S.  H.  Prather  presented  a  memorial  from  Jamestown 
District  Epworth  League  Convention,  signed  by  L.  D. 
Power  and  Victoria  Payne,  asking  that  no  change  shall 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


221 


be  made  in  paragraph  240  of  Discipline  relating  to  ^*E*^ 
popular  amusements,  unless  it  be  to  make  it  more  M^^inq 
specific.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
the  Church. 

ILLINOIS. 

J.  T.  McFarland  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself  and  one  other,  for  an  amendment  to  paragraph 
97,  section  6,  of  the  Discipline,  which  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  a  change 
in  paragraph  544  of  the  Discipline  relating  to  the  re- 
ception of  children  into  the  Church.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 


Amend- 
ment to 
IT  97. 


Change  in 
1544. 


INDIANA. 

W.  R.  Halstead  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  Time  limit, 
the  time  limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itiner- 
ancy. 

IOWA. 

I.  P.  Teter  presented  a  memorial  from  the  colored  tiongofncen- 
brethren  of  the  Iowa  Conference  asking  for  the  organ-  conference, 
ization  of  a  Central  Iowa  Mission  Conference.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


MINNESOTA. 

A  memorial  was  presented  from  E.  R.  Lathrop  asking 
at  the  third  question  in  the  order  for  Reception  of 
embers  into  full  connection  in  the  Church  be  stricken 
out.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

John  Stafford  presented  a  memorial  asking  that  all 
specifications  of  amusements  be  stricken  out  of  para- 
graph 240  of  the  Discipline,  so  that  that  part  of  the 
paragraph  from  the  word  "  renting,"  in  the  sixth  line,  to 
the  word  "  Church,"  in  the  twelfth  line,  inclusive,  shall 
read  as  follows,  namely:  "renting  property  as  a  place 
in  or  on  which  to  manufacture  or  sell  intoxicating 
liquors,  taking  such  amusements  as  are  obviously  of 
misleading  moral  tendency,  or  disobedience  to  the  order 
and  Discipline  of  the  Church."  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


Reception 
of  members. 


Change  in 
1240. 


By  same,  asking  that  the  probationary  system  in  ary°system. 


222 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


may  13.   church  membership  be  made  optional.    Referred  to  the 

Eleventh     ~  t-»     •  1 

day.      Committee  on  Revisals. 

Morning. 

MISSISSIPPI. 


Southwest- 
ern Chris- 

tianc£edvo~  Southwestern 


S.  A.  Cowan  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the 
Christian  Advocate.     Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 


Election  of 
stewards 
and  treas- 
urer. 


NEW  ENGLAND  SOUTHERN. 

T.  J.  Everett  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
election  of  stewards  and  treasurer,  and  to  change  the 
following  paragraphs:  97,  98,  268,  275,  276.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Probation- 
ers. 


NEW  JERSEY. 


J.  B.  Graw  presented  from  the  Official  Board  of 
Trinity  Church,  Borden  town,  a  memorial  concerning 
probationers.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Time  limit. 


Organiza- 
tion of  Con- 
ference. 


Temper- 
ance in  Sun- 
day schools. 


NEW  YORK. 

A.  D.  Peake  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, respecting  the  time  limit.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Itinerancy. 

NORTH  CHINA. 

H.  H.  Lowry  presented  the  report  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Conference.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

NORTH  OHIO. 

John  Mitchell  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  tem- 
perance in  Sunday  schools.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts. 


To  assist 
theological 
students. 


NORTHWEST  KANSAS. 
W.  H.  Sweet  presented  a  memorial  requesting  the 
adoption  of  a  plan  to  assist  theological  students  in  the 
Conference  Course  of  Study.     Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education. 


Consolida- 
tion with 
Black  Hills 

Mission 
Conference. 


NORTHWEST  NEBRASKA. 
A.  R.  Julian  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Confer- 
ence concerning  consolidation  with  the  Black  Hills 
Mission  Conference.     Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  'General  Conference. 


OHIO. 


J.  C.  Arbuckle  presented  a  memorial  relative  to 
General  Conference  officers.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temporal  Economy. 

W.  H.  Lewis  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  D.  Y. 
Murdoch,  respecting  ordained  deacons  when  admitted 
on  trial.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


228 


MAY  13. 

Eleventh 
Day. 

Morning, 
General 
Conference 
officers. 

Ordained 
deacons. 


OREGON. 

G.  W.  Gue  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself  gggjXjg 
and  four  others,  asking  for  a  division  of  the  Fourteenth  District- 
General  Conference  District.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  General  Conference  Districts. 


PHILADELPHIA. 
S.  W.  Gehrett  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  J.  W. 
Rudolph  and  F.  A.  Gilbert,  respecting  the  basis  of 
union  for  Epworth  League  and  Christian  Endeavor. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 


Union  of 
Epworth 
League 
and  Chris- 
tian En- 
deavor. 


PUGET  SOUND. 

T.  B.  Ford  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  A.  F. 
Joslyn,  concerning  the  Pacific  Christian  Advocate. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern. 

R.  S.  Willard  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Puget 
Sound  Lay  Electoral  Conference  concerning  equal 
lay  representation  in  the  General  Conference.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Lay  Representation. 


Pacific 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Equal  rep- 
resentation. 


ROCK  RIVER. 

H.  G.  Jackson  presented  memorials,  signed  by  him- 
self and  one  other,  proposing  changes  in  the  Ritual  for 
tfie  administration  of  baptism  to  infants,  the  adminis- 
tration of  baptism  to  such  as  are  of  riper  years,  the 
reception  of  members  into  full  membership,  and  the 
administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Changes  in 
Ritual. 


SAVANNAH. 


M.  M.  Alston  presented  a  memorial  for  the  appoint-  Evangelists, 
ment  of  evangelists.    It  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Itinerancy. 


224 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  13-  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 

Eleventh 

M^rZng        ^'  ^'  Thomson  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  J.  B. 
Probation-  Halloway,  respecting  the  probationary  system.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


ary  system. 


Swedish 
Annual 
Conference. 


SWEDEN. 

J.  M.  Erikson  presented  a  memorial  asking  in  behalf 
of  the  Swedish  preachers  of  -the  Eastern  States  the  or- 
ganization of  a  Swedish  Annual  Conference.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Time  limit. 


Change  of 
name  of 
Sunday 
schools. 


Editor  of 
Sunday 
school 
periodicals. 


WEST  WISCONSIN. 
W.  J.  McKay  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
extension  of  the  time  limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Itinerancy. 

WISCONSIN. 

E.  S.  McChesney  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself  and  others,  respecting  change  of  name  of  Sun- 
day schools. m  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 

He  also  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself  and 
others,  respecting  the  Editor  of  Sunday  school  period- 
icals.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book,  Concern. 


MAY  14. 

Twelfth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved: 
W.  H. 
Murphy. 


Rule  18 
amended. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Missions. 


THURSDAY  MORNING,  MAY  14. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  W.  F.  Mallalieu  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  N 
Fradenburgh,  of  the  Erie  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday  was  read  and  approved. 

William  H.  Murphy,  lay  delegate  of  the  Newar 
Conference,  having  arrived,  was  accorded  the  seat  q 
H.  K.  Carroll,  a  reserve  delegate. 

On  motion  of  G.  B.  Wight,  the  roll  was  called  fo 
reports  of  committees. 

On  motion  of  D.  S.  Monroe,  the  following  amen 
ment  to  Rule  18  was  adopted: 

Except  amendments  to  the  report  of  a  committee  when  under  con 
sideration  for  adoption. 

On  motion  of  W.  N.  Brodbeck,  Report  No.  II  of  th 
Committee  on  Missions  was  read  and  adopted.  (Se 


1S96.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


225 


Reports,  p.  399.)  Section  3  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Boundaries. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  R.  M.  Drury,  Editor  of  the  Beligious 
Telescope,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  Shuey,  Publishing 
Agent,  both  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  were  in- 
troduced, as  was  also  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Waugh,  a  mis- 
sionary, and  they  were  invited  to  seats  on  the  platform. 

W.  F.  King  called  up  Report  No.  I  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Education,  which  was  read  and  adopted.  (See 
Reports,  p.  402.) 

On  motion  of  M.  S.  Hard,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
seats  in  the  rear  of  the  delegates  be  kept  clear  of 
visitors. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Church  Exten- 
sion was  taken  up,  and,'  on  motion  of  W.  M.  Swindells, 
it  was  read  and  adopted,  as  was  also  Report  No.  II  of 
the  same  Committee.    (See  Reports,  pp.  406,  407.) 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  was 
presented  by  J.  M.  Buckley. 

Bishops  Bowman  and  Foster,  having  requested  leave, 
to  retire,  their  request  was,  on  motion  of  J.  W.  Haney, 
granted. 

On  motion  of  W.  H.  Shier,  Item  I  was  adopted. 
G.  H.  Bridgman  offered  the  following  substitute  for 
Item  II: 

Whereat,  In  the  case  of  Bishop  Morris  in  1864,  and  of  Bishop 
Simpson  in  1872,  the  General  Conference,  in  view  of  their  age  and 
long  and  efficient  service,  continued  them  in  the  Board  of  Bishops  with 
limited  work ;  therefore, 

Resolved^  That  in  view  of  these  precedents  and  of  the  essential  jus- 
tice  of  such  action,  Bishop  Bowman  and  Bishop  Foster  be  relieved 
hereafter  from  full  service,  and  that  the  Board  of  Bishops  be  directed 
to  assign  to  these  honored  servants  of  the  Church  such  work  as,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  board,  they  are  able  to  perform. 

On  motion  of  Jacob  Rothweiler,  the  substitute  was 
laid  on  the  table,  and  the  report  was  adopted.  (See 
Reports,  p.  379.) 

J.  M.  Buckley  presented  Report  No.  II  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Episcopacy,  which  was  read. 

L.  B.  Wilson  offered  the  following  substitute: 

Since  all  ministers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
of  every  kindred,  tribe,  and  tongue,  are  equally  entitled  to  all  its  rights 
and  privileges,  the  race  or  nationality  of  Bishops  is  not  a  proper  sub- 
ject for  legislation,  but  must  be  decided  by  the  free  votes  of  those  in- 
rested  with  the  responsibility  of  electing  Bishops. 


MAY  14. 

Twelfth 
Day. 

Morning. 

Visitors  in- 
troduced. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Education. 


Reports 
Nos.  I  and  II 
on  Church 
Extension. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Episcopacy. 


Report 
No.  lion 
Episcopacy. 


226 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


Colored 
Bishop. 


twelfth       0n  motion  of  w-  H-  Logan,  the  substitute  was  laid 
day.      on  the  table. 

A  motion  by  I.  P.  Teter,  to  divide  the  report,  was 
laid  on  the  table,  and  the  report  was  adopted.  (See 
Reports,  p.  380.) 
N^Tifon  Buckley  presented  Report  No.  Ill  of  the  same 

Episcopacy.  Committee,  which  was  read. 

J.  D.  Walsh  offered  the  following  amendment: 

Whereas,  The  election  of  Bishops  by  this  Conference  requires  a  two- 
thirds  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  provision  will  keep  before  this  Conference  for  a  con- 
siderable length  of  time  some  of  the  brethren  who  will  be  presented  for 
this  office,  that  they  may  be  carefully  considered  as  to  eminent  fitness 
for  this  place  of  high  honor  and  extraordinary  authority,  thus  properly 
and  sufficiently  guarding  the  door  of  entrance ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  are  so  many  more  than  three  men  here  who,  in 
the  estimation  of  their  friends,  are  well  «fitted  to  adorn  this  high  call- 
ing; and, 

Whereas,  Our  colored  brethren  cannot  hope  to  win  a  place  for  one 
of  their  number  against  so  many  well-deserving  white  contestants  ;  and, 
Whereas,  The  presence  of  a  colored  Bishop  among  our  18  colored 
Conferences  and  265,000  members  would  be  a  great  stimulant  and  in- 
spiration to  that  department  of  the  work ;  and, 

Whereas,  Many  members  of  this  body  and  of  the  Church  at  large  be- 
lieve a  much  larger  body  of  General  Superintendents  could  be  profit- 
ably employed ; 

Therefore,  I  move  to  amend  the  report  by  adding  the  following 
■  words,  to  wit :  "  Provided  that  if  one  of  the  men  receiving  a  two  third! 
majority  for  this  office  be  a  colored  man,  then  the  number  to  be  elected 
shall  be  four  instead  of  three." 

C.  J.  Little  moved,  as  a  substitute  for  the  whole, 
that  the  word  "  three  "  be  stricken  out  and  "  two  "  be 
inserted. 

F.  M.  Bristol  moved,  as  an  amendment,  that  "  we  do 
not  find  it  necessary  to  elect  any  more  Bishops."  Laid 
on  the  table. 

The  amendment  of  J.  D.  Walsh  was  laid  on  the  table, 
and  a  motion  by  J.  A.  Mansfield  to  recommit  the  report 
was  lost. 

.  The  substitute  of  C.  J.  Little  was  accepted  and 
adopted,  and  the  report,  as  amended,  was  passed.  (See 
Reports,  p.  380.) 

M.  S.  Hard  moved  that  the  election  of  Bishops  be 
made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for  9  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning. 

A  motion  by  J.  I.  Buell,  that  it  follow  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Itinerancy,  was  laid  on  the  table, 
and  the  original  motion  was  adopted. 


Election  of 
Bishops. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


227 


On  motion  of  J.  M.  King,  it  was  ordered  that  the  Twelfth 
chairmen  of  committees  be  allowed  to  pass  perfected  „DAY- 

-1  1  Morning. 

reports  to  the  Editor  of  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  Reports. 
to  be  printed;  the  same  being  considered  a  compliance 
with  the  rule. 

The  Committee  on  Revisals  presented  Report  No.  II.  Re^ggfre" 

The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  presented 
Reports  Nos.  II  and  III. 

The  Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Benevolences 
presented  Report  No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  presented 
Report  No.  L 

On  motion,  Conference  adjourned.    The  Doxology  Adjourned, 
was  sung,  and  Bishop  J.  M.  Walden  pronounced  the 
benediction. 

The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

ITALY. 

William  Burt  presented  a  memorial,  asking  that  ^•J- 
paragraphs  61,  67,  and  85  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  1 1 61, 67' 85, 
so  that  paragraph  61  shall  read,  "provided,  that  in  - 
Mission  Conferences  entitled  to  but  one  representa- 
tive in  the  General  Conference,  that  lay  and  ministerial 
delegates  shall  vote  together  in  the  Electoral  Confer- 
ence;" to  paragraph  67,  section  2,  shall  be  added, 
"  nor  a  Mission  Conference  the  privilege  of  one  dele- 
gate, who  may  be  either  a  minister  or  layman ; " 
paragraph  85  shall  read  as  follows:  "A  Mission  Con- 
ference is  authorized  to  exercise  the  powers  of  an  An- 
nual Conference,  and  its  members  shall  share  pro  rata 
in  the  proceeds  of  the  Bpok  Concern  with  the  Annual 
Conference,  but  shall  not  elect  more  than  one  delegate 
to  the  General  Conference,  who  may  be  either  minister 
or  layman."  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 

Also,  a  memorial  relating  to  the  printing  of  Italian  Itear1^r^it- 
literature.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 

MISSOURI. 

J.  II.  Poland  presented  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  D.  H.  ^g^^.. 
Laney,  signed  by  J.  W.  Caughlan.    Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Judiciary. 


228 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


MAY  NEW  ENGLAND. 

Twelfth 

mtimg.  W.  Hamilton  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 

KofCBostonn  nimse^  an(l  others,  concerning  the  recognition  of  the 
spondence    Boston  Correspondence  School  as  a  Methodist  institu- 
scnooi.     t-Qn   Q£  iearning.     Referred  to  the   Committee  on 
Education. 


Episcopal 
residence. 


NORTH  OHIO. 

John  Mitchell  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self and  Harry  Barnes,  respecting  episcopal  residence- 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


Aid  to  pub- 
lish hymn 
book. 


NORWEGIAN  AND  DANISH. 

W.  J.  Pihl  presented  a  memorial  asking  aid  to  pub- 
lish a  hymn  book.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Schools  and  Tracts. 


Division  of 
Conference. 


Change  of 
boundaries. 


SWEDEN. 

J.  A.  Anderson  presented  a  memorial  asking  th 
division  of  this  Conference  into  two  Annual  Confe 
ences.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

Also,  one  asking  to  change  boundaries  of  the  Swede 
Conference  and  the  Finland  and  St.  Petersburg  Mi 
sion.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Substitute 
for  Confer- 
ence Course 
of  Study. 


UPPER  IOWA. 

W.  F.  Barclay  presented  a  memorial  asking  that  1 
place  of  the  Conference  Course  of  Study  there  be  su1 
stituted  a  General  Theological  Seminary.  Referred 
the  Committee  on  Education. 


Boundary. 


WESTERN  NEBRASKA. 

Erastus  Smith  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  hi 
self  and  one  other,  concerning  the  boundary  Of  th 
West  Nebraska  Conference.     Referred  to  the  Co~ 
mittee  on  Boundaries. 


Time  limit. 


WILMINGTON. 

Merritt  Hulburd  presented  a  memorial  from  th 
Conference  against  the  removal  of  the  time  limit  fo 
pastoral  appointments.  Referred  to  the  Committe 
on  Itinerancy. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


229 


FRIDAY  MORNING,  MAY  15. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  J.  N.  FitzGerald  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  M. 
Shumpert,  of  the  Mississippi  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

Consent  was  given  to  reverse  the  action  of  yesterday 
concerning  a  motion  of  J.  M.  King  relative  to  the  print- 
ing of  reports. 

On  motion  of  H.  A.  Buttz,  a  seat  was  assigned  H.  K. 
Carroll. 

S.  Hill  presented  the  following,  which  was  carried : 

Whereas,  The  general  officers  of  the  Woman's  Home  and  of  the 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Societies  are  in  attendance  upon  the  ses- 
sions of  this  Conference  as  visitors  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  hour  of  10  o'clock  to-day  be  the  time  fixed  for 
their  formal  introduction  to  the  Conference. 

2.  That  they  be  invited  to  seats  on  the  platform. 

Alfred  Smith  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted : 

Whereas,  The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church  convenes  in  quadrennial  session  at  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  to-day ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  send  a  message  of  fra- 
ternal greetings. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 
Da  v. 

Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Printing 
reports. 


H.  K. 
Carroll. 


Introduc- 
tions. 


Methodist 
Protestant 
Church. 


On  motion  of  S.  H.  Prather,  the  Rev.  O.  L.  Mead 
was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

On  motion  of  F.  J.  Cheney,  the  sergeant-at-arms  was 
directed  to  keep  the  doors  closed  during  the  devotional 
services. 

The  Order  of  the  Day,  the  election  of  Bishops,  was 
taken  up. 

The  rules  for  the  order  of  elections  were  read  by  the 
Secretary. 

Bishop  C.  D.  Foss  led  in  prayer. 

Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  list  of  tellers  as  fol- 
lows : 

FIRST  SECTION.  * 

At  large,  William  Burt,  Italy. 


Rev.  O.  L. 
Mead. 


Election  of 
Bishops. 


Tellers. 


230 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 


DISTRICTS. 

I.  G.  D.  Lindsay,  Maine. 
II.  H.  A.  Monroe,  Delaware. 

III.  H.  E.  Waugh,  Northern  New  York. 

IV.  J.  C.  Scotield,  Erie. 

V.  E.  T.  Nelson,  Central  Ohio. 
VI.  J.  S.  Hill,  East  Tennessee. 
VII.  W.  D.  Parr,  North  Indiana. 
VIII.  Christopher  Haw,  Iowa. 
IX.  S.  W.  Trousdale,  West  Wisconsin. 
X.  J.  M.  Erikson,  Sweden. 
XI.  J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  Southern  Illinois. 
XII.  E.  H.  McKissack,  Upj^er  Mississippi. 

XIII.  Bartholomew  Larapert,  Chicago  German. 

XIV.  T.  J.  Massey,  Puget  Sound. 


Tellers. 


Delegates 
leaving. 


SECOND  SECTION. 

At  Large,  J.  R.  Lindgren,  Central  Swedish. 

DISTRICTS. 

I.  S.  E.  Quimby,  New  Hampshire. 
II.  L.  E.  Barrett,  Wilmington. 

III.  T.  J.  Scott,  North  India. 

IV.  Asbury  Mick,  West  Virginia. 
V.  Morris  Sharp,  Ohio. 

VI.  H.  F.  Ketron,  Blue  Ridge. 
VII.  C.  M.  Cobern,  Detroit. 
VIII.  J.  W.  Walker,  Northwest  Iowa. 
IX.  D.  C.  Plannette,  North  Dakota. 
X.  Eiji  Asada,  Japan. 
XI.  E.  S.  Chenoweth,  Northwest  Kansas. 
XII.  Frank  Gary,  Texas. 

XIII.  H.  C.  Grawe,  St.  Louis  German. 

XIV.  Fred  Gamer,  Montana. 
After  the  ballots  were  cast  and  the  tellers  had  re- 
tired the  roll  of  Conferences  was  called  for  resolutions. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  presented  the  following,  which  was 
laid  on  the  table:  § 

Whereas,  To  every  delegate  to  this  General  Conference  are  com- 
mitted interests  of  exceeding  great  importance,  both  to  his  immedia 
constituency  and  to  the^  entire  Church  ;  and, 

~\\liereas,  Acceptance  of  the  position  is  virtually  a  promise  to  di 
charge  the  duties  thereof  during  the  entire  session,  unless  providen- 
tially hindered ;  and, 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


231 


Whereas,  Quite  a  number  of  delegates  are  already  planning  to  leave 
toward  the  last  of  next  week  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  express  our  solemn  conviction  that  every 
delegate  is  in  duty  bound  to  remain,  if  possible,  until  final  adjourn- 
ment, and  that  any  delegate  who  leaves  before  that  date,  except 
in  case  of  severe  illness,  either  of  himself  or  in  his  family,  or  un- 
less excused  by  a  two  thirds  vote,  shall  incur  the  displeasure  of  this 
body. 

On  motion  of  E.  R.  Willis,  it  was  ordered  that  a 
love  feast  be  held  in  this  building  next  Sunday. 

R.  S.  Copeland  presented  the  following  whioh  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and 
Tracts: 

Whereas,  In  our  Sunday  schools  the  interests  o£»  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety alone  are  presented,  and  the  members  of  the  Sunday  school  are 
unacquainted  with  the  other  benevolent  societies  of  our  Church  ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  believe  more  liberal  giving  would  follow  as  a  result 
of  information  concerning  these  societies;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  pastor  and  superintend- 
ent once  in  each  year  to  present  to  each  Sunday  school  in  our  churches 
the  claims  of,  and  give  information  upon,  Education,  Missionary  Work, 
Church  Extension,  and  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education.  The 
collection  of  the  Sunday  schools  for  each  of  these  benevolences  shall  be 
reported  in  the  Annual  and  General  Minutes. 

A.  F.  Chase  presented  a  paper  relating  to  the  seating 
of  the  next  General  Conference,  which  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Chiirclj. 

On  motion  of  J.  N.  Fradenburgh,  the  Rev.  H.  M. 
Chamberlain  was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  presented  the  following,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  : 

Whereas,  The  opinion  has  been  expressed  by  several  distinguished 
writers  that  the  enumeration  of  particulars  concerning  amusements  as 
found  in  paragraph  240  of  the  Discipline  of  1892  is  unconstitutional, 
as  changing  the  General  Rule  w-hich  prohibits  those  diversions  which 
"  cannot  be  used  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  or  adding  thereto; 
therefore,  be  it  » 

Resolved,  That  this  question  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ju- 
diciary for  judicial  opinion. 

He  also  offered  the  following,  which  was,  on  motion 
of  T.  L.  Matthews,  laid  on  the  table: 

Whereas,  The  opinion  has  sometimes  been  expressed  that  many  me- 
morials, petitions,  and  resolutions  which  are  presented  to  the  General 
Conferences  and  referred  to  the  various  committees  received  little  or 
no  attention ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  seems  desirable  to  correct  this  erroneous  opinion,  and 
at  the  same  time  announce  the  policy  of  this  General  Conference; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  several  committees  be  instructed  to  give  to 
Men  paper  that  careful  consideration  to  which  its  merits  justly  entitle  it. 
2.  That  this  General  Conference  do  not  finally  adjourn  until  all 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Love  feast. 


Informa- 
tion in  Sun- 
day schools. 


Seating 
General 
Conferences 


Rev.  H.  M. 
Chamber- 
lain. 


Final 
adjourn- 
ment. 


232 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  15.    matters  of  important  business  and  all  reports  from  committees  have 
teenth     been  acted  upon  if  possible. 
Day. 

Morning.        R.  J.  Cooke  presented  the  following,  which,  on  mo- 
tion of  T.  B.  Neely,  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 

Episcopacy : 

Episcopal  Resolved,  That  for  the  information  of  this  General  Conference  the 
residences.  f0]lowmg  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1884  be  printed  in  the 
Daily  Christian  Advocate :  First,  from  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Judiciary  adopted  by  the  General  Conference,  May  9,  1884,  as  fol- 
lows:  "The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  now  exists  indifferent  parts  of 
the  world,  and  the  residences  of  its  Bishops  are  assigned  by  order  of 
General  Conference.  It  is  therefore  the  opinion  of  the  Committee 
that  the  General  Conference  has  power  to  fix  the  residence  of  any  of 
its  Bishops  in  any  part  of  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church."  Second,  a  resolution  adopted  May  10,  1884,  as 
follows:  "That  all* Conferences  heretofore  organized  outside  of  the 
United  States  are  now,  and  all  those  which  may  be  organized  hereafter 
under  the  authority  of  this  General  Conference  shall  be,  entitled  to  all 
the  rights,  privileges,  and  immunities  which  belong  to  Conferences 
within  the  United  States." 

T240.  On  motion  of  J.  C.  Hartzell,  the  Committee  on  Ju- 
diciary was  requested  to  present  its  opinion  on  the 
resolution  of  J.  N.  Fradenburgh  relating  to  paragraph 
240  of  the  Discipline. 
Notices.  On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  the  rule  fixing  the  hour 
for  the  presentation  of  notices  was  reconsidered,  and 
11  a.  m.  was  substituted  for  12:15  p.  m. 

The  following  was  presented  by  W.  N.  McElroy,  and, 
on  motion  of  John  Lanahan,  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Constitution: 

Tstrictive"        Whereas,  The  third  Restrictive  Rule  of  our  Book  of  Discipline  re- 
'  Rule.       quires  the  General  Superintendents  to  itinerate  throughout  the  connec- 
tion ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  present  plan  of  a  constantly  itinerating  General 
Superintendency  is  not  adapted  to  our  work  in  foreign  fields,  requiring 
large  expenditures  of  time  and  means,  with  minimum  results  of  super- 
intendency ;  and, 

Whereas,  Our  membership  of  African  descent  in  our  own  country  is 
desirous  of  having  a  General  Superintendent  of  their  own  race  to  travel 
and  superintend  the  work  among  them ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  plan  of  itinerant  General  Superintendency  adopted  by 
our  fathers  is  not  adapted  to  the  enlarged  growth  of  the  Church,  and 
the  conditions  of  the  present  time ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  third  Restrictive  Rule  of  our  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline be  so  amended  that  instead  of  its  reading,  "  The  General  Con- 
ference shall  not  change  nor  alter  any  part  or  rule  of  our  government 
so  as  to  do  away  Episcopacy,  nor  destroy  the  plan  of  our  itinerant 
General  Superintendency ;  but  may  appoint  a  Missionary  Bishop  or 
Superintendent  for  any  of  our  foreign  missions,  limiting  his  episcopal 
jurisdiction  to  the  same  respectively,"  it  shall  read  as  follows : 

"  The  General  Conference  shall  not  change  nor  alter  any  part  or  rule 
of  our  government  so  as  to  do  away  Episcopacy,  nor  destroy  the  plan 
"  of  our  itinerant  General  Superintendency ;  but  may  appoint  a  Mission- 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


233 


ary  Bishop  or  Superintendent  for  any  of  our  foreign  missions,  limiting 
his  Episcopal  jurisdiction  to  the  same  respectively.  But  the  General 
Superintendents  shall  have  authority  to  arrange  their  work  so  as  to 
give  a  continuous  superintendency  of  the  work  in  foreign  countries,  and 
among  the  people  of  African  descent  or  other  nationalities  in  the 
United  States,  to  any  one  of  their  number  so  long  as  the  conditions  and 
interests  of  the  work  may  require  it." 

2.  That  this  change  in  the  third  Restrictive  Rule  be  presented  to 
the  Annual  Conferences  by  the  Bishops,  to  be  voted  upon  during  the 
year  1896  and  1897,  and  if  it  shall  receive  a  two  thirds  vote  of  the 
General  Conference  and  three  fourths  vote  of  the  members  of  the  An- 
nual Conferences  present  and  voting,  the  rule  shall  be  so  changed,  and 
our  General  Superintendents  shall  arrange  their  work  accordingly. 

On  motion  of  T.  B.  Neely,  this  reference  was  recon- 
sidered, and,  on  the  motion  of  W.  S.  Matthew,  it  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 

W.  M.  Swindells  moved  the  adoption  of  the  follow- 
ing: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  solemn  judgment  of  the  General  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  now  assembled  in  the  city  of 
Cleveland,  0.,  that  no  property  under  the  control  of  the  United  States 
government,  whether  of  the  legislative  or  executive  branch,  should  be 
used  for  the  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors.  Therefore  we  respectfully 
petition  the  United  States  Congress  to  enact  such  legislation  as  will 
prohibit  the  issuance  of  a  certificate  for  the  manufacture  or  sale  of  in- 
toxicating liquors  in  any  building  under  the  control  of  the  general 
government. 

A  motion,  by  G.  C.  Sturgiss,  to  refer  it  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor 
Traffic  was,  on  motion  of  S.  E.  Gehrett,  laid  on  the 
table,  and  the  paper  was  adopted. 

J.  A.  Sargent  presented  a  resolution  requesting  the 
Bishops  to  prepare  and  submit  a  form  for  setting  apart 
deaconesses.  It  was  referred  to  the  Bishops  and 
ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Daily  Christian  Advo- 
cate. 

The  Committee  on  Revisals  presented  Reports  Nos. 
IV,  V,  and  VI. 

The  Committee  on  Missions  presented  Report  No.  III. 

The  Committee  on  Education  presented  Report 
No.  II. 

The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  presented  Report 
No.  II. 

The  Committee  on  Book  Concern  presented  Reports 
Nos.  IV,  V,  and  VI. 

The  Committee  on  the  American  Bible  Society  pre- 
sented Report  No.  I. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Liquer  cer- 
tificate. 


Deacon- 


Reports 
presented. 


234 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 

Memorial 
services. 


Dr.  J.  W. 
Mendenhall 


Dr.  J.  O. 
Peck. 


Tellers  re- 
port. 


Afternoon 
session. 


Adjourned. 


On  motion,  the  Order  of  the  Day  was  taken  up,  and 
the  Memorial  Services  were  conducted. 

Bishop  Bowman  presided.  C.  C.  McCabe  led  the 
audience  in  singing  Hymn  1037, 

"  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight." 

W.  V.  Kelley  offered  prayer.    Hymn  998  was  sung, 

"I  would  not  live  alway." 

The  memoir  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Mendenhall,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
was  read  by  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Whitlock. 

The  Rev.  G.  E.  Reed  read  the  memoir  of  Rev.  J.  O. 
Peck,  D.D. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  this  service  was  sus- 
pended until  to-morrow  after  the  announcements  are 
made. 

The  tellers  having  returned,  the  Chair  announced  the 
result  of  the  first  ballot  for  Bishops.  (See  Ballots, 
p.  439.)  There  being  no  election,  a  second  ballot  was 
ordered.    The  tellers  were  permitted  to  retire. 

J.  B.  Graw  moved  to  adjourn  until  2:30  p.  m.  A 
substitute  to  adjourn  until  to-morrow  was  laid  on  the 
table.  J.  M.  Buckley  rnoved  to  amend  by  inserting 
"  to  hear  the  result  and  take  another  vote  if  necessary." 
The  amendment  was  carried,  and  the  motion,  as 
amended,  was  adopted. 

Conference  adjourned  by  expiration  of  time.  The 
Doxology  was  sung,  and  Bishop  J.  N.  FitzGerald  pro- 
nounced the  benediction. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 
Day. 

Afternoon. 

Devotional 
services. 


Ballot. 


Adjourned. 


FRIDAY  AFTERNOON,  MAY  15. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  2:30  p.  m., 
Bishop  J.  N.  FitzGerald  in  the  chair. 

J.  I.  Buell,  of  the  Michigan  Conference,  conducted 
the  devotional  services. 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  second  ballot  for 
Bishops.  (See  Ballots,  p.  439.)  There  being  no  choice, 
another  ballot  was  ordered,  and,  after  receiving  the 
votes,  the  tellers  retired. 

The  Conference  adjourned.  The  benediction  was 
pronounced  by  Bishop  S.  M.  Merrill. 


1896.]  'Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  235 


The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary : 

ALABAMA. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions  : 

WJiereas,  It  must  be  manifest  to  every  man  who  has  carefully 
studied  the  situation  that  there  still  urgent  need  of  assistance  from 
the  Missionary  Society  in  many  parts  of  our  Southern  field,  notwith- 
standing the  oft-repeated  assertion  that  the  work  there  should  be  self- 
supporting  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  thought  of  our  good  sisters  engaged  in  the  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society  has  not  been  turned  toward  our  suffering, 
needy  ministers  in  the  South  as  fully  as  it  should  have  been,  and  be- 
lieving as  we  do  that  if  the  plain  facts  could  be  generally  understood 
by  the  leaders  in  both  these  societies  more  aid  would  be  extended  where 
it  is  so  greatly  neede"d  and  so  richly  deserved ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  First,  That  we  urge  upon  them  a  careful  consideration  of 
the  following  truths : 

1.  The  sacrifices  which  many  of  our  pastors  and  their  families  are 
making  in  the  South  are  fully  equal  to  those  made  in  foreign  lands, 
and  these  sacrifices  are  made  uncomplainingly  and  with  a  spirit  which 
does  high  honor  to  our  entire  Church. 

2.  The  men  who  are  thus  toiling  and  enduring  hardships  for  the 
sake  of  Christ  and  the  "  dear  old  Church,"  as  they  lovingly  call  her, 
are  not  weaklings,  nor  men  of  small  attainments,  but  men  of  brains  as 
well  as  piety,  men  of  power  as  well  as  zeal. 

3.  The  wives  and  mothers  who  share  the  burdens  of  the  itinerancy 
are  ladies  of  refinement  and  spirit,  who  under  more  favorable  condi- 
tions would  grace  the  parsonage  homes  of  the  North  and  East,  and,  in 
many  instances,  this  spirit  of  true  nobility  deters  them  from  appealing 
to  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  even  when  the  needs  of 
themselves  and  their  families  render  such  appeals  every  way  worthy. 

4.  The  suecess  of  the  work,  even  under  the  great  and  peculiar  embar- 
rassments which  have  confronted  the  workers,  has  been  very  great 
during  the  past  quadrennium.  Many  new  churches  have  been  built, 
and  many  old  ones  greatly  improved.  The  increase  in  membership  has 
been  healthful  and  steady  and  there  is  every  reason  for  encouragement. 

5.  A  very  large  factor  in  our  success  during  the  past  quadrennium 
has  been  the  work  of  our  schools,  whereby  hundreds  of  young  men 
and  women  have  been  sent  out  into  the  various  fields  of  activity,  well 
equipped  for  life's  work,  and  imbued  with  a  spirit  of  loyalty  and  devo- 
tion to  our  institutions  and  principles,  and  considerable  numbers  of 
educated  young  men  have  been  brought  into  our  Conferences,  thus 
greatly  strengthening  all  our  work. 

6.  Public  sentiment  is  constantly  coming  to  be  more  strongly  in  our 
favor.  Wherever  the  influences  of  our  Church  and  schools,  are  felt 
prejudice  is  giving  place  to  fairmindedness,  and  multitudes  who  in 
former  years  looked  upon  us  with  suspicion  now  regard  us  with  favor, 
and  bid  us  "  Godspeed." 

Resolved,  Second,  That,  in  consideration  of  these  truths,  this  General 
Conference  urges  upon  the  General  Missionary  Committee  a  very  care- 
ful consideration  of  the  needs  of  the  Southern  field,  and  earnestly 
prays  that  the  appropriations  be  as  liberal  as  possible. 

Renhed,  Third,  That  we  respectfully  request  the  Woman's  Home 
Missionary  Society  to  extend  its  most  helpful  and  highly  appreciated 
aid  to  the  fullest  extent  possible  to  the  families  of  our  ministers  in 
that  field  who  shall  apply  for  the  same. 


MAY  15. 

THIR- 
TEENTH 

DAY. 
Afternoon. 


Needs  of our 
Southern 
field. 


236 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1S96. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 
Day. 

Afternoon. 


Changes  in 
boundaries. 


FLORIDA. 

S.  H.  Hugar  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries  : 

Wliereas,  The  boundary  of  the  Florida  Conference  includes  only 
that  part  of  the  State  of  Florida  east  of  the  Appalachicola  River, 
leaving  that  portion  west  of  the  Appalachicola  River  in  the  Central 
Alabama  Conference ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  portion  of  the  State  is  thickly  settled  with  people, 
many  of  whom  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  cpm- 
ing  from  other  States,  thus  making  it  necessary  for  our  Church  to  take 
up  the  work  in  this  part  of  the  State  in  order  to  meet  this  increasing 
demand  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  empower  the  Alabama 
and  Florida  Conferences  to  make  such  changes  as  can  be  mutually 
agreed  upon  by  the  two  Conferences  with  the  concurrence  of  the  two 
Bishops  presiding  over  the  said  Conferences  any  time  within  the  next 
quadrennial. 


Proper 
schools  in 
Liberia. 


LIBERIA. 

W.  E.  Dennis  and  others  presented  the  following, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions  : 

Whereas,  There  is  great  desire  now  being  manifested  on  the  part  of 
the  youths  of  Liberia  to  have  a  proper  schooling,  and  thereby  secure  a 
common  education  for  future  usefulness,  etc.;  and, 

Whereas,  Other  denominations  are  establishing  day  schools  and  giving 
every  facility  for  such  educational  training  throughout  the  said  repub- 
lic, and  thereby  forcing  all  who  attend  said  schools  to  adopt  their  faith 
and  doctrines,  thus  proselyting  a  number  of  the  noblest  and  most 
promising  boys  and  girls  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  who  very 
often  are  compelled  to  leave  the  Church  of  their  choice  to  try  and  get 
an  education,  as  no  equal  educational  facility  is  given  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference,  in  view  of  the  above  recited 
facts,  order  the  immediate  establishing  of  proper  schools  in  the  leading 
districts  of  said  republic,  and  the  more  thorough  equipment  of  those 
already  in  existence. 


Tuition  in 
schools. 


LITTLE  ROCK. 

W.  O.  Emory  and  J.  M.  Coxe  presented  the  follow- 
ing, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Freed- 
men's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society: 

Whereas,  It  is  very  necessary  that  our  ministers  and  their  children 
attend  the  schools  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education 
Society,  in  order  that  they  may  show  to  the  public  and  to  those  in 
charge  of  these  schools  that  they  are  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the 
work,  and  are  willing  to  do  all  they  can  for  its  upbuilding ;  and, 

Whereas,  No  class  of  men  work  harder  and  receive  less  pay  than  do 
our  ministers  in  the  South,  and,  since  full  rates  are  charged  them,  many 
have  been  compelled,  because  of  poverty,  to  leave  school,  and  to  stop 
their  children  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  good 
standing,  their  wives  aud  their  children,  be  allowed  to  attend  any  of  the 
nonprofessional  schools  of  the  J  reedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education 
Society  at  half-rate  tuition  or  incidental  fee. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


237 


MISSISSIPPI. 

S.  A.  Cowan  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals  : 

Whereas,  The  Discipline  does  not  clearly  express  in  what  form  the 
written  report  of  an  exhorter  shall  be  made  to  the  Quarterly  or  District 
Conference;  be  it 

Resolved,  That  paragraph  200  of  the  Discipline  shall  be  so  amended 
as  to  contain  after  the  word  "same,"  in  the  fourth  line  from  the  bottom 
of  said' paragraph  200,  the  following: 

"  1.  X umber  of  prayer  meetings  held? 

44  2.  Number  of  Sunday  schools  attended  ? 

44  3.  Number  of  class  meetings  attended  ?  " 

The  said  paragraph  200  shall  then  read  : 

"The  duties  of  exhorters  are,  to 'hold  meetings  for  prayer  and  ex- 
hortation wherever  opportunity  is  afforded,  subject  to  the  direction  of 
the  pastor ;  to  attend  all  sessions  of  the  District  and  Quarterly  Confer- 
ences, and  to  present  a  written  report  to  the  same  as  follows  : 

14  1.  Number  of  prayer  meetings  held? 

"  %  Number  of  Sunday  schools  attended  ? 

"3.  Number  of  class  meetings  attended  ? 

1  He  shall  be  subject  to  an  annual  examination  of  character  in  the 
Quarterly  or  District  Conference,  and  a  renewal  of  license  to  be  signed 
by  the  president  thereof." 

G.  Wi  Stith  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals  : 

Resolved,  That  section  4  of  paragraph  57  in  the  Book  of  Discipline, 
which  reads  as  follows,  to  wit :  "  Should  the  preacher  in  charge  desire 
it,  let  the  Quarterly  Conference  appoint  annually  a  committee  of  three 
or  more,  of  which  committee  the  preacher  in  charge  shall  be  chairman, 
and  they  cooperating  with  him  shall  regulate  all  matters  relating  to 
this  part  of  divine  worship.  The  action  of  said  committee  shall  be  in 
every  respect  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Quarterly  Conference," 
shall  be  so  amended  by  striking  out  the  first  eight  words  in  line  1, 
which  reads,  44  Should  the  preacher  in  charge  desire  it,  let,"  and 
adding  the  word  "  shall  "  after  the  word  "  Conference  "  in  line  2  ;  also 
by  adding  the  wofds  "  on  music  "  after  the  word  14  more  "  in  line  3  of 
said  section  ;  so  that,  when  amended,  said  section  shall  read  as  follows, 
to  wit :  44  The  Quarterly  Conference  shall  appoint  annually  a  commit- 
tee ofr  three  or  more  on  music,  of  which  committee  the  preacher  in 
charge  shall  be  chairman,  and  they  cooperating  with  him  shall  regu- 
'  late  all  matters  relating  to  this  part  of  divine  worship.  The  action  of 
said  committee  shall  be  in  every  respect  subject  to  the  control  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference." 

NEW  YORK  EAST. 
C.  J.  North  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League  : 

Resolved,  That  the  following  be  added  to  paragraph  326  of  the  Dis- 
cipline :  44  Also,  it  shall  be  their  duty  to  secure  the  organization  of 
Epworth  League  chapters  in  our  institutions  of  learning  situated 
within  the  bounds  of  their  districts,  whenever  practicable." 

J.  S.  Chad  wick  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Whereas,  The  last  sentence  of  paragraph  168  of  the  Discipline, 
which  reads:  44  But  the  General  Conference  mav  authorize  the  election 


WAV  15 

Thir- 
teenth 
Day. 
Afternoon. 

Report  of 
exhorter  to 

Quarterly 
Conference. 


Committee 
on  Music. 


Epworth 
League  in 
our  institu- 
tions of 

learning. 


238 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


MA  Y  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 
Day. 

Afternoon. 

Election  of  a 
Missionary 
Bishop. 


Book  Depos- 
itory and 
Church 
paper  in 

Minneapolis 


Full  text  of 
the  Cate- 
chism. 


Mutual 
Church  In- 
surance 
Company. 


of  a  Missionary  Bishop  in  the  interim  of  the  General  Conference  "  is- 
incomplete  legislation ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Revisals  be  requested  to  submit  to 
the  General  Conference  an  amendment  to  paragraph  168,  so"  that  it 
shall  read :  "  But  the  General  Conference  may  authorize  the  election  of 
a  Missionary  Bishop  by  the  General  Missionary  Committee  in  the  in- 
terim of  the  General  Conference." 

NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 

J.  F.  Chaffee  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  be  instructed  to 
report  to  this  Conference  as  to  the  advisability  of  passing  an  enabling 
act  by  which  it  shall  be  made  possible  for  the  Book  Cominittee  during 
the  coming  quadrennium  to  establish  a  Book  Depository,  and  also  to 
publish  an  official  Church  paper,  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

WEST  WISCONSIN. 
W.  J.  McKay  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and  Tract 
Society  be  requested  to  print  at  least  once  each  year  in  some  of  our 
Sunday  school  publications  a  full  text  of  the  Catechism. 

H.  P.  Magill  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Church  Extension  : 

Whereas,  The  Commission  appointed  in  accordance  with  the  action 
of  the  General  Conference  of  1892  to  originate  and  operate  a  Church. 
Insurance  Company  h#s  surrendered  its  commission  after  an  ineffectual 
attempt  to  organize  on  the  stock  plan ;  and, 

Whereas,  Most  of  our  churches  and  parsonages,  except  those  belong- 
ing to  our  German  brethren,  are  either  allowed  to  go  uninsured- 
dangerous  practice,  and  not  in  harmony  with  our  Discipline — or  are  in! 
sured  in  stock  companies  at  rates  far  beyond  cost ;  and, 

Whereas,  Our  German  brethren  have  had  a  mutual  insurance  plan  in 
successful  operation  throughout  the  United  Statesifor  about  twelv 
years,  with  the  best  of  results  ;  and, 

WJiereas,  The  West  Wisconsin  Conference  in  1890  directed  th 
organization  of  the  Mutual  Church  Insurance  Company  of  Wisconsin 
for  the  protection  of  property  belonging  to  churches  and  ministers  at 
actual  cost,  which  plan  has  now  been  in  successful  operation  since  1891 
as  is  attested  by  the  examinations  and  indorsements  of  the  West  Wis 
consin  and  Wisconsin  Conferences  iu  1895 — as  reported  in  the  Minutes 
of  said  Conferences — resulting  in  a  substantial  saving  to  our  churches 
in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  and 
Nebraska,  and  placing  insurance  by  its  annual  installment  premium 
plan  and  annual  division  of  profits  within  reach  of  every  church  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  said  Mutual  Church  Insurance  Company  of  Wisconsin 
has  collected  through  our  presiding  elders  information  as  to  fires 
damaging  the  property  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in.  one 
hundred  and  seventy-one  districts  in  forty-one  States  of  the  Union 
during  periods  of  from  five  to  fifty  years  past,  said  district  containing 
church  and  parsonage  property,  not  including  ground,  valued  at  between 
thirty-nine  million  dollars  and  forty  million  dollars,  not  including  the 
property  of  ministers  ;  and, 

Whereas,  These  reports  show  that  if  the  property  included  had  been 
properly  covered  by  insurance  our  membership  in  the  districts  referred 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


239 


to  would  have  been  obliged  to  pay  over  three  quarters  of  a  million  of 
dollars  more  than  would  have  been  necessary  under  the  system  used 
bv  the  Mutual  Church  Insurance  Company  of  Wisconsin  during  the 
period  covered  by  the  operations  of  that  company  ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  system  applied  to  the  United  States  during  the  same 
five  years  would  have  saved  over  one  and  one  half  millions  of  dollars 
to  our  people ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  1.  That  this  General  Conference  approves  of  the  action  of 
the  West  Wisconsin  Conference,  in  which  the  Wisconsin  Conference 
has  cooperated ;  and, 

2.  That  this  General  Conference  shall  provide  for  the  organization 
of  a  Mutual  Church  Insurance  Company  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church 
at  large  in  the  United  States  on  a  similar  plan  for  such  of  our  churches 
and  pastors  as  desire  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  as  follows  : 

3.  The  General  Conference  shall  elect  a  Board  of  Insurance  to  serve 
for  four  years,  consisting  of  one  from  each  General  Conference  District 
to  be  nominated  by  the  delegates  of  each  district  represented,  and  three 
to  be  nominated  by  the  Bishops. 

4.  Such  Board  shall  have  general  supervision  of  the  matter  of  fire, 
lightning,  and  tornado  insurance ;  it  shall  as  speedily  as  practicable  be 
incorporated  according  to  law,  with  such  powers  and  prerogatives  as 
may  be  needful  to  the  organization  and  operation  of  a  mutual  insur- 
ance company ;  such  organization  to  be  subject  to  the  control  of  the 
General  Conference. 

5.  The  time  of  service  of  the  members  of  the  said  Board  shall  begin  on 
the  second  Wednesday  in  June  following  their  election,  and  continue  until 
their  successors  shall  be  duly  chosen  and  have  entered  upon  their  duties. 

6.  The  Board  may  fill  vacancies  occurring  among  its  members. 

7.  The  officers  of  the  Board,  who  shall  also  be  officers  of  the  organi- 
zation as  incorporators,  shall  be  a  president,  a  vice  president,  a  secre- 
tary, a  treasurer  and  attorney,  and  an  executive  committee  of  three, 
which  committee  may  be  chosen  from  among  the.  other  officers,  all  of 
whom  shall  be  elected  by  the  Board  at  the  first  regular  meeting  of 
each  quadrennium,  and  shall  hold  office  for  four  years,  or  until  their 
successors  are  elected  and  qualified.  The  Board  shall  have  power  to 
employ  a  manager  and  such  other  employees  as  it  may  find  necessary. 

8.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  shall  be  held  on  the  second 
Tuesday  in  February  each  year  at  such  place  as  may  have  been 
selected  at  the  previous  meeting,  except  the  first,  which  shall  be  held 
in  Chicago,  111.  Special  meetings  may  be  called  by  the  president  or 
any  three  directors.  At  all  regular  meetings  of  the  Board  seven  shall 
constitute  a  quorum. 

9.  The  Board  shall  have  power  to  make  by-laws  not  in  conflict  with 
the  action  of  the  General  Conference. 

10.  The  Board  shall  submit  to  each  General  Conference  a  report  of 
its  proceedings  for  the  preceding  four  years. 

11.  The  necessary  expenses  incurred  by  the  members  of  the  Board 
in  attending  its  meeting,  and  all  expenses  incurred  in  the  transaction  of 
its  business,  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  funds  of  the  insurance  company. 

The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary: 

CALIFORNIA. 

J.  W.  Whiting  presented  a  memorial  which  he  had 
received  from  the  laity  of  San  Francisco  and  vicinity 
asking  for  an  investigation  into  the  management  of  the 
San  Francisco  Book  Depository.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Book  Concern. 
16 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 
Day. 
Afternoon. 


San  Fran- 
cisco Book 
Depository. 


240 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 
Day. 

Afternoon. 
Boundaries. 


Time  limit. 


Course  of 
Study  for 
Junior 
League. 


IT  240. 


Woman's 
Home  Mis- 
sionary 
Society. 


Court  of 
Appeals  for 
laymen. 


City  evan- 
gelization. 


Probation- 
ary period. 


Insurance 
of  church 
property. 


CENTRAL  ALABAMA. 
E.  M.  Jones  presented  a  memorial  for  a  change  in 
boundaries.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 
E.  M.  Mills  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  McKen- 
dree  Shaw  and  others,  respecting  the  removal  of  the 
time  limit.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 
E.  J.  Gray  presented  a  memorial  from  W.  L.  Wood- 
cock asking  a  change  in  the  Course  of  Study  prepared 
for  the  Junior  League  of  the  Epworth  League.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

CINCINNATI. 

A.  B.  Leonard  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  amend 
paragraph  240,  relating  to  "  Unchristian  Conduct."  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

G.  B.  Johnson  presented  three  memorials  in  behalf  of 
the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  asking  a 
change  in  the  Constitution  and  a  place  in  the  reports 
and  statistics  of  the  Church.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Missions. 

DES  MOINES. 

L.  M.  Shaw  presented  a  memorial  concerning  a  Court 
of  Appeals  for  laymen.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  State  of  the  Church. 

EAST  OHIO. 

D.  H.  Muller  presented  a  memorial  on  the  subject  of 
city  evangelization.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

IOWA. 

J.  P.  Teter  presented  a  memorial  on  the  probationary 
period.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

KENTUCKY. 

Daniel  Stevenson  presented  a  memorial  concerning 
the  insurance  of  church  property.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


Chautauqua 
work. 


G.  D 
tauqua 
cation. 


MAINE. 

Lindsay  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  Chau- 
work.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Edu- 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


241 


MINNESOTA.  MAY  15. 

John   Stafford  presented  a  memorial  denning  the  xbbnth 

boundaries  of  the  Minnesota  Conference.  Referred  to  Afternoon. 

the  Committee  on  Boundaries.  Boundaries. 


Order  of 
public  serv- 
ice. 


Local  audit- 
ing com- 
mittee. 


Constitu- 
tion of  Cen- 
tral Confer- 
ence. 


Order  of 
business  for 
Quarterly 
Confer- 
ences. 


Boundaries. 


NEW  YORK. 

J.  M.  King  presented  a  memorial  concerning  an  order 
of  public  service.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 

NEW  YORK  EAST. 

G.  P.  Mains  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  a  local 
auditing  committee.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Temporal  Economy. 

NORTH  INDIA. 

E.  W.  Parker  presented  a  memorial  for  change  in 
constitution  of  Central  Conference.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

NORTH  INDIANA. 

H.  N.  Herrick  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self and  others,  respecting  order  of  business  for  Quar- 
terly Conferences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 
J.  B.  Hingeley  presented  a  memorial  denning  the 
boundaries  of  the   Northern   Minnesota  Conference. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

NORTHWEST  IOWA. 
J.  W.  Walker  presented  a  memorial  from  R.  Burnip  Conference 

•        ^  ••  -t»<«t  statistics. 

and  others  concerning  Conference  statistics.  Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

NORTHWEST  NEBRASKA. 
A.  R.  Julian  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  Boundary, 
boundary  of  said  Conference.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Boundaries. 

OHIO. 

Morris  Sharp  presented  a  memorial  on  districting  thf  th?Bishipf 
Bishops.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 
PHILADELPHIA. 

T.  B.  Neely  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  amend 
paragraphs  186  and  189  of  the  Discipline  pertaining  to 
the  General  Rules.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Re- 
visals. 


To  amend 
1 T  186, 189. 


242 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  15. 

Thir- 
teenth 
Day. 
Afternoon. 
Appeal  of  T. 
W.  Robins. 


Deacon- 


PITTSBURGr. 

T.  H.  Woodring  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of 
T.  W.  Robins,  appealing  his  case,  and  asking  to  be  re- 
stored to  his  former  Conference  relation.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

C.  W.  Smith  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
chapter  on  Deaconesses.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Deaconesses. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

Mifip0onrtfy  M-  E-  Cady  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the 
Missionary  Report.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Missions. 


MAY  16. 

Four- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journals 
approved. 


Ballot. 


Rule  7. 


Dr.  F.  S. 
Hoyt. 


Death  of  Dr. 
J.  M.  Reid. 


Liquor. 


SATURDAY  MORNING,  MAY  16. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  mv, 
Bishop  I.  W.  Joyce  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  John 
Stafford,  of  the  Minnesota  Conference. 

The  Journals  of  yesterday  morning  and  afternoon 
sessions  were  read  and  approved. 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  third  ballot  for 
Bishops.    (See  Ballots,  p.  439.) 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  Rule  No.  7  in  the  Order 
of  Elections  was  stricken  out,  and,  on  motion  of  D.  S. 
Monroe,  three  secretaries  instead  of  one  was  authorized 
to  retire  with  the  tellers. 

On  motion  of  W.  F.  Whitlock,  the  Rev.  F.  S.  Hoyt 
was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

A  telegram  was  read  from  Dr.  A.  K.  Sanford  an- 
nouncing the  death  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Reid,  and,  on  motion 
of  S.  F.  Upham,  the  Secretary  was  instructed  to  send  a 
telegram  of  condolence  to  the  family  ;  and,  on  motion 
of  A.  B.  Leonard,  a  committee  of  three  was  ordered  to 
draft  appropriate  resolutions.  Bishop  Andrews  an 
nounced  as  the  committee,  A.  B.  Leonard,  C.  C.  Mc 
Cabe,  and  S.  F.  Upham. 

The  following,  presented  by  W.  J.  Martindale,  wa 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  General  Conference  of  th 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  now  in  session  in  the  city  of  Cleveland,  0 
that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  should  pass  a  law  prohibitin 
the  issuing  of  permits  by  the  government  for  the  sale  of  intoxicatin 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


243 


liquors  as  a  beverage  in  those  States  where  by  Constitutional  or  Legis- 
lative enactment  such  sale  is  prohibited. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  signed  by  the  President  and 
Secretary  of  this  body,  be  forwarded  to  the  President  of  the  Senate, 
also  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House. 

The  Rev.  R.  Crawford  Johnson  being  unable  in  per- 
son to  take  leave  of  the  Conference  sent  to  Bishop 
Andrews  a  letter  of  regret,  a  part  of  which  was- read, 
as  follows: 

My  Dear  Bishop  Andrews  :  I  write  to  remind  you  of  your  kind 
promise,  to  take  leave  of  the  Conference  for  me  this  morning.  The 
vigor  of  your  debates,  the  order  of  your  committees,  and  the  amazing 
growth  of  your  Church,  in  all  its  departments,  have  most  profoundly 
impressed  me ;  while  the  courtesy,  kindness,  and  hospitality  accorded 
to  Mrs.  Johnson  and  myself  will  make  the  Conference  one  of  the  hap- 
piest memories  of  our  lives.  May  I  very  earnestly  express  the  hope 
that  you  will  send  us  representatives  more  frequently — if  possible 
every  year?  The  visit  of  American  representatives  is  always  both  an 
inspiration  and  benediction  to  us. 

(Signed,)  R.  Crawford  Johnson. 

The  Committee  on  Fraternal  Delegates  was  permitted 
to  fix  such  a  date  for  the  reception  of  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Phillips  as  may  suit  his  convenience. 

On  motion  of  S.  F.  Upham,  Report  No.  I  of  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy  was  taken  up.  The  change 
recommended  in  paragraph  69  was  adopted;  the  rest  of 
the  report  was  recommitted. 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  King,  Report  No.  II  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revisals  was  taken  up.  Items  1  and  2  were 
adopted. 

Hon.  William  McKinley,  ex-Governor  of  Ohio,  was 
introduced. 

On  motion,  the  Rules  were  suspended. 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
tellers  in  making  up  the  report  shall  not  count  defective 
ballots. 

The  tellers  having  returned,  the  Secretary  announced 
the  result  of  the  fourth  ballot.    (See  Ballots,  p.  439.) 

There  being  no  election,  another  ballot  was  taken. 

On  motion  of  G.  H.  Bridgman,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dorches- 
ter was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform;  as  was  also 
Mr.  William  Deering,  of  Chicago,  on  motion  of  F.  M. 
Bristol. 

E.  J.  Gray  moved  to  postpone  the  Memorial  Services 
until  after  the  tellers  make  their  report.  Laid  on  the 
table. 


MAY  16. 

Four- 
teenth 
Day. 

Mirrnirvj. 


Dr.  R.  C. 
Johnson's 
letter. 


Rev.  C.  H. 
Phillips. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Itinerancy. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Revisals. 


Hon.Wm. 
McKinley. 


Defective 
ballots. 


Ballots. 


Dr.  D. 
Dorchester. 


Wm.  Deer- 
ing. 


Memorial 
Services. 


244  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

3Ifchjr16'      John  Lanahan  moved  that  the  committee  arrange  for 
™|h    the  time. 

Moming.        C.  W.  Drees  moved  that  the  tellers  remain  out  until 
after  the  services. 

C.  J.  Little  moved,  as  a  substitute  for  all  before  the 
house,  that  we  proceed  with  the  Memorial  Services  un- 
til 12:15  p.  m.,  then  hear  the  report  of  the  tellers,  and, 
if  necessary,  take  another  ballot. 

The  substitute  was  accepted  and  adopted. 

MEMORIAL  SERVICES. 
At  the  request  of  the  President,  Bishop  R.  S.  Foster 
took  the  chair. 

Hymn  656,  beginning, 

"  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul," 

was  sung. 

The  Rev.  A.  J.  Nast  read  the  memoir  of  the  Rev. 
Henry  Liebhart.    (See  Memoirs,  p.  556.) 

The  Rev.  John  Coyle  read  the  memoir  of  the  Rev. 
B.  F.  Crary.    (See  Memoirs,  p.  552.) 

The  Rev.  Homer  Eaton  read  the  memoir  of  the  Rev. 
Sandford  Hunt,  D.D.    (See  Memoirs,  p.  546.) 

On  motion  of  W.  F.  Whitlock,  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Memoirs  was  adopted.  (See  Memoirs,  p.  533.) 
Ballots.  The  tellers  returned,  and  the  Secretary  read  the  re- 
sult of  the  fifth  ballot.    (See  Ballots,  p.  439.) 

There  being  no  election,  another  vote  was  ordered. 

John  Sweet  was  substituted  for  C.  M.  Cobern  on  the 
list  of  tellers. 

Afternoon       On  motion  of  J.  E.  C.  Sawver,  it  was  ordered  that 

s6ssion. 

when  we  adjourn  it  be  to  meet  at  2:30  p.  m. 

The  following,  presented  by  A.  F.  Chase,  was 
adopted: 

standing  Standing  Committees  jot  the  General  Conference  shall  hold  their 
Committees  meetings  on  the  days  of  the  week  as  follows : 

The  Committees  on  Episcopacy,  on  Itinerancy,  on  Boundaries,  on  Re- 
visals,  on  Temporal  Economy,  on  the  State  of  the  Church,  and  on  Temper- 
(  ance,  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday.  The  Committees  on  the  Book 
Concern,  on  Missions,  on  Education,  on  Church  Extension,  on  Sunday 
Schools  and  Tracts,  and  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education, 
Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday.  The  Committee  on  Epworth  League, 
Tuesday  and  Friday. 

On  the  day  following  the  election  of  delegates,  the  chairman  of  the 
delegation  from  each  Annual  Conference  shall  furnish  the  Secretary  of 
the  last  General  Conference  with  the  names  of  the  several  Standing 
Committees,  as  chosen  by  the  members  of  his  delegation,  and  from  these 
returns  the  Secretary  shall  construct,  so  far  as  possible,  the  rolls  of 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


245 


the  Standing  Committees  in  advance  of  the  opening  of  the  session  of 
the  ensuing  General  Conference.  This  order  shall  be  printed  in  the 
Appendix  to  the  Discipline. 

Conference  adjourned  by  expiration  of  time.  The 
Doxology  was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews. 


MAY  16. 

Four- 
teenth 

Day. 
Momi/ng. 
Adjourned. 


SATURDAY  AFTERNOON,  MAY  16. 

The  Conference  met,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  at 
2:30  p.  m.,  Bishop  I.  W.  Joyce  in  the  chair. 

R.  J.  Cooke,  of  the  Holston  Conference,  conducted 
the  devotional  services. 

On  motion  of  G.  B.  Johnson,  the  Rev.  Dr.  D.  M. 
Smith,  Book  Agent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform;  as  was 
also  the  Rev.  J.  E.  King,  on  motion  of  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer. 

The  tellers  reported  the  sixth  ballot  for  Bishops. 
(See  Ballots,  p.  439.) 
There  being  no  election,  another  vote  was  ordered. 
C.  D.  Hammond  moved  a  suspension  of  the  rule  re- 
quiring secrecy  on  the  part  of  the  tellers.  Lost. 

\jT.  M.  Swindells  moved  that  whenever  the  several 
committees,  to  whom  any  part  of  the  communication  of 
the  Bishops  concerning  amendments  to  the  Discipline 
was  referred,  shall  report  for  adoption  any  of  the  said 
amendments,  unchanged,  then  the  printing  of  the  same 
in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  of  May  9  shall  be 
taken  as  a  sufficient  compliance  with  the  requirements 
of  Rule  25;  but  if  the  committee  deem  a  modification 
of  any  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Bishops  to  be 
advisable,  then  the  requirements  of  the  rule  shall  be 
carefully  observed  in  order  to  have  a  clear  understand- 
ing of  the  matter  by  the  Conference. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved,  as  an  amendment,  to  add,  "  and 
that  the  chairmen  of  committees  having  handed  in  re- 
ports not  yet  printed  be  permitted  to  edit  these  reports 
accordingly." 

The  amendment  was  passed,  and  the  motion,  as 
amended,  was  adopted. 

On  motion  of  W.  M.  Swindells,  the  recommittal  of  the 
Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  was  recon- 
sidered, and  the  motion  to  recommit  was  laid  on  the  table. 


MAY  16. 

Four- 
teenth 
Day. 

Afternoon. 

Devotional 
services. 


Dr.  D.  M. 
Smith. 


Dr.  J.  E. 
King. 

Ballot. 


Bishops' 
recommen- 
dations. 


Reports. 


246 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  16, 

Four- 
teenth 

Day. 
Afternoon. 
Report 
No.  I  on 
Itinerancy. 


Ballot. 


Journal  re- 
ports. 


Minute  on 
death  of  Dr. 
Reid. 


S.  F.  Upham  again  called  up  Report  No.  I  of.  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy.  Item  1  was  adopted.  Item 
2  was  read,  and,  on  motion  of  R.  D.  Munger,  it  was 
laid  on  the  table.  Items  4  to  8  were  adopted.  Item  9 
was  read,  and,  on  motion  of  T.  B.  Neely,  the  words 
"Book  of"  were  inserted  before  "Discipline,"  and, 
thus  amended,  the  item  was  adopted.  Items  10  to  13 
were  adopted. 

The  tellers  returned,  and  the  Secretary  read  the  re- 
sult of  the  seventh  ballot  for  Bishops.  (See  Ballots, 
p.  439.) 

There  being  no  election,  the  eighth  ballot  was  ordered. 

The  Secretary  was  authorized  to  destroy  all  ballots 
after  the  vote  is  announced. 

On  motion  of  Homer  Eaton,  the  Secretary  was  in- 
structed to  omit  in  the  publication  of  the  Journal  the 
names  of  all  persons  receiving  less  than  twenty  votes. 

The  committee  to  prepare  a  minute  in  regard  to  the 
death  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Reid  presented  the  following  re- 
port, which  was  adopted: 

This  Conference  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of  the 
venerable  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society,  the  Rev.  J.  M. 
Reid,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  which  occurred  at  his  residence  in  New  York  May  15, 
1896.  Dr.  Reid's  varied  services  as  pastor,  educator,  editor,  author, 
and  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society  have  made  him 
widely  known  throughout  the  entire  Church  and  country,  and  have 
greatly  endeared  him  to  a  multitude  of  people.  We  desire  to  place  on 
record  our  high  regard  for  this  eminent  servant  of  God,  and  to  express 
our  deep  sympathy  with  his  bereaved  family. 

We  direct  that  a  copy  of  this  minute  be  forwarded  to  the  family  of 
our  deceased  brother. 

Your  committee,  not  being  in  possession  of  all  the  facts  necessary 
to  a  fitting  memorial  for  this  eminent  minister  and  servant  of  God, 
recommend  that  such  memoir  be  prepared  by  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  to  be  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  present  ses- 
sion of  the  General  Conference. 

Signed  by  the  committee. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Itinerancy, 


Consideration  of  Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on 
Itinerancy  was  resumed. 

S.  F.  Upham  moved  the  adoption  of  item  14 — 151, 
questions  20  and  21. 

A  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was  lost. 

L.  B.  Wilson  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  both  these 
questions  be  asked,  but  the  answers  be  given  in  writing. 
The  substitute  was  accepted,  and  the  rej>ort,  as  amended, 
was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  382.) 


1896. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


247 


Report  No.  II  of  the  same  Committee  was  taken  up. 
Items  14  to  21  were  adopted.  Item  22  was  read.  T. 
B.  Neely  moved  to  amend  by  adding,  "  or  other  un- 
avoidable circumstances." 

A  motion  to  lay  the  amendment  on  the  table  was 
lost. 

The  amendment  was  then  adopted,  and  the  item,  as 
amended,  was  passed.    (See  Reports,  p.  383.) 

A  motion  by  J.  M.  Buckley,  to  adjourn  immediately 
after  the  announcement  of  the  ballot,  was  carried. 

The  tellers  reported  the  eighth  ballot  for  Bishops. 
(See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 

The  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology  was  sung, 
and  Bishop  I.  W.  Joyce  pronounced  the  benediction. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary : 

CINCINNATI. 

G.  B.  Johnson  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  article  2  of  paragraph  241  of  the  Discipline  be  so 
amended  as  to  read :  "  If  he  do  not  amend  his  conduct  let  the  preacher 
in  charge  present  the  complaint  to  the  Quarterly  Conference,  where- 
upon, without  trial  by  a  committee,  the  neglecting  member  may  be 
suspended  or  expelled  by  a  two  thirds  vote." 


MAY  16. 

Four- 
teenth 

Day. 
Afternoon. 
Report 
No.  II  on 
Itinerancy. 


Adjourned. 


To  amend 
IT  241. 


EAST  TENNESSEE. 
J.  S.  Hill  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy: 

To  change  section  3,  paragraph  67,  of  the  Restrictive  Rules,  and 
add  after  the  words  "  foreign  missions"  the  following,  "  or  to  labor 
among  races  and  nationalities  in  this  country  or  elsewhere,"  so  that 
the  whole  paragraph  shall  read : 

"  The  General  Conference  shall  not  change  nor  alter  any  part  or 
rule  of  our  government  so  as  to  do  away  Episcopacy,  nor  destroy  the 
plan  of  our  itinerant  General  Superintendency  •,  but  may  appoint  a  Mis- 
sionary Bishop  or  Superintendent  for  any  of  our  foreign  missions,  or 
to  labor  among  races  and  nationalities  in  this  country  or  elsewhere, 
limiting  his  Episcopal  jurisdiction  to  the  same  respectively." 


Addition  to 
IT  67, 


KANSAS. 

J.  A.  Motter  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the  Entertainment  of  the 
next  General  Conference: 

Reached,  That,  in  behalf  of  the  Preachers'  Meeting  of  Kansas  City,  Place  of 
Mo.,  the  Committee  on  the  Entertainment  of  the  next  General  Confer-  nex^GeL- 
ence  be  requested  to  select  Kansas  City  as  the  place  of  holding  the  eral  Confer- 
next  General  Conference.  ence" 


248 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  16. 

Four- 
teenth 
Day. 
Afternoon. 

Powers  of 
the  Quar- 
terly Con- 
ferences. 


Southwest- 
ern Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate. 


LOUISIANA. 

J.  F.  Marshall  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  paragraph  94  of  the  Discipline,  beginning  with  line 
ten  and  concluding  the  paragraph,  relative  to  the  powers  of  Quarterly 
Conferences,  be  so  changed  as  to  read  as  follows : 

"  In  those  districts  in  which  District  Conferences  shall  be  held  the  pow- 
ers of  the  District  Conferences  shall  not  be  exercised  by  the  Quar- 
terly Conferences,  except  in  special  cases,  when  such  power  is  delegated 
by  the  District  Conferences.  In  all  other  cases  the  powers  of  the  Quar- 
terly Conferences  shall  remain  as  hereinafter  provided." 

C.   C.  Morse  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern: 

Resolved,  That  the  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate  be  granted  a 
subsidy  of  $2,000  per  annum  and  the  white  paper,  that  it  be  enlarged 
to  twice  its  present  size,  and  that  a  further  sum  of  $25  per  month 
be  allowed  for  office  rent  at  New  Orleans. 


NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 
J.  F.  Chaffee  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy: 

** Effective n       Whereas,  This  Conference  has  significantly  used  the  word  "non- 
effective?'"   effective  "  instead  of  the  word  "  superannuated  "  in  its  treatment  of 
the  question  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  Bishops  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  word  "  noneffective "  is  descriptive  of  a  condition 
without  respect  to  age  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  be  instructed  to  inquire 
as  to  the  expedience  and  advisability  of  using  the  words  "  effective  " 
and  "  noneffective  "  as  descriptive  of  all  the  preachers  in  the  travel- 
ing connection,  with  a  view  to  the  elimination  of  that  class  which  is 
called  supernumerary,  and  the  disappearance  from  use  among  us  of 
the  words  "  supernumerary  "  and  "  superannuated." 


SOUTH  DAKOTA. 

W.  F.  T.  Bushnell  presented  the  following,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temperance  an 
Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic- 
Liquor  Whereas,  The  liquor  traffic  in  America  is  more  thoroughly  organize 
Lmerica.     equipped,  and  disciplined  for  its  evil  work  than  ever  before,  and  is 
practical  unit  throughout  the  nation ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the  Christian  Church  to  acco" 
plish  its  speedy  overthrow,  and  God  is  only  awaiting  a  wise  con 
secration  to  practical  methods  of  those  material  and  spiritual  powe 
with  which  he  has  endowed  his  people,  to  give  them  a  comple 
victory  over  this  deadly  enemy  ;  and, 

Whereas,  For  lack  of  unity  among  those  who  oppose  the  saloon,  a 
for  want  of  financial  aid  at  critical  times  and  places,  they  have  ofte 
suffered  serious  defeat ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  commend  the  plans  now  proposed  by  the  America 
Antisaloon  League  and  kindred  organizations  for  the  federation  of  al 
forces  opposed  to  the  saloon. 

Resolved,  That  we  encourage  all  our  people  to  contribute  promptl 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


249 


and  freely  of  their  means  to  the  success  of  the  work  these  organiza-    MAY  16. 
tions  are  seeking  to  accomplish.  teenth 
Resolved,  That  in  this  connection  we  call  attention  to  the  important  day. 
and  critical  struggle  for  the  retention  of  constitutional  prohibition  in  Afternoon. 
South  Dakota  the  present  year.   There  is  not  a  place  nor  a  cause 
upon  the  earth  in  which  the  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom  are  more 
truly  formed  than  they  are  upon  the  issue  there.    There  ought  to  be 
no  practical  indifference  to  the  far-reaching  results  of  a  conflict  like 
that  in  which  a  struggling  people  contend  for  the  life  of  the  great 
principle  of  prohibition  against  the  mighty  power  of  the  American 
liquor  interests. 

WISCONSIN. 

Leander  Ferguson  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and 
Tracts: 

Whereas,  The  catalogues  furnished  by  the  Book  Concern  for  selec-     Books  for 
tion  of  Sunday  school  libraries  contain  many  books  believed  to  be  un-  School 
suitable  for  children  and  youths  ;  and,  libraries. 

Whereas,  It  is  impossible  to  judge  the  character  of  a  book  from  its 
title,  which  makes  it  very  difficult  to  select  libraries  from  these  lists 
alone,  and  occasions  needless  expense  in  forwarding  and  returning 
books ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  request  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and 
Tracts  to  inquire  into  the  necessity  of  a  higher  moral  and  intellectual 
standard  for  our  Sunday  school  books,  and  that  a  brief  account  of 
their  character  and  contents  be  published  in  the  catalogues. 

The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

BALTIMORE. 

W.  S.  Edwards  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  the  ^JhmSh 
words    "  holy   catholic    Church."    Referred   to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 

CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 

R.  D.  Munger  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him-  c^^ce 

self,  asking  changes  in  District  Conference  questions.  <iuestions- 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 

CINCINNATI. 

A.  B.  Leonard  presented   a  memorial,  signed  by  ^{J*1*^- 
nineteen  persons,  asking  that  the  Book  Committee  in-  Bo5*r£on- 
vestigate  complaints  against  publications  of  the  Book 
Concern.     Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 

GENESEE. 

If.  C.  Woods  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  Ward  Time  limit* 
Piatt  and  fifteen  others,  asking  the  removal  of  the  time 


250 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MFouR6'  fr°m  pastoral  appointments. 

Committee  on  Itinerancy. 


Referred  to  the 


TEENTH 
DAY. 

Afternoon. 


Boundaries. 


ILLINOIS. 

J.  B.  Wolfe  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  change 
the  boundary  line  between  the  Central  Illinois  and 
Illinois  Conferences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 


MICHIGAN. 

P.  J.  Maveety  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
preachers.   reiati0n  of  ordained  local  preachers  to  the  Quarterly 
Conference.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 


Ordained 
local 


Duties  of 
stewards. 


Boundaries. 


MISSISSIPPI. 

G.  W.  Stith  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the 
duties  of  stewards.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

J.  M.  Shumpert  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself,  concerning  the  boundaries  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Upper  Mississippi  Conferences.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Aid  for  the 
Ostra  San- 
debudet. 


Gifts  to 
Board  of 
Church  Ex- 
tension. 


NEW  ENGLAND. 

A  memorial  was  presented  asking  for  aid  from  the 
Tract  Society  in  the  publication  of  the  Ostra  Sandebu- 
det  ("  Eastern  Messenger  "),  a  Methodist  paper  printed 
in  the  Swedish  language.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts. 

S.  O.  Benton  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  himself 
and  five  others,  in  reference  to  loan  and  gift  conditions 
of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Church  Extension. 


NEW  YORK. 

course  of  C.  C.  McCabe  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  secure 
the  modification  in  the  plan  of  Course  of  Study.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Education. 


Model  Be- 
nevolent 
System. 


NEW  YORK  EAST. 
G.  E.  Reed  presented  a  memorial  commending  th( 
Model  Benevolent  System.     Referred  to  the  Coi 
mittee  on  Temporal  Economy. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


251 


NEWARK.  MAY  16. 

R.  R.  Doherty  presented  a  memorial  concerning  teenth 
amendments  to  the  chapter  constitution  of  the  Epworth  Afternoon. 
League.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Epworth  League. 
League. 

NORTH  CHINA. 

H.  H.  Lowry  presented  a  memorial,  requesting  the  Enabling 
General  Conference  to  pass  an  enabling  act  empowering 
the  Central  China  Mission  to  organize  itself  into  a 
Conference.   Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 


NORTH  INDIA. 

E.  W.  Parker  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  N.  L.  Cstudy?f 
Rockey,  respecting  Course  of  Study.    Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Judiciary. 

OKLAHOMA. 

J.  F.  Palmer  presented   a   memorial,  denning  the  Boundaries, 
boundaries  of  the  Oklahama  Conference.    Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 
Justo   Cubilo   presented    a    memorial  asking   the  Missionary 

r  &  Bishop  for 

General  Conference  to  create  the  office  of  Missionary  A^3Ja 
Bishop  for  South  America.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Episcopacy. 

VERMONT. 

A.  J.  Hough  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  a  conference 

°      A_  °  examina- 

dicial  decision  in  reference  to  Conference  examina-  tion- 
on.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 


WESTERN  NORWEGIAN  AND  DANISH. 
C.  J.  Larson  presented  a  memorial  asking  to  unite  all  wTr°ku^eif 
the  work  of  different  languages  in  the  State  of  Utah  fegUagi!n" 
into  one  Mission  Conference.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Boundaries. 

WYOMING. 

A.  J.  Van  Cleft  presented  a  memorial  to  amend  ToT^3end 
paragraph  193,  section  2,  pertaining  to  the  studies  of 
local  preachers.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Edu- 
cation. 


252 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  18. 

Fifteenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journals 
approved. 


J.  F.  Hall. 
R.  A.  Booth. 


Fraternal 
delegates. 


Dr.  Wel- 
bourne. 


Death  of 
Dr.  Fresh- 

water's 
daughter. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Revisals. 


MONDAY  MORNING,  MAY  18. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  J.  P.  Newman  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  Alfred 
Hodgetts,  of  the  North  Nebraska  Conference. 

The  Journals  of  Saturday  morning  and  afternoon 
sessions  were  read  and  approved. 

A.  W.  Harris  announced  that  J.  F.  Hall  was 
present,  and  J.  F.  Caples  stated  that  R.  A.  Booth,  of 
the  Oregon  Conference,  had  arrived. 

C.  H.  Payne  introduced  to  the  President,  and  he  to 
the  Conference,  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Morris  and  the  Hon.  G. 
B.  Perkins,  fraternal  delegates  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South. 

D.  W.  C.  Franklin  moved  that  the  ninth  ballot  for 
Bishops  be  now  taken.  J.  M.  Buckley  moved,  as  a 
substitute,  that  it  be  deferred  until  10  o'clock.  The 
substitute  was  accepted  and  adopted. 

On  motion  of  J.  A.  Sargent,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wel- 
bourne  was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

E.  D.  Holtz  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted  by  a  rising  vote: 

Whereas,  The  Rev.  R.  M.  Freshwater,  D.D.,  a  member  of  the  last 
General  Conference  and  a  member  of  the  Local  Committee  of  this 
General  Conference,  and  also  a  member  of  the  General  Missionary 
Committee,  is  now  stricken  with  great  sorrow,  in  the  death,  on  Satur- 
day, of  his  only  remaining  daughter,  Jessie,  his  wife  and  eldest 
daughter  having  died  eighteen  months  ago ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  funeral  of  this  daughter  of  our  bereaved  brother  will 
occur  this  Monday  at  2:30  p.  m.  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  in  General  Conference  assembled  do  hereby  ex- 
press our  profound  sympathy  and  pray  the  compassionate  All  Father  to 
vouchsafe  grace  and  comfort  in  this'  hour  of  inexpressible  sorrow ;  and 
that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  Dr.  Freshwater  by  the 
Secretary. 

The  roll  of  committees  was  called  for  reports. 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  King,  Report  No.  II  of  the 
Committee  on  Revisals  was  taken  up. 

Item  3  was  read.  T.  B.  Neely  moved  that  it  be  in- 
definitely postponed.  Lost.  W.  D.  Cherington  moved 
to  strike  out  that  part  giving  to  the  Official  Board  the 
powers  of  the  Leaders  and  Stewards'  Meeting.  The 
motion  was  laid  on  the  table,  and  the  report  was 
adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  386.) 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


253 


On  motion  of  S.  W.  Gehrett,  the  ninth  ballot  was 
taken  for  Bishops. 

Report  No.  Ill  of  the  Committee  on  Revisals  was 
taken  up  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  386.) 

Report  No.  IV  was  read  and  adopted.  (See  Re- 
ports, p.  387.) 

J.  M.  King  moved  that  the  form  prepared  by  the 
Bishops  be  inserted  in  the  Discipline. 

Report  No.  V  was  read.  A  motion  by  G.  H.  Trever, 
to  so  amend  section  7  as  to  read,  "  If  the  person  shall  not 
report  to  the  church  within  two  years  the  Board  can 
strike  his  name  from  the  record,"  was  laid  on  the  table, 
and  the  report  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  387.) 

On  motion  of  C.  W.  Drees,  Report  No.  I  of  the 
Committee  on  the  American  Bible  Society  was  read 
and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  429.) 

On  motion  of  A.  T.  Needham,  the  Rev.  John  Thomp- 
son was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 

The  tellers  having  returned,  the  Secretary  announced 
the  result  of  the  ninth  ballot.    (See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 
There  being  no  election,  a  tenth  ballot  was  ordered. 
S.  A.  Morse  was  appointed  a  teller  in  place  of  T,  J. 
Scott. 

The  Rev.  W.  L.  Watkinson,  in  a  few  well  chosen 
remarks,  to  which  Bishop  Newman  responded,  took 
leave  of  the  Conference. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Palmer,  an  evening  session  was 
ordered  to  receive  fraternal  delegates. 

On  motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  Report  No.  VI  of  the 
Committee  on  Revisals  was  taken  up.  Items  1  and  2 
were  adopted,  and  item  3  was,  on  motion  of  R.  D. 
Hunger,  laid  on  the  table,  and  the  report,  as  amended, 
was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  388.) 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Econ- 
omy was  taken  up,  and,  after  discussion,  was  recom- 
mitted. 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  tenth  ballot  for 
Bishops.    (See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  it  was  ordered  that 
after  another  ballot  is  taken  we  adjourn  until  2:30  p.  m. 
The  eleventh  ballot  was  taken. 


MAY  18- 

Fifteenth 
Day. 
Mornimj. 
Report 
No.  Ill 

on  Revisals. 


Report 
No.  IV  on 
Itinerancy. 


Report 
No.  V  on 
Itinerancy. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Bible  So- 
ciety. 


Rev.  J. 
Thompson. 


Ballots. 


Dr.  Watkin- 
son takes 
leave. 


Report 
No.  VI  on 
Revisals. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Temporal 
Economy. 


Ballot. 


254 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  18. 

Fifteenth 
Day. 
Morning. 

Bishops  to 
be  notified. 


Dr.  J.  A. 
Jobnson. 


Adjourned. 


MAY  18. 

Fifteenth 

Day. 
Afternoon. 


D.  S.  Monroe  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  in  all  matters  before  the  Committee  on  Judiciary 
affecting  the  administration  of  the  Bishops  no  action  shall  be  taken 
until  the  Bishop  interested  shall  have  been  notified  by  the  chairman, 
thereof,  and  he  be  given  an  opportunity  to  be  heard. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Johnson,  fraternal  delegate  from 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  intro- 
duced. 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  S.  F.  Upham  pronounced  the  benedic- 
tion. 

MONDAY  AFTERNOON,  MAY  18. 


Devotional 
services. 


Second 
afternoon 
session. 


The  Conference  met,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  at 
2:30  p.  m.,  Bishop  D.  A.  Goodsell  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  A.  W. 
Harris,  lay  delegate  of  the  East  Maine  Conference. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  that  after  the  taking  of 
another  ballot  we  adjourn  to  meet  at  5  o'clock,  to 
hear  the  report  of  the  vote  and  take  another  ballot. 
J.  E.  C.  Sawyer  moved  to  strike  out  "  5  "  and  insert 
"  5:30."  The  amendment  was  passed,  and  the  motion,, 
as  amended,  was  adopted. 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  eleventh  ballot.. 
(See  Ballots,  p.  440.)    Another  ballot  was  ordered. 
Adjourned.      E.  J.  Gray  moved  we  adjourn.    Carried.    The  bene- 
diction was  pronounced  by  Bishop  D.  A.  Goodsell. 


Ballot. 


MAY  18. 

Fifteenth 
Bay. 

Second 
Afternoon 
Session. 


MONDAY  AFTERNOON,  MAY  18,  5:30  P.  M. 

Conference  met  at  5:30  p.  m.,  Bishop  D.  A.  Goodsell 
in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  D.  W.  C. 
Franklin,  of  the  Des  Moines  Conference. 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  twelfth  ballot. 
(See  Ballots,  p.  440.)  There  being  no  election,  another 
vote  was  taken.  I.  P.  Teter  moved  that  when  we 
adjourn  it  be  to  meet  at  7:30  p.  m.    Laid  on  the  table. 

A  motion  was  adopted  that  at  the  evening  session 
the  result  of  the  ballot  should  be  announced. 

The  Conference  adjourned.  Bishop  D.  A.  Goodsell 
pronounced  the  benediction. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


255 


MONDAY  EVENING,  MAY  18. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  7:30  p.  m., 
Bishop  H.  W.  W arren  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  C.  W. 
Winchester,  of  the  Genesee  Conference. 

The  credentials  of  the  Hon.  G.  B.  Perkins,  fraternal 
delegate  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
were  presented,  and  he,  after  .being  introduced  by 
J.  B.  Hobbs,  addressed  the  Conference.  (See  Fraternal 
Addresses,  p.  501.) 

The  credentials  of  the  Rev.  John  Lathern,  fraternal 
delegate  from  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  were 
presented.  He  was  introduced  to  the  President  by  W. 
S.  Matthew,  and,  being  presented  to  the  Conference, 
delivered  an  address. 

The  thirteenth  ballot  for  Bishops  was  announced. 
(See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  Bishop  H.  W.  Warren  pronounced  the 
benediction. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary : 

CENTRAL  NEW  YORK.  4 
C.  C.  Wilbor  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Whereas,  Very  many  of  those  who  are  converted  in  our  churches 
are  lost  to  our  membership  because  of  the  reluctance  of  pastors  to 
baptize  by  immersion,  and  that  such  reluctance  often  obtains  because 
of  the  lack  of  proper  facilities  for  such  form  of  baptism ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  recommend  that  so  far  as  practicable  our 
churches  be  furnished  with  baptisteries  for  the  immersion  of  converts, 
when  they  so  elect.  *. 

2.  That  this  recommendation  be  published  in  the  Appendix  to  the 
Discipline. 

IOWA. 

Morris  Bamford  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Whereas,  We  now  have  eleven  general  secretaries  who  are  chiefs  of 
departments ;  and, 

Whereas,  Some  of  these  departments  contemplate  essentially  the 
same  work ;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  found  that  all  large  business  interests  are  more  econom- 
ically and  successfully  operated  through  one  head;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved.  That  the  Board  of  Bishops  be  requested  by  the  General 
Conference,  now  in  session  in  the  city  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  appoint  a 
commission,  consisting  of  one  layman,  to  report  to  the  next  ensuing 
17 


MAY  18. 

Fifteenth 

Da  v. 

Evening. 


Hon.  G.  B. 
Perkins. 


Rev.  John 
Lathern, 


Adjourned. 


Baptisteries 
In  our 
churches. 


Reorgani- 
zation of  all 
benevo- 
lences. 


256 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Intermedi- 
ate Ep- 
worth 
League. 


MAY  18.    General  Conference  a  plan  for  the  reorganization  of  all  our  benevo- 
Fifteenth  ]ences  under  one  management,  to  be  known  as  a  Bureau  of  the 
Evening.  Benevolences. 

MINNESOTA. 

H.  C.  Jennings  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League: 

Whereas,  The  development  of  the  Epworth  League  movement  has 
enlisted  the  activities  of  our  more  mature  young  people ;  and, 

W7iereas,  The  Junior  Epworth  League  provides  for  the  needs  of  the 
children ;  and, 

Whereas,  There  is  a  large  company  between  the  ages  of  twelve  anil 
seventeen  who  need  especial  care,  and  who  do  not  find  it  in  the  work 
as  now  organized ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  petition  the  General  Conference  to 
provide  for  the  organization  and  chartering  in  due  form  of  the 
Intermediate  Epworth  League  wherever  desired,  for  which  especial 
provision  shall  be  made  by  the  Board  of  Control. 

The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

BALTIMORE. 

Alexander  Ashley  presented  a  memorial  concerning 
the  order  of  public  worship.  Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Revisals. 

CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 
F.  J.    Cheney  and  others  presented  a  memorial 
asking  that  steps  be  taken  looking  to  the  fraternization 
of  the  EpwoMjih  League  and  Christian  Endeavor  associa- 
tions. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League. 

CENTRAL  OHIO. 

A  memorial  from  J.  W.  Avann  and  J.  F.  Newcomb 
was  presented  asking  that  in  examination  of  preachers 
for  full  membership  in  the  Annual  Conference,  question 
13,  "Will  you  recommend  fasting  and  abstinence,  botli 
by  precept  and  example  ?  "  be  omitted.  Referred  to  the, 
Committee  on  Revisals. 

GENESEE. 

Episcopal       J.  E.  Williams  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  B.  F. 

compensa-  1  °  ^ 

tion.       Beazell  and  others,  concerning  episcopal  compensation. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 


Order  of 
public  wor- 
ship. 


Union  of 
Epworth 
League  and 
Christian 
Endeavor. 


Question  13 
to  be 
omitted. 


Collections. 


LOUISIANA. 

J.  C.  Hartzell  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Gen- 
eral Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  concerning  the  col- 
lections. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen's 
Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


257 


NEW  YORK.  MAY  18. 

Fifteenth 

C.  C.  McCabe  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self,  respecting  current  expenses  of  Missionary  Secre-  current  ex- 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions.  Senary 

oGcrctciriGs . 


taries. 


NORTH  OHIO. 

N.  S.  Albright  presented  a  memorial  for  an  amend- 
ment of  pastor's  report.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Revisals. 

A  memorial  from  J.  Tarbot  was  presented  relative  to 
paragraph  185  of  the  Discipline.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Itinerancy. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

P.  H.  Swift  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  J.  P. 
Brushingham  and  others,  asking  the  General  Confer- 
ence to  recognize  the  office  of  evangelist.  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 
Justo  Cubilo  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the 
state  of  the  work  in  Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  and  Chili. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


WYOMING. 

M.  S.  Hard  presented  a  memorial  from 
York  Bar  Association  relating  to  arbitration, 
to  the  Committee  on  Arbitration. 


the  New 
Referred 


Pastor's 
report. 


11 185. 


Evangelist. 


Work  in 

South 
America. 


Arbitration 


TUESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  19. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  Thomas  Bowman  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  D.  H. 
Muller,  of  the  East  Ohio  Conference. 

The  Journals  of  yesterday's  sessions  were  read  and 
approved. 

C.  L.  Stafford  moved  to  indefinitely  postpone  the 
election  of  Bishops.    The  motion  did  not  prevail. 

The  fourteenth  ballot  was  ordered. 

The  Committee  on  State  of  the  Church  presented 
Reports  Nos.  IV,  V,  VI,  VII,  VIII,  IX,  X,  XI. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church  was  taken  up.  J.  D.  Walsh  moved  its  adop- 
tion.   L.  B.  Wilson  moved  to  divide  the  report.  Lost. 


MAY  19. 

Sixteenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 

services . 


Journals 
approved. 


Election  of 
Bishops. 


Reports 
presented. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
State  of  the 
Church. 


258 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


MAY,  19- 

Sixteenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Dr.  Lathern 
takes  leave. 


Reports 
presented. 


Dr.  J.  A. 
Johnson. 


C.  C.  Mc- 

Cabe 
elected. 


Reports 
presented. 


Memorials. 


Deacon- 
esses and 
mission- 
aries intro- 
duced. 

Earl  Cran- 
ston elected. 


A  motion  by  C.  S.  Wing  to  lay  the  second  part  of  the 
report  on  the  table  was  also  lost,  and  the  report  was 
adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  391.) 

The  tellers  returned,  and  the  Secretary  read  the  re- 
sult of  the  fourteenth  ballot.  (See  Ballots,  p.  440.)  There 
being  no  election,  another  vote  was  ordered.  On  mo- 
tion of  A.  B.  Leonard,  it  was  resolved  that  no  report 
of  any  individual  vote  less  than  ten  be  announced.  A. 
J.  Merchant  was  appointed  a  teller  in  place  of  J.  C. 
Scofield. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Lathern,  in  a  few  well-timed  remarks, 
took  leave  of  the  Conference. 

The  Committee  on  Revisals  presented  Reports  Nos. 
VII,  VIII,  and  IX. 

The  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of 
the  Liquor  Traffic  presented  Report  No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Epworth  League  presented  Re- 
ports Nos.  II  and  III. 

The  credentials  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Johnson, 
fraternal  delegate  from  the  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  were  presented;  he  was  introduced,  and 
addressed  the  Conference.    (See  Addresses,  p.  517.) 

The  fifteenth  ballot  was  announced,  and  the  Presi- 
dent declared  that  C.  C.  McCabe,  having  received  a 
sufficient  number  of  votes,  was  elected  a  Bishop,  and 
he  was  invited  to  the  platform.  (See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 
On  motion  of  C.  J.  Little,  the  Conference  proceeded  to 
another  ballot. 

The  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  presented 
Reports  Nos.  II  and  III.  A  minority  report  was  pre- 
sented with  No.  II. 

The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  presented  Report  No. 
III. 

On  motion  of  F.  G.  Mitchell,  it  was  ordered  that  all 
memorials  hereafter  presented  be  passed  by  the  Secre- 
tary to  appropriate  committees. 

On  motion,  the  Order  of  the  Day  was  taken  up,  and 
the  deaconesses  and  missionaries  were,  by  name,  pre- 
sented to  the  Conference. 

The  tellers  returned,  and  the  President  announced 
that  Earl  Cranston,  having  received  a  sufficient  number 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


259 


of  votes,  was  elected  a  Bishop,  and  he  was  invited  to 
the  platform.    (See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 

J.  M.  Buckley  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted : 

That  the  roll  of  the  Conference  be  called,  and  that  when  it  is  called 
any  man  having  a  nomination  to  make  or  a  desire  to  second  a  nomina- 
tion, shall  then  have  the  undisturbed  opportunity  to  do  either. 

A  ballot  was  ordered  for  Publishing  Agents  of  New 
York.  Nominations  were  made,  the  votes  were  taken, 
and  the  tellers  retired. 

On  motion,  Nathaniel  A.  Chamberlain,  a  reserve 
delegate  of  the  Colorado  Conference,  was  seated  in 
the  place  of  Earl  Cranston. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Berry,  a  ballot  was  ordered  for 
Publishing  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  that  the  roll  of  Conferences  be 
called  for  nominations ;  amendments  offered  thereto 
were  laid  on  the  table,  and  the  motion  was  adopted. 
The  ballot  was  taken,  and  the  tellers  retired. 

The  first  class  of  tellers  returned,  and  the  President 
announced  that  Homer  Eaton,  having  received  a 
sufficient  number  of  votes,  was  elected  a  Publishing 
Agent  at  New  York.    (See  Ballots,  p.  441.) 

A  second  ballot  was  ordered  for  Publishing  Agent  at 
New  York. 

On  motion  of  A.  B.  Leonard,  the  motion  ordering  a 
roll  of  Conference  to  be  called  was  reconsidered,  and  it 
was  ordered  that  persons  making  or  seconding  nomina- 
tions shall  stand  until  their  nominations  be  announced. 

On  motion,  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by 
Bishop  Thomas  Bowman. 

The  following  Resolution  was  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary^ 

•  WYOMING. 

M.  S.  Hard  presented  the  following  concerning  benev- 
olent collections,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Temporal  Economy: 

Whereas,  There  is  a  growing  and  general  conviction  that  the  req- 
uisition upon  pastors  to  give  publicly  when  their  names  are  called 
in  the  Annual  Conference  the  amount  of  the  missionary  collection, 
♦-specially  when  the  report  of  other  collections  is  not  so  required,  is 
unjust,  oppressive,  and  misleading ;  and, 


MAY  19. 

Sixteenth 
Day. 
Morning. 


Publishing 
Agents. 


N.  A.  Cham- 
berlain. 


Nomina- 
tions. 


Homer 
Eaton 
elected. 


Nomina- 
tions. 


Adjourned. 


Change  in 
T352. 


260 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  19. 

Sixteenth 
Day. 

Morning. 


Whereas,  To  report  all  would  be  equally  misleading,  since  the  public- 
and  even  the  Conference  cannot  be  acquainted  with  the  relative  difficul- 
ties under  which  what  is  reported  has  been  raised ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  following,  which  appears  in  paragraph  352  of  the 
Discipline  as  follows,  "  and  when  the  character  of  a  pastor  is.  examined, 
he  shall  inquire  of  him  what  amount  has  been  raised  on  his  charge  for 
Missions,"  be  stricken  out. 


Mission 
Conference 
in  North 
Carolina. 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

BLUE  RIDGE. 

Augustus  Graybeal  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  a 
Mission  Conference  in  eastern  North  Carolina.  Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Black  Hills 

Mission 
Conference. 


CINCINNATI. 

F.  G.  Mitchell  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  the 
Black  Hills  Mission  Conference.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries. 


Problem  of 
country 
town. 


Book  Depos- 
itory in  In- 
dianapolis. 


Deacon's 
orders. 


Paper  in 
Bohemian 
language. 


Board  of 
Church 
Extension. 


Time  limit. 


EAST  MAINE. 

J.  F.  Haley  presented  a  memorial  from  the  East  Maine 
Conference  concerning  the  problem  of  the  country 
town.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church. 

INDIANA. 

M.  S.  Heavenridge  presented  a  memorial  from  the 
Preachers'  Meeting  of  Indianapolis  relative  to  a  Book 
Depository.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern. 

OHIO. 

W.  H.  Lewis  presented  a  memorial  relating  to  elect- 
ing to  deacon's  orders  persons  who  are  admitted  on. 
trial.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

H.  G.  Jackson  presented  a  memorial  to  consider  and 
devise  means  to  publish  a  paper  in  the  Bohemian 
language.  Referred  to  the  Copimittee  on  tfie  Book 
Concern. 

SWEDEN. 

J.  M.  Erikson  presented  from  the  Finland  and  St. 
Petersburg  Mission  three  memorials.  One,  for  the  ex- 
tension into  Europe  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension, 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Church  Extension  ; 
one,  concerning  time  limit,  was  referred  to  the  Commit- 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


261 


tee  on  Itinerancy:  one,  referring  to  an  episcopal  resi-  MAV  ,!K 

_  J  7  '  _  °      .  '  *  ~r       .  Sixteenth 

dence  in  Europe,  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  day. 

.  Morning. 

EpiSCOpacy.  Episcopal 

residence. 

WASHINGTON. 

I.  L.  Thomas  presented  a  memorial  relative  to  the  Boundaries, 
boundaries  between  the  North  Carolina  Conference  and 
the  Washington  Conference.    Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Boundaries. 


WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  20. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  R.  S.  Foster  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  the 
Bishop. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

On  motion  of  G.  H.  Trever,  Edgar  M.  Beach,  of  the 
Wisconsin  Conference,  was  seated  in  the  place  of 
Leander  Ferguson,  called  home. 

On  motion  of  G.  E.  Ackerman,  the  following  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  we  have  listened  with  great  pleasure  to  the  fraternal 
address  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Johnson,  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  we  hereby  assure  him,  and  the  excellent  body  of  Christians 
which  he  represents,  that  we  most  cordially  reciprocate  his  kind 
words  and  earnest  good  wishes. 


MAY  20. 

Seven- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morninq. 

Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


E.M.  Beach. 


Address  of 
Dr.  Johnson 


On  motion  of  J.  T.  McFarland,  the  vote  fixing  the 
Order  of  Elections  was  reconsidered,  and  he  moved  the 
adoption  of  the  following  : 

When  nominations  are  to  be  made  for  any  office  those  who  desire  to 
put  candidates  in  nomination  shall  stand,  simply  the  original  nominator. 
Each  one  shall  be  permitted  to  name  his  candidate,  stating  distinctly 
iii-  own  name  and  Conference  and  the  name  and  Conference  of  the 
candidate.  The  name  of  the  first  person  put  in  nomination  shall  be 
called  by  the  Secretary,  and  all  who  desire  to  second  his  nomination 
shall  stand  and,  beginning  with  the  one  nearest  the  front,  each  person 
-landing  shall  be  permitted  to  offer  his  second,  giving  his  name  and 
Conference,  and  so  on  in  the  order  of  nominations  until  the  list  of 
nominations  is  exhausted.  Each  person  on  making  a  second  or  a 
nomination  shall  be  seated. 


Order  of 
elections. 


C.  J.  Little  moved  as  a  substitute  that  there  be  one 
nomination  and  one  second  in  each  case.  The  substi- 
tute was  accepted  and  adopted. 


262 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  20. 

Seven- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 

Ballot. 

Lewis  Curts 
elected. 


Secretary  to 
send  forms. 


African 
Methodist 
Episcopal 
Zion  Church 


Liquor  in 
the  Capitol 
building. 


The  tellers  reported  the  second  ballot  for  Publishing 
Agents  at  New  York,  and,  there  being  no  election, 
another  vote  was  ordered.    (See  Ballots,  p.  441.) 

The  other  section  of  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the 
vote  for  Publishing  Agents  at  Cincinnati,  and  Lewis 
Curts,  having  received  a  majority,  was  declared  elected. 
(See  Ballots,  p.  44 1 .) 

Another  ballot  was  ordered. 

C.  S.  Barlow  was  appointed  a  teller  in  place  of  T.  J. 
Massey ;  Alfred  Hodgetts  in  place  of  Eiji  Asada ;  E.  W. 
Ryan  in  the  place  of  C.  M.  Cobern;  T.  J.  Everett  in 
place  of  S.  E.  Quimby. 

The  following,  presented  by  D.  H.  Moore,  was 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  General  Conference  be  in- 
structed to  prepare  and  furnish  duplicate  forms  of  returns  to  the 
Secretary  of  each  Annual  Conference  for  every  question  submitted 
to  the  vote  of  the  members  thereof ;  said  returns  to  be  made  by  the 
Secretary  of  each  Annual  Conference,  one  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Bishops  and  one  to  the  Secretary  of  the  General  Conference. 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  Shumpert,  the  following  was 

adopted :  ■ 

Whereas,  The  General  Conference  of  the  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Zion  Church  is  now  in  quadrennial  session  at  Mobile,  Ala.;  there- 
fore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  send  a  message  of 
fraternal  greetings. 

A.  J.  Van  Cleft  presented  the  following,  which  was 

adopted: 

Wliereas,  The  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage  in  the 
Capitol  building  at  Washington  is  a  standing  disgrace  to  this  Christian 
nation,  and  is  to  be  deplored  by  every  Christian  citizen  of  our  land ; 
and, 

Whereas,  On  the  15th  instant  there  was  reported  favorably  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  from  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds  a  bill  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  in  the 
Capitol  building,  with  an  amendment  giving  the  courts  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  jurisdiction  over  violations  of  the  act ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  1,  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  assembled  at  Cleveland,  0.,  this  20th  day  of  May,  1896,  repre- 
senting a  constituency  of  at  least  ten  millions  of  people,  That  we  are  in 
hearty  sympathy  with  the  provisions  of  the  bill  and  its  amendment, 
and  hope  it  may  be  speedily  passed  by  both  Houses  of  Congress  and 
become  a  law. 

2.  That  we  earnestly  request  the  members  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  of  the  United  States  Senate  to  promptly  pass  the  bill 
with  the  amendment. 

3.  That  we  instruct  the  President  and  Secretary  of  this  General 
Conference  to  sign  this  preamble  and  these  resolutions,  and  that  a 
copy  be  sent  at  once  to  the  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  and 
another  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


263 


On  motion  of  J.  B.  Albrook,  the  following  was 
adopted  : 

Wliereas,  It  is  the  custom  of  the  Church  to  dedicate  the  buildings  of 
our  Church  schools  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Discipline  does  not  contain  a  "  Form  for  the  Dedica- 
tion of  Institutions  of  Learning  ;  "  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  be  and  are  hereby  requested  to  prepare 
such  a  form  and  publish  the  same  in  the  Discipline. 

The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  called  up 
Report  No.  II,  which  was  read  and  adopted.  (See  Re- 
ports, p.  392.) 

Report  No.  Ill  of  the  same  Committee  was  read.  A 
motion  to  recommit  it  was  laid  on  the  table,  and  the 
report  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  392.) 

The  Secretary  read  the  third  ballot  for  Publishing 
Agent  at  New  York,  and,  there  being  no  election,  an- 
other ballot  was  ordered.    (See  Ballots,  p.  441.) 

The  Secretary  read  the  second  ballot  for  Publishing 
Agent  at  Cincinnati,  and,  there  being  no  election, 
another  ballot  was  ordered.    (See  Ballots,  p.  441.) 

The  Secretary  read  the  fourth  ballot  for  Publishing 
Agent  at  New  York,  and  G.  P.  Mains,  having  received 
the  requisite  number  of  votes,  was  elected.  (See  Bal- 
lots, p.  441.) 

The  tellers  reported  the  third  ballot  for  Publishing 
Agent  at  Cincinnati,  and,  there  being  no  election, 
another  vote  was  ordered.    (See  Ballots,  p.  441.) 

J.  F.  Goucher  presented  Report  No.  I  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Constitution,  and  moved  that  it  be  printed  in 
the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  to-morrow  morning,' and 
be  made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for  Saturday  morning 
at  10  o'clock. 

L.  M.  Shaw  made  a  similar  motion  concerning  a 
minority  report.    Permission  was  granted  for  both. 

Report  No.  IV  of  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern 
was  read  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  394.) 

The  tellers  reported  the  fourth  ballot  for  Publishing 
Agent  at  Cincinnati,  and  H.  C.  Jennings,  having  re- 
ceived a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  was  elected.  (See 
Ballots,  p.  441.) 

On  motion  of  J.  B.  Graw,  the  Conference  proceeded 
to  vote  for  Corresponding  Secretaries  of  the  Missionary 


MAY  20. 

Seven- 
teenth 
l>av. 

Morning. 
Dedication 
of  Institu- 
tions of 
Learning. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
State  of  the 
Church. 


Report 
No.  Ill  on 
State  of  the 
Church. 


Ballot. 


G.  P.  Mains 
elected. 


Ballot. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


Report 
No.  IV  on 
Book  Con- 
cern. 

H.  C  Jen- 
nings 
elected. 


Ballot. 


264 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  20. 

Seven- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 
Bishop  D.  A. 
Goodsell 
presides. 


Nomina- 
tions. 


Report 
No.  v  on 
Book  Con- 
cern. 


Reports 
presented. 


Missionary 
Secretaries 
elected. 


Adjourned. 


Society.  Nominations  were  made,  and  the  votes  were 
cast. 

At  this  point  Bishop  Foster,  in  a  few  touching  re- 
marks, expressed  his  appreciation  of  the  kindness  shown 
him  by  the  Conference  and  the  Church,  and  called 
Bishop  D.  A.  Goodsell  to  the  Chair. 

On  motion  of  M.  M.  Callen,  the  following  was 
adopted  : 

When  nominations  are  in  order  the  Chair  shall  so  announce,  and  re- 
quest that  all  nominations  be  sent  to  the  Secretary's  table  in  writing ; 
and,  after  all  nominations  have  been  received,  the  Secretary  shall  read 
the  list,  and  when  the  Secretary  reads  the  list  nominations  shall  be 
closed. 

The  following  was  presented  by  T.  J.  Scott,  and  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Rules  of  Order: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  be  instructed 
to  take  into  consideration  for  presentation  to  this  Conference  some 
plan  for  the  nomination  of  General  Conference  officers. 

Report  No.  V  of  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern 
was  taken  up  and  read,  and,  on  motion  of  J.  M.  Buck- 
ley, it  was  laid  on  the  table. 

The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  presented  Report  No. 
VII. 

The  Committee  on  Book  Concern  presented  Report 
No.  VII. 

The  Committee  on  Missions  presented  Report  No. 
IV. 

The  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts  pre- 
sented Report  No.  III. 

The  Committee  on  Church  Extension  presented  Re- 
ports Nos.  Ill,  IV,  and  V. 

The  Committee  on  Lay  Representation  presented 
Report  No.  I. 

The  tellers  reported  the  first  ballot  for  Missionary 
Secretaries,  and  A.  B.  Leonard  and  A.  J.  Palmer,, 
having  received  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  were 
elected,  and  another  ballot  was  ordered.  (See  Ballots,, 
page  441.) 

The  tellers  reported  the  ballot  for  the  third  Mission- 
ary Secretary.  There  was  no  election.  (See  Ballots,, 
p.  442.) 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.    The  Dox- 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


265 


ology  was  sung,  and  Bishop  C.  D.  Foss  pronounced  the 
benediction. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary: 

NEW  YORK  EAST. 
C.  J.  North  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Whereas,  Very  many  churches,  large  and  small,  in  all  parts  of  our 
work  find  great  difficulty  in  meeting  their  current  expenses  ;  and, 

Whereas,  This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  large  numbers  of  our 
members  do  not  regularly  contribute  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel ; 
and, 

Whereas,  This  failure  to  contribute  arises  largely  from  want  of 
instruction  respecting  the  duty  of  systematic  giving ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  a  foot-note  be  attached  to  the  last  question  in  the 
service  of  "  Reception  of  Members  "  as  follows  :  "  The  pastor  will  explain 
that  this  contemplates  a  regular  contribution  by  each  member  accord- 
ing to  the  financial  plan  adopted  by  the  church." 

PHILADELPHIA. 
T.  B.  Neely  presented  the  following,  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Revisals  consider  the  propriety  of 
inserting  in  the  appropriate  places  in  the  Discipline  the  following : 

1.  Insert  as  section  2  of  paragraph  96  of  the  Discipline,  "  The  Sec- 
retary of  each  Quarterly  Conference  shall  furnish  the  member  elected 
to  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  a  certificate  of  his  election." 

2.  Insert  as  section  19  of  paragraph  186,  "The  presiding  elder  of 
each  district  shall  furnish  the  Chairman  of  the  Lay  Electoral  Confer- 
ence a  certified  list  of  the  members  elected  as  delegates  to  the  Lay 
Electoral  Conference,  and  also  a  list  of  the  reserves." 


MA  V  SO. 

S  K  V  E  \  - 
TEE NTH 

Day. 
Morning. 


Regular 
contribu- 
tions by 
members- 


Additions  to 
HI  96  and 
186. 


WEST  WISCONSIN. 

W.  J.  McKay  presented  the  following,  which  was 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals.: 

Resolved,  That  the  words  "  playing  cards  or  attending  card  parties  " 
be  inserted  in  paragraph  240  of  the  Discipline. 

He  also  presented  the  following,  which  was  referred 

to  the  Committee  on  Revisals: 

Resolved,  That  the  words  "  the  putting  on  of  gold  or  costly  apparel " 
be  erased  from  the  Discipline  in  paragraph  30,  so  as  to  accord  with 
the  practice  of  our  preachers  and  people. 


Card  play- 
ing. 


Gold  or 
costly  ap- 
parel. 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary : 

CINCINNATI. 

C.  H.  Payne  presented  from  the  American  Sabbath 
Union  a  memorial  concerning  Sabbath  observance. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 


Sabbath 
observance. 


266 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  20. 

Seven- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 
Sunday 
schools  as 
missionary 
societies. 

Stewards. 


Bureau  of 
Transporta- 
tion. 


Young  peo- 
ple's socie- 
ties. 


A.  B.  Leonard  presented,  from  himself  and  one  other, 
a  memorial  relating  to  the  organization  of  Sunday 
schools  into  missionary  societies.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Missions. 

MAINE. 

G.  D.  Lindsay  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  him- 
self, relating  to  stewards.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revisals. 

MINNESOTA. 

H.  C.  Jennings  presented  a  memorial,  from  George 
H.  Hazzard  and  others,  in  favor  of  the  establishment 
of  a  Bureau  of  Transportation.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temporal  Economy.  4 

NORTHWEST  INDIANA. 
W.  H.  Hickman  presented  a  memorial  relative  to 
young   people's  societies  that  have  not  adopted  the 
Ep worth  League  organization.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Epworth  League. 

SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS. 

H.  H.  Crozier  presented  the  report  of  a  joint  com- 
mission on  the  boundaries  of  the  Illinois  and  Southern 
Illinois  Conferences.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 

WASHINGTON. 

I.  L.  Thomas  introduced  the  record  of  a  joint 
commission  defining  the  boundaries  of  the  Washington 
and  North  Carolina  Conferences.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries. 

WEST  NEBRASKA. 
Accounts  of      c.  A.  Hale  presented  a  memorial  concerning  keeping 
financial  accounts  of  charges.    Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temporal  Economy. 


Boundaries. 


Boundaries. 


MAY  21. 

Eight- 
eenth Day 
Morning. 

Devotional 


Journal 
approved. 


THURSDAY  MORNING,  MAY  21. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  S.  M.  Merrill  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  E.  H. 
Yocum,  of  the  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 


1890.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


267 


On  motion  of  J.  B.  Graw,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
elections  have  precedence  at  any  time. 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  that  the  Secretary  of  this  Con- 
ference be  authorized  to  send  cordial  greetings  by  tele- 
graph to  the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  now  in 
session  at  Saratoga  Springs. 

On  motion  of  M.  S.  Hard,  it  was  ordered  that  after 
10  o'clock  no  appeals,  memorials,  or  resolutions,  not  to 
be  put  upon  their  immediate  passage,  shall  be  received. 

The  following  communication  was  received  from  the 
Bishops,  and  read: 

Cleveland,  0.,  May  21. 

To  the  General  Conference. 

Dear  Brethren  :  The  Bishops  having  conferred  with  the  Bfshops- 
elect,  and  having  considered  the  state  of  business  of  the  Conference, 
especially  in  regard  to  matters  connected  with  the  General  and  Mis- 
sionary Superintendency  of  the  Church,  respectfully  recommend  that 
the  consecration  of  Bishops  be  made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for  Tues- 
day, May  26,  at  11  o'clock  a.  m. 

By  order  and  in  beKalf  of  the  Bishops, 

Edward  G.  Andrews,  Secretary. 


MAY  21. 

Eight- 
eenth Day 

Morning. 

Elections. 
Presbyteri- 
an General 
Assembly. 


Appeals,  etc 


Consecra- 
tion serv- 


On  motion  of  J.  J.  Bentley,  the  consecration  of  the 
Bishops-elect  was  made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for  Tues- 
day, May  26,  at  10  o'clock  a.  m.  • 

A  letter  was  read  from  the  trustees  of  Epworth  Me- 
morial Church  inviting  the  Conference  to  hold  the  con- 
secration services  in  that  church. 

R.  D.  Munger  moved  that  the  services  be  held  in  this 
building. 

A  motion  by  T.  B.  Neely,  to  substitute  Epworth 
Church,  was  laid  on  the  table,  and  the  motion  of  R.  D. 
Munger  was  adopted. 

•  A  resolution  of  thanks  to  the  pastor  and  trustees  of 
Epworth  Church  was  passed. 

The  third  ballot  for  Missionary  Secretary  was  re- 
ported, and,  there  being  no  election,  another  ballot  was 
ordered.    (See  Ballots,  p.  442.) 

The  Hon.  Asa  Bushnell,  Governor  of  Ohio,  was  in- 
troduced. 

A  ballot  for  Corresponding  Secretaries  of  the  Board 
of  Church  Extension  was  ordered. 

The  tellers  returned  and  reported  the  fourth  ballot 
for  Missionary  Secretaries,  and,  there  being  no  election, 
another  ballot  was  ordered.    (See  Ballots,  p.  442.) 


Missionary 
Secretary. 


Hon.  Asa 
Bushnell. 


Missionary 
Secretary. 


268  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  21. 

Eight- 
eenth Day 
Morning. 

Church  Ex- 
tension Dis- 
tricts. 


J.  T. 

Manson. 


Trustees  of 
the  Metho- 
dist Epis- 
copal 
Church. 


Dr.  Morris 
takes  leave. 


Secretaries 
Board  of 

Church  Ex- 
tension. 


Missionary 
Secretary. 


Dr.  R.  S. 
Rust. 


A.  J.  Kynett  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  paragraph  380  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  strik- 
ing out  the  words  included  in  item  3,  lines  8-14,  as  follows  : 

"  3.  The  Annual  Conferences,  being  grouped  by  the  General  Con- 
ference into  fourteen  Church  Extension  Districts,  there  shall  be  one 
member  from  each  district  to  be  elected  by  the  General  Conference  on 
the  nomination  of  the  delegates  of  each  district,  respectively,  and  also 
fourteen  members  appointed  by  the  board,"  and  insert  the  following : 

"  3.  Of  one  representative  from  each  General  Conference  District 
elected  by  the  General  Conference,  on  the  nomination  of  the  delegates 
of  the  several  districts. 

"  4.  Of  an  equal  number  of  representatives  appointed  by  the  board." 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  J.  T.  Manson  was  seated 
in  the  place  of  J.  H.  Sessions,  who  was  called  home. 

On  motion  of  D.  W.  C.  Huntington,  a  committee  of 
five  was  ordered  on  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Morris  took  leave  of  the  Confer- 
ence on  behalf  of  himself  and  his  colleague,  the  Hon. 
G.  B.  Perkins. 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  ballot  for  Sec- 
retaries of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension,  and  A.  J. 
Kynett  and  W.  A-  Spencer,  having  received  a  majority 
of  all  the  votes  cast,  were  declared  elected.  (See  Ballots, 
p.  442.) 

The  fifth  ballot  for  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
Missionary  Society  was  reported,  and  W.  T.  Smith, 
having  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  was  de- 
clared elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  442.) 

The  Conference  proceeded  to  the  election  of  Secre- 
taries of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education 
Society. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Whereas,  The  venerable  and  beloved  Rev.  R.  S.  Rust,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
has  completed  thirty  years  of  continuous  connection  with  our  work  in 
the  South  ;  and, 

Wherms,  He  has  endeared  himself  to  multitudes  in  every  depart- 
ment of  that  work,  and  builded  for  himself  a  monument  more  enduring 
than  marble  or  granite ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  Rev.  Richard  S.  Rust,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  be  and  he 
is  hereby  continued  in  his  present  position  as  Honorary  Secretary  of 
the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society. 

2.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  printed  in  the  Daily  Chris- 
tian Advocate  and  be  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, and  also  that  an  engrossed  copy  of  the  same  be  presented  to  our 
honored  brother. 


18P6. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


269 


The  tellers  reported  the  ballot  for  Secretaries  of  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society,  and 
J.  C.  Hartzell  and  J.  W.  Hamilton,  having  received  the 
requisite  number  of  votes,  were  declared  elected.  (See 
Ballots,  p.  442.) 

J.  M.  Buckley  presented  Report  No.  IV  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Episcopacy. 

A  motion  to  substitute  Shanghai  or  Nagasaki  for 
Philadelphia  was  laid  on  the  table.  W.  F.  Whitlock 
moved  to  substitute  Cleveland  for  Buffalo;  J.  F.  Core 
moved  to  substitute  Pittsburg  for  Buffalo;  A.  B. 
Leonard  moved  to  substitute  "Shanghai"  for  Phila- 
delphia; H.  W.  Key  moved  tcr  substitute  Nashville  for 
Chattanooga;  J.  W.  Butler  moved  to  add  "or  Mexico" 
to  New  Orleans,  or  Fort  Worth;  J.  F.  Goucher  moved  to 
substitute  Shanghai,  and  Eiji  Asada  moved  to  add  "  or 
Nagasaki."  All  these  motions  were  laid  on  the  table. 
The  12th  item  was  read,  and  Emory  Miller  moved  to 
substitute  Omaha  for  Topeka.  Laid  on  the  table.  L. 
A.  Belt  moved  to  add  "  or  Omaha,"  which  was  carried, 
and  the  item,  as  amended,  was  passed.  Item  16  was 
read.  Yoitsu  Honda  moved  to  add  "  or  Shanghai." 
A  motion  was  made  to  add,  as  an  amendment,  "or 
Tacoma." 

The  Committee  on  Judiciary  presented  Report  No.  I. 

The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  presented  Reports 
Nos.  IV  and  V. 

The  Committee  on  Revisals  presented  Reports  Nos. 
XI,  XII,  XIII,  XIV,  and  XV. 

The  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of 
the  Liquor  Traffic  presented  Reports  Nos.  II,  III,  and 
IV. 

The  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern 
Education  Society  presented  Report  No.  III. 

The  Committee  on  Boundaries  presented  Report 
No.  I. 

A  minority  report  was  presented  from  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

On  motion  of  C.  J.  Little,  the  Conference  adjourned. 
The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  M.  S.  Hard  pronounced 
the  benediction.  * 


MAY  21. 

Eight- 
eenth Day 

Morning. 
Freedmen's 
Aid  and 
Southern 
Education 

Society 
Secretaries. 
Report 
No.  IV  on 
Episcopacy. 


Reports 


Adjourned. 


270 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  21. 

Eight- 
eenth Day 
Mornmg. 


■  Report  of 
the.  work  of 
the  Church. 


Superannu- 
ated minis- 
ters as  col- 
porteurs. 


Collection 
for  Confer- 
ence claim- 
ants. 


The  following  Resolutions  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary : 

IOWA. 

Christopher  Haw  and  others  presented  the  following,, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
the  Church: 

Whereas,  In  the  past  no  official  statistical  report  of  the  work  and 
gifts  of  the  Church  at  large  has  been  issued  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  Statistical  Secretary  be  elected  on  the  first  day  of 
the  next  session,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  compile  from  the  Annual 
Conference  Minutes,  and  other  sources,  a  statistical  report  of  the 
work  of  the  Church  throughout  the  connection,  the  same  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  General  Conference  Minutes. 

He  also  presented  the.  following,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern: 

As  an  additional  means  of  increasing  the  sales  of  our  books  and  the 
circulation  of  our  Church  periodicals ; 

Resolved,  That  our  Book  Agents  are  hereby  authorized  to  formulate 
and  put  in  use  a  system  whereby  all  superannuated  ministers,  who  so 
desire,  may  become  colporteurs  for  the  sale  of  our  periodicals  and 
books.  Said  colporteurs  shall  be  approved  by  the  Annual  Conference, 
and  secure  the  consent  of  the  pastor  of  the  charge  in  which  they  de- 
sire to  work. 

NEWARK. 

W.  H.  Murphy  presented  the  following,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy: 

Whereas,  It  is  reported  that  a  large  number  of  our  preachers  neglect 
to  take  the  annual  collection  for  the  Conference  claimants,  and  by  such 
neglect  are  placing  these  worthy  men  under  great  embarrassment  in  the 
Conferences  where  they  reside  ;  and, 

Whereas,  By  such  omission  of  duty  the  rules  and  Discipline  of  our 
church  are  clearly  violated  and  discouraging  to  those  friends  who  are 
laboring  to  disseminate  a  wider  interest  in  this  subject,  by  which  it 
is  hoped  the  annual  collections  may  be  increased ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  consider  this 
question  and  report  a  plan  by  which  this  neglect  may  be  prevented  and 
the  enforcement  of  the  Discipline  maintained. 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Sec- 
retary: 

IOWA. 

Christopher  Haw  presented  a  memorial,  signed  by 
himself,  referring  to  paragraph  283.  Referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Revisals. 


Insurance 
of  church 
property. 


MICHIGAN. 

Levi  Master  presented  a  memorial  on  the  insurance 
of  church  property.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Church  Extension. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


271 


MONTANA.  MAY  21. 

ElGHT- 

Jacob  Mills  presented  two  memorials  for  enabling  kenthday 

r  .  Morning. 

acts.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries.  Enabling 

acts.  « 

NORTHERN  NEW  YORK. 
D.  F.  Pierce  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  Boundaries, 
boundaries  of  the  Norwegian  and  Danish  Conference. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Boundaries. 

NORTHWEST  INDIANA. 
A.  R.  Colbern  and  F.  H.  Tanner  presented  a  me-  135. 
morial  asking  to  strike  out  paragraph  35,  page  32,  of 
the  Discipline.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State 
of  the  Church. 

OREGON. 

G.  W.  Gue  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  Ap^5^n 
Northern  Pacific  Advocate.  Referred  to  the  Committee  Advocate. 
on  the  Book  Concern. 

ROCK  RIVER. 

F.  M.  Bristol  presented  a  memorial  from  the  Chicago  seat  of  next 
Methodist  Social  Union  concerning  the  seat  of  next  conference. 
General  Conference.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Place  of  Holding  next  Session  of  General  Conference. 

P.  H.  Swift  presented  a  memorial  concerning  ex-  Expenses  of 

0  delegates. 

penses  of  delegates.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Temporal  Economy. 

Lewis  Curts  presented  a  memorial  concerning  the  children's 
Children's  Home  Society.    Referred  to  the  Committee  ciety- 
on  Temporal  Economy. 

TENNESSEE. 

D.  W.  Byrd  presented  a  memorial  concerning  reports 
of  church  trustees.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Temporal  Economy. 


Reports  of 
urch 


FRIDAY  MORNING,  MAY  22. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  W. 
Bashford,  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday  morning's  session  was  read 
and  approved. 

On  motion  of  Andrew  Schriver,  C.  W.  Millard,  of 


MAY  22. 

Nine- 
teenth 

Da  v. 
Morning. 

Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


C.  W. 
Millard. 


272 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  22. 

Nine- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 
»  Sunday 
School 
Union  and 
Tract  So- 
ciety Secre- 
tary. 

J.  M.  Kittle- 
man. 


Secretary 
Board  of 
Education. 

Report 
No.  IV  re- 
sumed. 


Secretary 
Sunday 
School 
Union  and 
Tract  So- 
ciety. 


Report 
No.  Ill  on 
Episcopacy. 


Secretary 
Board  of 
Education. 


Ballot. 


the  New  York  Conference,  was  seated  in  the  place  of 
C.  C.  McCabe. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Chaffee,  the  Conference  ordered 
a  ballot  for  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and 
Tract  Society. 

On  motion  of  L.  M.  Shaw,  J.  M.  Kittleman,  of  the 
Des  Moines  Conference,  was  granted  leave  of  absence 
on  account  of  sickness. 

The  Conference  proceeded  to  ballot  for  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Education. 

The  request  of  L.  M.  Shaw,  that  he  be  permitted  to 
change  his  seat,  was  granted.  Consideration  of  Report 
No.  IV  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  was  resumed. 
T.  J.  Massey  moved  to  recommit  the  matter.  The 
motion  was  lost.  The  pending  motions  to  substitute 
were  laid  on  the  table,  the  item  was  adopted,  and  the 
report,  as  a  whole,  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  381.) 

The  tellers  reported,  and  the  Chair  announced  that 
J.  L.  Hurlbut,  having  received  the  requisite  number  of 
votes,  was  elected  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School 
Union  and  Tract  Societ}^.    (See  Ballots,  p.  442.) 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  Report  No.  Ill,  second 
part,  was  taken  up.  Items  1  and  2  were  adopted. 
Item  3  was  read.  A.  J.  Kynett  moved  to  recommit 
it.  Lost.  J.  A.  Sargent  moved  to  strike  out  all  after 
the  word  "  elections "  and  insert  "  quadrennially." 
A.  J.  Kynett  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  General 
Conference  fix  quadrennially  the  place  of  residence  on 
„  nomination  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy.  J.  B. 
Graw  moved  to  lay  the  substitute  on  the  table.  Lost. 
The  amendment  of  J.  A.  Sargent  was  laid  on  the 
table.  The  substitute  was  also  laid  on  the  table,  and 
the  item  was  passed.  Item  4  was  adopted.  Item  5 
was  withdrawn,  and  the  report,  as  a  whole,  was  adopted. 
(See  Reports,  p.  380.) 

The  tellers  returned,  and  the  Chair  announced  that 
C.  H.  Payne,  having  received  the  requisite  number  of 
votes,  was  elected  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education. 
(See  Ballots,  p.  442.) 

The  Conference  proceeded  to  the  election  of  an 
Editor  for  the  Methodist  Review.  A  ballot  was  also 
ordered  for  the  Editor  of  The  Christian  Advocate. 


1896.  J  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


278 


Bishop  Goodsell  requested,  and  was  granted,  leave  of 
absence  from  the  further  sessions  of  the  Conference. 

On  motion  of  Z.  M.  Mansur,  Report  No.  I  of  the 
Committee  on  National  Arbitration  was  presented, 
read,  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  431.) 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  ballot  for 
Editor  of  the  Methodist  Review,  and  the  Chair  declared 
W.  V.  Kelley  elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  443.) 

Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  names  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
(See  Committees,  p.  377.) 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  ballot  for 
Editor  of  The  Christian  Advocate,  and  J.  M.  Buckley 
was  declared  elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  443.) 

The  Conference  ordered  a  ballot  for  Editor  of  the 
Western  Christian  Advocate,  and  a  ballot  for  the 
Editor  of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate. 

The  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  presented 
Reports  Nos.  IV  and  V. 

The  Committee  on  Church  Extension  presented  Re- 
port No.  VI. 

The  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts  pre- 
sented Report  No.  IV. 

The  Committee  on  Education  presented  Report  No. 
IV. 

The  Committee  on  State  of  the  Church  presented 
Reports  Nos.  XII  to  XVI. 

The  Committee  on  Book  Concern  presented  Reports 
Nos.  VIII  to  XI. 

The  Committee  on  Lay  Representation  presented 
Report  No.  II. 

The  Committee  on  Judiciary  presented  Reports  Nos. 
II,  III,  and  IV. 

The  tellers  reported  the  ballot  for  Editor  of  the 
Western  Christian  Advocate,  and  D.  H.  Moore  was  de- 
clared elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  443.) 

A  ballot  was  ordered  for  Editor  of  the  Central  Chris- 
tian Advocate. 

The  tellers  reported  the  result  of  the  ballot  for 
Editor  of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate,  and 
Arthur  Edwards  was  declared  elected.  (See  Ballots, 
p.  443.) 


MAY  22. 

Nine- 
teenth 
Day. 
Morning. 

Bishop 
Goodsell's 
leave  of 
absence. 
Report 
No.  I  on 
Arbitration 
Editor  of 
Review. 


Trustees  of 
Methodist 
Episcopal 
Church. 


Editor  of 
The  Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate. 


Ballot. 


Reports 
presented. 


Editor  of 
Western 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Editor  of 
Northwest' 
ern  Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate. 


274 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


MAY  22. 

Nine- 
teenth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Church 
Boards. 


Editor  of 

Central 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Editor  of 
Pittsburg 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Amend- 
ments to 
Constitu- 
tion. 


Editor  of 
Northern 
Christian 
Advocate. 


John 
Conner. 


Report  pre- 
sented. 


Editor  of 
California 
Christian 
Advocate. 


Adjourned. 


On  motion  of  J.  F.  Core,  a  ballot  was  ordered  for 
Editor  of  the  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate. 

The  following,  presented  by  A.  J.  Kynett,  was 
adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  and  Chairmen  of  Standing  Committees  be 
a  committee  to  nominate  to  the  General  Conference  the  Boards  of 
Mission,  Church  Extension,  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education 
Society,  Tract  Society,  Sunday  School  Union,  and  the  Board  of  Education. 

The  tellers  reported  the  vote  for  Editor  of  the  Central 
Christian  Advocate,  and  the  Chair  declared  J.  B. 
Young  elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  443.) 

A  ballot  was  ordered  for  Editor  of  the  Northern 
Christian  A  dvocate. 

The  tellers  reported  the  vote  for  Editor  of  the  Pitts- 
burg Christian  Advocate,  and  the  Chair  declared  C.W. 
Smith  elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  443.) 

A  ballot  was  taken  for  the  Editor  of  the  Californi 
Christian  Advocate. 

On  motion  of  T.  B.  Neely,  the  following  was  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  in  voting  for  delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  or 
upon  questions  of  proposed  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  absentees 
from  the  session  of  the  Annual  Conference  shall  not  be  permitted  to 
vote. 

The  tellers  reported  the  vote  for  Editor  of  the 
Northern  Christian  Advocate,  and  the  Chair  declared 
J.  E.  C.  Sawyer  elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  443.) 

On  motion,  John  Conner,  a  reserve  delegate  of  the 
Pittsburg  Conference,  was  seated  in  the  place  of  C.  W 
Smith,  who  left  on  account  of  sickness. 

A  ballot  was  ordered  for  Editor  of  the  Southioes 
Christian  Advocate. 

The  Committee  on  General  Conference  Districts  pre 
sented  Report  No.  I. 

The  tellers  reported  the  vote  for  Editor  of  the  Cali 
fornia  Christian  Advocate,  and  the  Chair  declare 
W.  S.  Matthew  elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  443.) 

A  ballot  was  ordered  for  Editor  of  the  Apologist. 

The  tellers  reported  the  ballot  for  Editor  of  the  South 
western  Christian  Advocate,  and,  there  being  no  election 
another  ballot  was  ordered. 

On  motion,  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxolog 
was  sung,  and  Bishop  William  Taylor  pronounced  th 
benediction. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


275 


The  following  Memorials  were  passed  to  the  Secre- 
tary: 

CENTRAL  NEW  YORK. 

R.  D.  Munger  presented   a   memorial   asking  to 

amend  paragraph  186  of  the  Discipline  by  adding  a 

section  after  section  18,  to  be  marked  section  19,  which 

was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 

To  furnish  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  a  com- 
plete list  of  delegates  and  alternates  chosen  by  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
ences of  the  District. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
S.  E.  Quimby  and  others  presented  a  memorial  ask- 
ing that  to  Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Edu- 
cation, as  adopted  by  the  General  Conference,  there  be 
added  the  words,  "  and  scriptural  exegeses  and  written 
sermon."    Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education. 


MAY  22. 

Nine- 
teenth 
Day. 


To  amend 
IT  186. 


Addition  to 
Report  No.  I 
of  Commit- 
tee on  Edu- 
cation. 


NORWEGIAN-DANISH. 
N.  E.  Simonsen  presented  a  memorial  asking  that  the 
Discipline  be  not  so  changed  as  to  make  it  obligatory 
to  appoint  a  superintendent  in  all  our  foreign  missions. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions. 


Superin- 
tendent in 
all  foreign 

missions. 


UPPER  MISSISSIPPI. 
Richard  Sewell  presented  a  memorial  reporting  the  Boundaries, 
change  in  boundaries   of  the  Upper  Mississippi  and 
Alabama  Conferences.    Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries. 


SATURDAY  MORNING,  MAY  23. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  H.  W.  Warren  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  Henry 
Spellmeyer,  of  the  Newark  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  session  was  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

The  Secretary  was  instructed  to  destroy  all  memorials 
and  other  papers  except  such  as  are  judicial,  and  to  place 
those  in  the  Book  Concern  at  New  York  or  Cincinnati. 

On  motion  of  D.  Y.  Murdoch,  D.  H.  Moore  was  ex- 
cused from  further  attendance,  having  been  called 
home  by  the  serious  illness  of  his  mother. 


MAY  23. 

Twen- 
tieth Day. 
Morning. 

Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Secretary 
to  destroy 
memorials, 
etc. 


D.  H.  Moore 
excused. 


276 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  23. 

Twen- 
tieth Day. 

Morning. 

Editor  of 
Southwest- 
em  Chris- 
tian Advo- 
cate and  of 
Apologist. 

E.  W.  S. 
Hammond. 


Missionary 
Society. 


Ballots. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Trustees. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
General 
Conference 
Districts. 

Editor  of 
Haus  und 
Herd. 


Reports 
Nos.  V  and 
on  Epis- 
copacy. 


Report 
No.  IX  on 
Episcopacy. 


Editor  of 
Epworth 
Herald. 


Methodist 
Protestant 
Church. 


W.P. 
BigneU. 


The  tellers  having  reported,  the  President  announced 
that  I.  B.  Scott  was  elected  Editor  of  the  Southwestern 
Christian  Advocate,  and  that  A.  J.  Nast  was  elected 
Editor  of  the  Apologist.    (See  Ballots,  pp.  443,  444.) 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  that  the  Publishing  Agents  at 
Cincinnati  be  authorized  to  pay  E.  W.  S.  Hammond 
the  usual  salary  until  the  Church  finds  him  work 
Carried. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Goucher,  Homer  Eaton  was  ap 
pointed  Treasurer,  and  Lewis  Curts  Assistant  Treas 
urer,  of  the  Missionary  Society. 

A  ballot  was  ordered  for  Editor  of  the  Haus  und 
Herd,  and  one  for  the  Editor  of  the  Epworth  Herald. 

T>.  W.  C.  Huntington  presented  Report  No.  I  of  the 
Committee  on  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  which  was  read  and  adopted,  and  the  Trustees 
named  therein  were  elected.    (See  Reports,  p.  438.) 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  General  Confer- 
ence Districts  was,  on  motion  of  J.  W.  Butler,  adopted. 
(See  Reports,  p.  427.) 

The  tellers  reported,  and  the  President  announced 
that  F.  L.  Nagler  was  elected  Editor  of  the  Haus  un 
Herd.    (See  Ballots,  p.  444.) 

The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  presented  Report 
No.  V,  which,  on  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  was  read 
and  adopted.    The  same  committee  presented  a  su 
plement  to  Report  No.  I,  which  was  read  and,  on  motioi 
of  J.  M.  Buckley,  adopted.    (See  Reports,  pp.  380,  381. 

Report  No.  IX  was  presented  and  read. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report, 
T.  B.  Neely  moved  that  it  be  considered  in  reverse 
order. 

The  tellers  reported  the  vote  for  Editor  of  the  Ep 
worth  Herald,  and  the  President  declared  that  J. 
Berry  was  elected.    (See  Ballots,  p.  444.  ) 

The  following  telegram  was  read  by  the  Secretary: 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  in  s 
sion  in  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  has  received  fraternal  greetings  from  th< 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  session  i 
Cleveland,  0.,  and  returns  greetings  to  that  body.  May  the  Spirit 
the  Lord  be  with  you  in  your  session.        T.  M.  Johnson,  Secretary. 

On  motion  of  S.  H.  Prather,  W.  P.  Bignell  was  i 
vited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


277 


To  select 
reports. 


Final  ad- 
journment. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


Report 
No.  IX  on 
Episcopacy. 

Missionary 
Bishop  for 
Africa. 


The  Secretary  stated  that  C.  E.  Zoller  being  unable  M*^.*3, 
to  serve  as  an  assistant  secretary,  he  named  C.  E.  tiethday. 

"  Morning. 

Mueller.  c.  e. 

Mueller 

On  motion  of  W.  S.  Edwards,  the  following  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  chairmen  of  the  several  committees  be  aud  are 
hereby  appointed  a  committee  to  select  from  the  reports  prepared  for 
the  General  Conference  such  as  may  be  agreed  upon  as  of  leading  im- 
portance, and  that  on  and  after  Tuesday  next  these  shall  be  presented 
in  their  order  to  the  Conference  for  its  action,  taking  precedence  of 
all  others ;  provided,  that  the  present  call  of  the  committees  is  completed. 

On  motion  of  J.  H.  Coleman,  Thursday,  May  28,  was 
fixed  as  the  day  and  1  o'clock  p.  m.  as  the  hour  for  the 
final  adjournment  of  the  Conference. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Goucher,  the  consideration  of 
Report  No.  I  on  Constitution  was  made  the  Order  of 
the  Day  for  Monday  next,  at  10  a.  m. 

Consideration  of  Report  No.  IX  of  the  Committee 
on  Episcopacy  was  resumed. 

G.  P.  Mains  moved,  as  a  substitute  for  the  report, 
that  at  this  time  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Confer- 
ence that  we  deem  it  inexpedient  to  elect  any  Mission- 
ary Bishops  in  addition  to  those  existing,  save  a  suc- 
cessor to  Bishop  Taylor  for  Africa. 

A  motion  to  lay  this  on  the  table  did  not  prevail, 
and  the  substitute  was  accepted  by  a  count  vote  of  257 
ayes  to  189  noes,  and  was  then  adopted.  (See  Reports, 
p.  381.)  , 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  that  we  elect  a  Missionary 
Bishop  for  Africa.  Carried. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved  that  the  election  of  a  Missionary 
Bishop  for  Africa  be  made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for 
next  Monday  at  9:30  a.  m. 

At  the  request  of  Bishop  Walden,  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries,  the  following  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary: 

Resolved,  That  the  Judiciary  Committee  be  requested  to  consider  the  Boundaries, 
following  question  and  report  on  Monday  next:  If  so  much  of  an  An- 
nual Conference  be  set  apart  that  the  remaining  territory  contains  a 
less  number  of  ministers  than  is  required  to  constitute  an  Annual  Con- 
ference, should  this  remaining  territory  be  constituted  a  mission,  or 
doe3  it  continue  to  be  an  Annual  Conference  ? 

The  following  questions,  presented  by  J.  W.  Hamil- 
ton, were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary: 


278 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


1.  Has  the  General  Conference  the  authority  to  exclude  a  General 
Superintendent  from  the  presidency  of  an  Annual  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  any  part  of  the  world  ? 

2.  Has  the  General  Conference  the  authority  to  assign  to  its  Mission- 
ary Bishops  jurisdiction  of  the  same  mission  without  a  division  of  ter- 
ritory ? 

The  Committee  on  Revisals  presented  Reports  Nos. 
XVI  and  XVII. 

The  Committee  on  Education  presented  Reports 
Nos.  Ill,  V,  and  VI. 

The  Committee  on  Epworth  League  presented  Re- 
ports Nos.  IV  to  VII. 

The  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  presented 
Reports  Nos.  VI  to  IX. 

Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology  was  sung, 
and  Bishop  H.  W.  Warren  pronounced  the  benediction. 


MAY  23. 

Twen- 
tieth Day. 
Morning. 


MAY  25. 

Twenty- 
first  Day. 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Speeches 
limited  to 
five  minutes 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Boundaries 
adopted. 

Reserves 
seated,  etc. 


Vote  of 
thanks. 


MONDAY  MORNING,  MAY  25. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  C.  D.  Foss  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  J. 
Bentley,  of  the  Missouri  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  Saturday's  session  was  read  and 
approved. 

S.  W.  Gehrett  moved  to  change  Rule  No.  13,  second 
line,  "No  person  shall  speak  more  than  twice  on  the 
same  question  nor  more  than  five  minutes  at  one  time  " 
instead  of  ten;  "excepting  chairmen  of  committees,  who 
shall  have  the  usual  ten  minutes." 

A  motion  by  J.  F.  Berry,  to  include  chairmen  of 
committees,  was  laid  on  the  table  by  a  count  vote  of 
175  ayes  to  150  noes,  and  the  original  motion  was 
adopted. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Boundaries  was 
read  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  354.) 

M.  A.  Kendall,  a  reserve  delegate  of  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Conference,  was,  on  motion,  seated  in  the  place  of 
T.  P.  Jacobs;  as  were  also  P.  P.  Mast,  of  the  Cincin- 
nati Conference,  in  place  of  C.  W.  Bennett ;  Hudson 
Samson,  of  the  Pittsburg,  in  place  of  J.  E.  Rigg ;  and 
J.  H.  Stull,  of  the  East  Ohio,  in  place  of  J.  A.  Mansfield. 

G.  E.  Ackerman  presented  a  resolution  of  thanks  to 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


279 


the  Detroit  and  Cleveland  Steam  Navigation  Company, 
and  the  following  substitute  was  adopted: 

Whereas,  The  Detroit  and  Cleveland  Steam  Navigation  Company 
placed  at  the  service  of  the  General  Conference  on  Saturday  afternoon, 
the  23d  instant,  their  beautiful  and  commodious  steamer,  City  of 
Detroit,  for  a  complimentary  excursion  on  the  lake ;  and, 

Whereas,  We  greatly  appreciate  the  thoughtful  generosity  which 
provided  for  us  this  courteous  favor ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  the  company  our  hearty  thanks  for  this 
delightful  ride. 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Conference  be  instructed 
to  send  to  the  company  a  copy  of  these  resolutions. 

On  motion  of  Henry  Spellmeyer,  the  following  were 
approved  as  Trustees  of  the  American  University:  Judge 
E.  L.  McComas,  Washington,  D.  C;  Rev.  Michael  Burn- 
ham,  D.D.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Hon.  H.  N.  Higinbotham, 
Chicago,  111.;  Rev.  A.  J.  Palmer,  D.D.,  New  York; 
Rev.  W.  H.  Milburn,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Mr.  William 
Connell,  Scranton,  Pa.;  Hon.  John  Fritz,  Bethlehem, 
Pa.;  Mr.  John  E.  Herrell,  Washington,  D.  C;  Mr. 
John  G.  Holmes,  Pittsburg,  Pa.;  Hon.  John  R.  McLean, 
Washington,  D.  C;  Hon.  John  Paton,  Curwensville, 
Pa.;  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Pearne,  D.D.,  Hillsboro,  O. 

On  motion  of  S.  F.  Upham,  the  following  were  ap- 
pointed: George  P.  Mains,  Treasurer  of  the  Episcopal 
Fund;  H.  C.  Jennings,  Assistant  Treasurer  of  the  Epis- 
copal Fund  ;  George  P.  Mains,  Treasurer  of  the  Sun- 
day School  Union ;  Daniel  Denham,  Treasurer  of  the 
Tract  Society. 

W.  H.  Jordan  moved  that,  beginning  with  to-day, 
we  hereafter  hold  two  sessions  of  the  Conference  each 
day  until  our  adjournment — at  the  usual  hour  in  the 
morning,  and  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

A  motion  by  G.  H.  Trever  to  meet  at  2:30  was  laid 
on  the  table,  and  the  motion  of  W.  H.  Jordan  was 
adopted. 

On  motion  of  D.  W.  C.  Huntington,  the  Report  of 
the  Committee  on  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was,  because  of  an  error,  recommitted. 

J.  B.  Graw  moved  that  the  Publishing  Agents  be  re- 
quested to  publish  a  cheap,  unabridged  edition  of  the 
Hymnal  with  sufficiently  large  print  for  church  use. 

C.  R.  Kellerman  moved  to  insert  "with  tunes."  A 
motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was  lost. 


MAY  95. 

Twenty- 
first  Day. 
Morning. 


Trustees  of 
the  Amer- 
ican Uni- 
versity. 


Treasurers 
appointed. 


Two  ses- 
sions. 


Recom- 
mitted. 


Cheap 
Hymnals. 


280 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  25. 

Twenty- 
first  Day. 

Morning. 


Election  of 
Bishop  for 
Africa. 


Death  of 
mother  of 
D.H.Moore. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


Colonel 
Grant  and 
Bishop  Ar- 
nett  intro- 
duced. 


Report 
No.  IV  on 
Epworth 

League. 


J.  C.  Hart- 
zell  elected. 


W.  H.  Jordan  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  Hymnal 
be  published  as  at  present,  but  at  the  lowest  possible 
price.  The  amendment  was  adopted.  The  substitute 
was  then  accepted  and  adopted. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  the  Order  of  the  Day 
was  taken  up. 

H.  A.  Gobin  moved  that  the  order  to  elect  a  Bishop 
for  Africa  be  reconsidered.  Laid  on  the  table.  H.  E. 
Dingley  moved  to  elect  by  ballot,  without  nomination, 
and  that  a  majority  elect.  H.  W.  Key  moved  that  it 
require  a  two  thirds  vote.  Levi  Master  moved,  as  a 
substitute,  that  we  defer  election  of  Missionary  Bishops 
until  we  hear  the  report  of  the  Judiciary  Committee 
that  was  to  report  at  half  past  9  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing on  the  question  of  the  relative  authority  of  a  Gen- 
eral Superintendent  and  a  Missionary  Bishop.  Laid  on 
the  table.  The  amendment  was  adopted,  and  the  mo- 
tion of  H.  E.  Dingley,  as  amended,  was  adopted.  A 
ballot  was  ordered,  and  taken. 

D.  Y.  Murdoch  announced  the  death  of  the  mother 
of  D.  H.  Moore,  and  the  Secretary  was  instructed  to 
send  a  telegram  of  condolence  to  him. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Goucher,  Report  No.  I  of  the 
Committee  on  Constitution  was  taken  up,  and  it  was 
ordered  that  it  be  considered  seriatim. 

The  first  ballot  for  Bishop  of  Africa  were  announced, 
and,  there  being  no  election,  another  ballot  was  taken 
(See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 

Colonel  F.  D.  Grant,  and  Bishop  B.  M.  Arnett,  of  t' 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  were  introduced 

On  motion  of  C.  H.  Payne,  a  special  session  was  o 
dered  for  7:30  p.  m.  for  the  reception  of  fraternal  del 
gates. 

On  motion  of  E.  M.  Mills,  the  rules  were  suspended,  an 
Report  No.  IV  of  the  Committee  on  Epworth  Leagu 
was  taken  up  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  416.) 

The  tellers  reported  the  second  ballot  for  Missiona 
Bishop  for  Africa,  and  the  President  declared  that  J 
C.  Hartzell  was  elected,  and  he  was  invited  to  the  plat 
form.    (See  Ballots,  p.  440.) 

The  Secretary  read  item  1  of  the  Report  on  Consti 
tution,  and  it  was  adopted.    Item  2  was  read.  S. 


1896.]  Jour?ial  of  the  General  Conference. 


281 


Baldwin  moved  to  strike  out  "40 "and  insert  "60.''" 
The  motion  was  laid  on  the  table  and  the  item  adopted, 
as  were  also  sections  2,  3,  and  4.  Article  III,  section  1, 
was  read.  S.  M.  Coon  moved  that  after  the  word 
"  Conference,"  in  the  eleventh  line,  it  shall  read,  "  each 
pastoral  charge  shall  also  elect  one  reserve  delegate." 
Carried.  Elvin  Swarthout  moved  to  strike  out  "  chosen 
by  the  lay  members  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,"  and 
insert  "  chosen  by  the  members  of  the  Church,  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  and  upward."  A  motion  to  lay  on 
the  table  was  lost  by  a  count  vote  of  189  ayes  to  210 
noes.  The  amendment  was  rejected  by  a  count  vote  of 
189  ayes  to  193  noes,  and  the  section  was  adopted, 

G.  E.  Ackerman  requested  to  be  excused  from  further 
attendance  on  account  of  the  death  of  his  only  brother. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  a  resolution  of  sympathy 
was  unanimously  adopted. 

The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  presented 
Report  No.  XVII. 

A  minority  report  on  lay  representation  was  also  pre- 
sented. 

Conference  adjourned  by  expiration  of  time.  The 
Doxology  was  sung,  and  Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews  pro- 
nounced the  benediction. 


MAY  25. 

Twkxti  - 

first  Day. 

Morning. 

Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


G.E.  Acker- 
man  leave  of 
absence. 


Reports 
presented. 


Adjourned. 


MONDAY  AFTERNOON,  MAY  25. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  3  p.  m., 
Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  F. 
Rusling,  a  lay  delegate  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  the  morning  session  was  read  and 
approved. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Constitution  was 
further  considered.  Article  III,  section  2,  was  read 
and  adopted.  Section  3  was  read  and  adopted.  Sec- 
tion 4  was  read.  By  request  of  the  Committee,  and  on 
motion  of  W.  F.  King,  Bishop  Merrill  was  permitted 
all  the  time  he  desired  to  make  a  statement  on  this  part 
of  the  report.  Alexander  Ashley  moved  to  strike  out 
the  words  in  section  4,  commencing  at  the  word  "two" 
in  the  second  line,  to  the  word  "  one  "  in  the  sixth  line, 


MAY  25. 

Twenty- 
first  Da  y, 
Afternoon. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


'282 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  25. 

Twenty- 
first  Day. 
Afternoon. 


Secretary  of 
Freedmen's 
Aid  and 
Southern 
Education , 
Society. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


P.  D.  Carr. 


Report 
No.  X  on 
Judiciary. 


Secretary  of 
Freedmen's 
Aid  and 
Southern 
Education 
Society. 


"Two  delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  except  in 
case  the  Annual  Conference  is  entitled  to  but  one  dele- 
gate, then  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  shall  choose 
but  one,"  and  to  substitute  the  following  for  these 
words:  "One  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  for 
each  ministerial  delegate  to  which  its  Annual  Confer- 
ence may  be  entitled."  Laid  on  the  table,  and  the  sec- 
tion was  adopted.  Section  5  was  read.  F.  M.  Bristol 
moved  to  amend  by  the  insertion  of  the  word  "  lay  " 
before  "member."  so  that  it  will  read,  "  having  been  a 
lay  member  of  the  Church  for  five  years  preceding." 
A  motion  to  lay  this  on  the  table  was  lost,  the  amend- 
ment was  passed,  and  the  section,  as  amended,  was 
adopted. 

J.  W.  E.  Bowen  moved  that  we  proceed  to  the  nom- 
ination and  election  of  a  Secretary  for  the  Freedmen's 
Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer 
moved  that  its  further  consideration  be  made  the  Order 
of  the  Day  for  to-morrow  at  9  o'clock  a.  m.  Lost.  C. 
C.  Lasby  moved  to  indefinitely  postpone  the  election. 
This  was  laid  on  the  table,  and  the  original  resolution 
was  adopted. 

A  ballot  was  taken,  and  the  tellers  retired. 

J.  F.  Goucher  moved  that  the  further  consideration 
of  Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Constitution  be 
made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for  9  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning.  On  motion  of  W.  H.  Wilder,  the  motion  was 
laid  on  the  table. 

P.  D.  Carr,  having  been  called  home,  was  excused 
from  further  attendance  upon  the  Conference. 

On  motion  of  J.  H.  Clendenning,  Report  No.  X  of 
the  Committee  on  Judiciary  was  taken  up.  J.  M.  Buck- 
ley moved  its  indefinite  postponement.  Lost.  J.  S. 
Chadwick  moved  that  the  paper  coming  to  us  from  the 
Judiciary  Committee  be  adopted,  and  be  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Boundaries.  A  motion  by  J.  M. 
Buckley  to  lay  on  the  table  did  not  prevail,  and  the 
motion  of  J.  S.  Chadwick  was  adopted.  (See  Reports, 
p.  425.) 

The  tellers  returned,  and  the  Chair  announced  that 
M.  C.  B.  Mason,  having  received  the  requisite  number 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


283. 


of  votes,  was  elected  Secretary  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid 
and  Southern  Education  Society.    (See  Ballots,  p.  442.) 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst  pronounced  the  bene- 
diction. 

MONDAY  EVENING,  MAY  25. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  7:30  p.  m., 
Bishop  Thomas  Bowman  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  A.  A. 
Gee,  of  the  Indiana  Conference. 

A  solo  was  sung  by  Miss  Effie  Holbrook. 

C.  H.  Payne  presented  the  credentials  of  the  Rev.  C. 
H.  Philips,  fraternal  delegate  from  the  Colored  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church.  N.  E.  Simonson  introduced  him 
to  the  President,  who  presented  him  to  the  Conference, 
and  he  delivered  a  very  cordial  address.  (See  Fraternal 
Addresses,  p.  511.) 

A  duet  was  sung  by  Misses  Holbrook  and  Whittier. 

J.  T.  McFarland  presented  the  Rev.  B.  F.  Noakes, 
fraternal  delegate  from  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church, 
to  the  President,  and  after  his  introduction  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  the  Conference,  he  delivered  an  able  address. 

The  report  of  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Potts,  fraternal  dele- 
gate to  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  was  presented 
by  C.  H.  Payne  and  read  by  the  Secretary.  (See  Fra- 
ternal Addresses,  p.  475.) 

The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  Dr.  B.  F.  Noakes  pro- 
nounced the  benediction. 


MAY  25. 

Twenty- 
first  Day. 
Afternoon. 
Adjourned. 


MAY  25. 

Twenty- 
first  Day. 
Evening. 


Devotional 
services. 


Address  by 
Rev.  C.  H. 
Philips. 


Address  by 
Rev.  B.  F. 
Noakes. 


Report  of 
Dr.  J.  H. 
Potts. 


Adjourned. 


TUESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  26. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  W.  X.  Ninde  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  Robert 
Forbes,  of  the  Northern  Minnesota  Conference. 

The  Journals  of  yesterday  afternoon  and  evening 
sessions  were  read  and  approved. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Chaffee,  the  delegates  of  the 
Northern  Minnesota  Conference  were  permitted  to  oc- 
cupy vacant  seats  in  the  front  of  the  room. 

Reports  Nos.  V,  VI,  VII,  and  IX  of  the  Committee 
on  Judiciary  were  taken  up,  and,  on  motion  of  J.  H. 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 

Day. 
Morning. 

Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Seats 
changed. 


Reports 
Nos.  V,  VI. 
VII,  and  IX, 

on  Judi- 
ciary. 


284 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 

Day. 
Morning. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Trustees. 


Compli- 
mentary 
Resolutions. 


Report 
No.  IX  on 
Temporal 
Economy. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


Reports  to 
be  pre- 
sented. 


Compli- 
mentary 
Resolutions 


Clendenning,  were  adopted.  Report  No.  VIII  was  read. 
S.  L.  Baldwin  moved  to  amend  by  striking  out  the  last 
clause.  Adopted.  A  motion  by  A.  J.  Kynett  to  re- 
commit was  not  passed,  and  the  report,  as  amended, 
was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  pp.  423,  424,  425.) 

Report  No.  I  on  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  presented  and  read,  the  Trustees  nominated 
were  confirmed,  and  the  report  was  adopted.  (See  Re- 
ports, p.  438.) 

G.  P.  Mains  moved  that  the  Bishops  appoint  a  com- 
mittee of  five  on  Complimentary  Resolutions.  Carried. 

Report  No.  IX  of  the  Committee  on  Temporal 
Economy  was  read. 

G.  D.  Lindsay  moved  that  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee be  amended  by  striking  out  the  clause  which  in- 
structs the  committee  to  pay  the  expenses  of  him  who 
takes  the  place  of  a  person  elected  to  the  Episcopacy. 
Laid  on  the  table. 

The  report  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  391.) 

J.  F.  Goucher  moved  that  the  report  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Constitution  be  made  the  Order  of  the  Day  for 
this  evening  at  eight  o'clock. 

A  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  did  not  prevail,  and  the 
motion  of  J.  F.  Goucher  was  carried. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
committees,  as  they  are  called  in  order,  shall  present 
their  reports,  all  they  may  have  in  hand,  until  debate 
shall  arise  on  any  question;  and  then  the  question  shall 
be  taken  upon  the  adoption  of  that  portion  of  the  re- 
port, or  that  report  already  made,  and  others  shall  be 
deferred  to  another  call. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  that  the  following  be  inserted 
in  the  Rules  of  Order:  "That  amendments  to  be  acted 
on  without  debate  may  be  made  under  the  previous 
question." 

A  motion  by  C.  J.  Little,  to  lay  on  the  table,  was  lost, 
and  the  motion  was  adopted. 

Bishop  Andrews  announced  the  Committee  on  Com- 
plimentary Resolutions.    (See  Committees,  p.  378.) 

The  Secretary  read  the  following  from  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church: 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


285 


Mobile,  Ala.,  May  25,  1896. 
Rev.  Dr.  D.  S.  Monroe,  Secretary  of  the  Methodist  General  (Conference, 
Cleveland,  0.: 

Thanks  for  greetings  from  our  Methodist  mother.  God  is  helping 
us  to  lift  our  Jeremiahs  from  the  American  dungeon  and  send  the 
blessed  Gospel  on  its  triumphant  way.    See  Jer.  xxxvii,  7-14. 

In  Gospel  bonds.  William  Howard  Day. 

Also  the  following: 

Piru,  Calif,  May  16-17,  1896. 
General  Conference,  care  Bishop  Goodsell,  Cleveland,  0.  : 

The  Los  Angeles  District  Branch  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society,  in  convention  assembled,  send  Christian  greetings  to  the 
Honorable  General  Conference  of  the  great  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  sitting  under  the  inspiring  motto,  "  The  whole  wide  world  for 
Jesus,"  getting  visions  of  the  perishing  needs  of  the  race.  We  make 
bold  to  ask  you  in  our  Master's  name :  make  enlarged  plans ;  lay  hold 
of  every  effective  agency  to  bring  the  world  to  Jesus ;  not  less  than 
eight  millions  for  missions  during  the  quadrennium.    (1st  Peter  i,  2.) 

By  order  of  the  Convention. 

Mrs.  H.  J.  Crist,  President. 
Mrs.  C.  R.  Patek,  Secretary. 

G.  C.  Sturgiss  called  up  Report  No.  VI  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Book  Concern.  G.  B.  Wight  moved  to  lay 
upon  the  table  that  part  of  the  report  of  the  commit- 
tee recommending  the  appointment  of  a  book  editor. 

F.  M.  Bristol  moved  to  amend  by  eliminating  so 
much  of  the  report  as  gives  to  the  Publishing  Agents 
the  power  to  nominate  this  editor. 

H.  A.  Buttz  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  the  election 
of  a  book  editor  be  referred  to  the  Book  Committee 
with  power  of  choice  of  editor  on  the  nomination  of 
the  Publishing  Agents  if,  in  their  judgment,  it  should 
be  found  desirable. 

W.  F.  Whitlock  moved  to  amend,  "that  the  Book 
Committee  shall  elect  the  book  editor  after  conference 
with  the  Agents."  J.  F.  Rusling  moved  to  lay  every- 
thing on  the  table  except  the  report  of  the  committee. 
Carried.  T.  B.  Neely  moved  to  strike  out  the  word 
"  shall,"  and  insert  "  may,"  so  that  it  will  read,  "they 
may  nominate,"  and  in  addition  to  strike  out  the  words, 
"  they  may  also  publish  any  new  work  which  the  book 
editor  may  approve."  Accepted. 

W.  S.  Matthew  moved  to  lay  the  report  on  the  table. 
The  motion  was  lost,  and  the  report  was  adopted.  (See 
Reports,  p.  394.) 

The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  presented  Report  No. 
VI.    The  Committee  on  Epworth  League  presented 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 
Day. 
Morniny. 
African 
Methodist 
Episcopal 

Zion 
Church. 


Woman's 
Foreign 

Missionary 
Society. 


Report 
No.  VI  on 
Book  Con- 
cern. 


Reports 
presented. 


286 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


tw  Jn?y-'  RePorts  Nos-  VIII  and  Ix>  the  latter  with  a  minority 
8dT£k     report.  ■ 

Moming.        After  the  usual  recess  the  Order  of  the  Day — the 

Consecra-      _  ^ 

ti0k;esrv"  Consecration  of  Bishops-elect — was,  on  motion,  taken 
up.    Bishop  Thomas  Bowman  presided. 

The  Bishops,  and  the  Bishops-elect,  accompanied  by 
their  presenters,  entered  the  room.  Hymn  810  was  an- 
nounced by  Bishop  Bowman,  after  the  singing  of  which 
Bishop  Vincent  read  the  Collect,  Bishop  Thoburn  read 
the  Epistle,  Bishop  Taylor  read  the  Gospel. 

Charles  Cardwell  McCabe  was  presented  bv  L.  D. 
McCabe  and  T.  C.  Iliff. 

Earl  Cranston  was  presented  by  D.  L.  Rader  and 
R.  S.  Rust. 

Joseph  Crane  Hartzell  was  presented  by  M.  C.  B. 
Mason  and  S.  L.  Beiler. 

The  call  to  prayer  was  read  by  Bishop  Ninde,  and 
prayer  was  offered  by  Bishop  FitzGerald.  The  exami- 
nation and  invocation  were  by  Bishop  Andrews.  The 
Veni  Creator  Spiritus  was  read  by  Bishop  Mallalieu. 
The  laying  on  of  hands  and  presentation  of  the  Bible 
was  in  the  following  order: 

Charles  Cardwell  McCabe,  Bishops  Foster,  Bowman, 
and  Hurst,  and  the  presenters. 

Earl  Cranston,  Bishops  Merrill,  Bowman,  and  Wal- 
den,  and  the  presenters. 

Joseph  Crane  Hartzell,  Bishops  Warren,  Bowman, 
and  Foss,  and  the  presenters. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  Bishop  Joyce.  The  82 2d 
hymn  was  announced  by  Bishop  Newman,  after  the 
singing  of  which  the  Conference  adjourned.  The  Dox- 
ology  was  sung,  and  the  benediction  was  pronounced 
by  Bishop  R.  S.  Foster. 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 
Day. 
Afternoon. 

Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION,  MAY  26. 

The  Conference  met  at  3  p.  m.,  Bishop  J.  M.  Walden 
in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  wrere  conducted  by  Sandford 
Van  Benschoten  of  the  Newark  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  the  morning  session  was  read  and 
approved. 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


287 


John  Field,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  was  re- 
ported as  having  arrived. 

W.  V.  Kelley  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  be  requested  to  appoint  fraternal  dele- 
gates as  follows : 

Two  to  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  and  the  Irish  Methodist 
Conference,  one  of  whom  shall  be  a  Bishop  elected  by  themselves. 
Two  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 
One  to  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada. 

One  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

One  to  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church. 
One  to  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
One  to  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 

And  others  to  other  Churches  whose  relations  to  us  may  require  such 
messengers. 

Also,  that  the  Bishops  provide  for  suitable  responses  to  any  fraternal 
correspondence  received  by  this  body. 

On  motion  of  J.  B.  Albrook,  the  following  was 
adopted : 

Whereas,  The  Epworth  League  is  a  constituent  part  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Board  of  Control  is  appointed  under  the  direction  of 
the  General  Conference  :  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Editors  of  the  Discipline  be  and  are  hereby  di- 
rected to  publish  the  Board  of  Control  as  paragraph  11  in  the  Ap- 
pendix of  the  Discipline,  immediately  following  the  Book  Committee. 

On  motion  of  J.  B.  Graw,  it  was  resolved  that  when 
we  adjourn  it  be  to  meet  at  7:30  o'clock  this  evening. 

The  Committee  on  Temperance  and  the  Prohibition 
of  the  Liquor  Traffic  called  up  Report  No.  I,  which  was 
read  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  413.) 

Report  No.  II  of  the  same  Committee  was  read. 
J.  E.  C.  Sawyer  moved  to  amend  by  adding  to  the 
title  "  and  Social  Reform."    Laid  on  the  table. 

J.  E.  Bills  moved  to  strike  out  the  proposition  for 
n  annual  collection. 
The   amendment  was  lost,  and  the   Report  was 
opted.    (See  Reports,  p.  415.) 

The  Rev.  F.  Fiske,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  L.  D.  McCabe, 
.D.,  was  invited  to  seats  on  the  platform. 
W.  II.  Brodbeck  called  up  Report  No.  Ill  of  the 
ommittee  on  Missions.    Sections  1,  2,  and  3  were 
opted.    Section  4  was  read. 
M.  E.  Cady  moved  to  amend  by  adding : 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Sunday  School  Missionary  Society  to  pro- 
'de,  with  the  consent  of  the  Sunday  School  Board,  for  brief  missionarv 
19 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 
Day. 
Afternoon. 
John  Field. 


Fraternal 
delegates. 


Epworth 
League 
Board  of 
Control. 


Evening 
session. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Temper- 
ance and 
Prohibition 
of  Liquor 

Traffic. 

Report 
No.  II  of 


Dr.  Fiske 
and  Dr. 
McCabe. 


Report 
No.  Ill  on 
Missions. 


288 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 
Day. 
Afternoon. 


Lay  mis- 


Report 


iepoi 
No.  IV  on 
Education. 


exercises  in  the  Sunday  school  oh  the  day  that  the  monthly  Missionary 
Collection  is  taken  ;  to  cause  suitable  literature  to  be  distributed  in 
the  Sunday  school,  and  to  arrange  for  occasional  missionary  concerts. 

D.  S.  Monroe  presented,  as  an  amendment,  to  strike 
out  of  paragraph  361  all  of  the  first  sentence  after  the 
word  "  society,"  and  insert,  "  in  accordance  with  para- 
graph 38  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline."  Both 
amendments  were  accepted. 

C.  C.  Wilbor  moved  to  strike  out  the  accepted 
amendment  of  M.  E.  Cady.    Laid  on  the  table. 

J.  F.  Chaffee  moved,  after   the   words   "  once  a 
month,"  to  insert  "  wherever  it  is  practicable."  Car- 
ried, and  the  section,  as  amended,  was  adopted. 
-    Section  5  was  read. 

J.  E.  Bills  moved  to  strike  out  that  part  relating  to 
"field  agent."  Carried  by  a  count  vote  of  172  ayes  to 
165  noes. 

T.  B.  Neely  moved  to  strike  out  so  much  of  the  report 
as  relates  to  the  lay  missionaries  participating  in  the 
business  of  the  Annual  Conferences.  Laid  on  the 
table  by  a  vote  of  238  ayes  to  105  noes. 

He  then  moved  to  indefinitely  postpone.  Laid  on 
the  table  by  a  vote  of  230  ayes  to  133  noes. 

Jacob  Rothweiler  moved  that  these  persons  named 
there  shall  be  admitted  to  Annual  Conferences  as  ad- 
visory members.    Laid  on  the  table. 

J.  W.  Van  Cleve  moved  to  add,  "  or  on  constitutional 
questions." 

J.  E.  Bills  moved  to  amend  by  referring  the  question 
to  the  Judiciary  Committee  for  a  report  on  its  con- 
stitutionality. 

This  amendment  did  not  prevail,  and  the  amendment 
of  J.  W.  Van  Cleve  was  adopted. 

J.  E.  Bills  moved  to  strike  out  from  this  provision 
all  that  relates  to  the  matter  of  voting  by  the  lay 
workers  invited  into  the  Annual  Conferences.  It  was 
laid  on  the  table  by  a  vote  of  216  ayes  to  146  noes. 

The  section,  as  amended,  was  carried,  and  the  report 
as  a  whole  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  3  99.) 

W.  F.  King  called  up  Report  No.  IV  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education,  and,  on  his  motion,  it  was  adopt- 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 

ed ;  as  were  also  Reports  Nos.  II,  V,  and  VI.  (See  Re- 
ports, pp.  402,  404.) 

Report  No.  Ill  of  the  same  Committee  was  read. 

J.  B.  Graw  moved  to  strike  out  section  4. 

A  motion  by  A.  J.  Kynett,  to  lay  this  motion  on  the 
table,  was  lost. 

The  motion  of  J.  B.  Graw  was  carried,  and  the  Re- 
port, as  amended,  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  403.) 

On  motion  of  W.  M.  Frysinger,  the  Conference  ad- 
journed. The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  Bishop  W.  F. 
Mallalieu  pronounced  the  benediction. 


289 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 
Day. 

Afternoon. 
Report 

No.  Ill  of 

same  com- 
mittee. 


Adjourned. 


TUESDAY  EVENING,  MAY  26. 

The  Conference  met  pursuant  to  adjournment, 
Bishop  W.  F.  Mallalieu  in  the  chair. 

W.  H.  Brooks,  of  the  Washington  Conference,  con- 
ducted the  devotional  services. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Kynett,  the  Rules  were  sus- 
pended, and  the  Rev.  Howard  Russell  was  given  twenty 
minutes  to  address  the  Conference  on  the  purposes  of 
the  Anti-Saloon  League. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  address  the  Order  of  the 
Day,  the  consideration  of  the  Report  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Constitution,  was  taken  up. 

Article  IV  was  adopted.  Article  V  was  read,  and 
sections  1  and  2  were  adopted. 

Section  3  was  read.  J.  M.  Buckley  moved  to  amend, 
by  inserting  after  the  word  "  time "  "  constituted  in 
the  usual  way."  The  motion  prevailed,  and  the  section, 
as  amended,  was  adopted. 

Section  4  was  read,  and,  on  motion  of  J.  G.  Evans, 
the  words  "  or  to  elect  delegates  thereto 99  were  added, 
and  the  section  was  adopted. 

On  motion  of  A.  B.  Leonard,  section  5  was  stricken 
out. 

Article  VI  was  read.  Section  1  was  adopted.  Sec- 
tion 2  was  read.  H.  E.  Dingley  moved  to  strike  out 
"  ministerial."  Laid  on  the  table.  On  motion  of  A. 
W.  Harris,  all  after  the  words  "  pro  tempore "  was 
stricken  out,  and  the  section  was  adopted.  Section  3 
was  adopted. 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 
Day. 
Evening. 

Devotional 
services. 


H.  RusselL 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Constitu- 
tion. 


290 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  26. 

Twenty- 
second 

Day. 
Evening. 


Adjourned. 


Article  VII  was  taken  up.    On  motion  of  A.  B. 
Leonard,  after  the  word  "  or,"  on  the  fourth  line,  the 
words  "  in  his  absence  "  were  inserted,  and  the  article,] 
as  amended,  was  adopted.    Sections  2,  4,  5,  and  6  were 
adopted. 

Article  VIII  was  read.  W.  H.  Jordan  moved  to  I 
strike  out  the  article.  The  motion  was  laid  on  the 
table,  and  the  article  was  adopted. 

Article  IX  was  read  and  adopted. 

Article  X  was  read.  C.  J.  Little  moved  to  strike  out! 
the  entire  article,  and  insert  paragraphs  63  to  68  of  the! 
Discipline. 

L.  M.  Shaw  moved  to  amend  this  last  rule,  section! 
68,  by  inserting  after  the  words  "  who  shall  be  present! 
and  voting"  the  following,  "and  three  fourths  of  the! 
number  of  the  Lay  Electoral  Conferences,  present  and! 
voting;"  and  in  the  last  part  of  the  same  section,  after! 
the  same  words,  "  present  and  voting,"  "  three  quarters] 
of  the  members  of  the  Lay  Electoral  Conferences  pres- 
ent and  voting." 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  Bishop  C.  H.  Fowler  pronounced  the 
benediction. 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 
Morning. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Rev.  J.  P. 
Gaskell. 


Leaves  of 
absence  and 
reserves 
seated. 


WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  MAY  27. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  C.  H.  Fowler  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  E. 
Williams,  of  the  Genesee  Conference. 

The  minutes  of  the  sessions  of  yesterday  afternoon 
and  evening  were  read  and  approved. 

C.  H.  Payne  stated  that  the  Rev.  James  P.  Gaskill, 
fraternal  delegate  from  the  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  was  present,  and,  on  motion  of  E.  W.  S. 
Hammond,  he  was  invited  to  address  the  Conference 
for  ten  minutes,  and  he  presented  the  greetings  of  his 
Church.     (See  Fraternal  Addresses,  p.  530.) 

The  following  members  were  excused  from  further 
attendance  during  the  session:  T.  B.  Taylor,  G.  W. 
Bowen,  A.  W.  Biddle,  F.  M.  Bristol,  Asbury  Mick, 
J.  E.  C.  Farnham,  and  J.  W.  Jamison.    C.  B.  Graham, 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


291 


of  the  West  Virginia  Conference,  a  reserve  delegate, 

was  seated  in  the  place  of  Asbury  Mick;  Samuel  L. 

Wood,  a  reserve  delegate  of  the  Pittsburg  Conference, 

in  the  place  of  T.  B.  Noss;  and  H.  F.  Fiske,  a  reserve 

delegate  of  the  Rock  River  Conference,  in  the  place  of 

F.  M.  Bristol. 

W.  F.  Warren  presented  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  requests  the  Bishops  to  ap- 
point a  committee  to  consist  of  six  laymen,  six  ministers,  and  three 
general  superintendents,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  review  the  work  of 
the  Constitutional  Commission  of  1888,  the  recommendations  of  the 
Committee  on  Constitution  appointed  by  the  General  Conference  of 
1896,  and  the  recommendations  of  all  General  Conference  Committees 
on  Lay  Representation  ;  also  to  consider  with  care  any  memorials  that 
may  be  addressed  to  the  new  committee  over  the  signature  of  any  five 
ministers  or  laymen  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  report, 
first,  a  draft  which  shall  set  forth  in  well-defined  terms  and  in  logically 
arranged  articles  the  existing  organic  law  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church ;  and,  secondly,  any  modification  of  said  organic  law  which  the 
new  committee  may  recommend  for  adoption  by  the  concurrent  action 
of  the  General  Conference  and  the  members  of  the  Annual  Confer- 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 
Morning. 


Constitu- 
tion. 


It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  new  committee  to  present  its  report  to 
the  Church  papers  for  publication  as  early  as  January,  1899,  and  after 
revising  it  between  January  1  and  May  1,  1900,  in  the  light  of  all  dis- 
cussions and  amendments  then  available,  to  present  it  in  its  final  form 
to  the  General  Conference  of  1900. 

The  following  substitute,  presented  by  Elvin  Swarth- 

out,  was,  on  motion  of  J.  A.  Sargent,  laid  on  the  table, 

and  the  original  motion  was  adopted: 

Whereas,  It  is  evident  from  the  discussions  in  General  Conferences 
and  in  books  and  periodicals  for  eight  years  and  more  that  it  is  morally 
impossible  to  agree,  even  approximately,  among  ourselves  what  part  of 
the  Discipline,  if  any,  "  has  the  nature  and  force  of  a  Constitution ; " 
and, 

Whereas,  The  recognized  process  of  amending  whatever  is  claimed 
as  constitutional  is  both  slow  and  unsatisfactory,  and  out  of  harmony 
with  the  spirit  of  American  ideas  of  equality,  putting  it  in  the  power  of 
a  small  minority  of  the  traveling  preachers  to  obstruct  the  wishes  of 
more  than  two  thirds  of  their  ministerial  brethren  and  to  wholly  ignore 
the  almost  unanimous  wishes  of  the  laity,  as  has  been  lately  shown  by 
the  votings  on  equal  lay  representation  and  the  admission  of  women ; 
and, 

Whereas,  It  is  absolutely  impossible  for  such  a  body  as  this  General 
Conference  to  give  the  deliberation  necessary  for  the  preparation  of 
matter  for  the  action  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  even  if  there  were 
not  inherent  objections  to  that  method  of  amending  the  Constitution  ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  there  be  and  is  hereby  created  a  Constitutional 
Commission  with  full  power  to  revise  and  amend  the  Constitution  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  its  present  world- 
wide field,  and  in  the  language  of  the  Bishops  in  their  address  of  1888, 
to  "  remove  ambiguity,  extirpate  doubt,  and  obviate  possible  perplexing 
discussions  in  the  future."  Said  Constitutional  Commission  shall  be 
com  posed  of  two  ministers  and  two  laymen  from  each  of  the  General 


292 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 
Morning. 


Report  of 
expenses. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Arbitration. 

Temper- 
ance. 


Reports 
Nos.  Ill  and 
IV  on  Sun- 
day Schools 
and  Tracts. 


Report 
No.  VI  on 

Church 
Extension. 

Insurance. 


Conference  Districts  as  they  now  exist,  the  ministerial  members  thereof 
and  one  reserve  to  be  elected  by  ballot,  by  the  ministerial  members 
of  the  present  General  Conference  from  the  several  General  Confer- 
ence Districts,  and  the  lay  members  thereof  and  one  reserve  to  be 
elected  in  like  manner  by  the  lay  members  of  this  General  'Conference. 
All  representatives  thus  chosen  to  be  not  less  than  thirty  years  of  age 
and  to  reside  in  the  district  they  represent. 

2.  The  Constitutional  Commission  thus  chosen  shall  meet  in  the  city 
of  Chicago  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  August,  1896,  at  10  o'clock  a.  m., 
at  such  place  as  may  be  provided  for  the  Book  Agent  resident  at 
Chicago.  It  shall  organize  by  the  election  of  one  of  its  members  as 
president  and  one  as  secretary,  and  such  other  officers  as  the  Commis- 
sion thus  organized  may  deem  necessary.  It  shall  be  governed  by  the 
Rules  of  Order  of  the  present  General  Conference  as  far  as  they  may  be 
applicable  until  the  same  is  changed  by  the  said  Commission.  A 
majority  of  the  members  elected  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the 
transaction  of  business,  but  no  measure  that  does  not  on  its  final 
passage  receive  a  majority  of  the  members  elected  shall  be  adopted. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Palmer,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
Committee  on  Entertainment  be  permitted  to  print  in 
the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline  of  1896  its  report;  also, 
that  iy  case  there  is  a  deficiency  in  the  money  needed 
to  pa  n  the  expenses  of  this  General  Conference,  the 
comm.  tee  be  authorized  to  borrow  from  the  Book  Con- 
cern in  equal  amounts  from  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Houses. 

Report  No.  II  of  the  Committee  on  National  Arbi- 
tration was  read  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  432.) 

C.  M.  Boswell  was  placed  on  the  Permanent  Com- 
mittee on  Temperance  in  place  of  W.  M.  Swindells, 
who  declined  to  serve. 

Reports  Nos.  Ill  and  IY  of  the  Committee  on  Sunday 
Schools  and  Tracts  were  called  up,  and,  on  motion  of  J.  B. 
Young,  were  adopted.    (See  Reports,  pp.  405,  406.) 

W.  M.  Swindells  moved  the  adoption  of  Report  No. 
VI  of  the  Committee  on  Church  Extension. 

L.  B.  Wilson  moved  that  a  committee  of  fifteen  be 
appointed  by  the  Bishops,  to  whom  the  report  of  the 
committee  on  the  subject  of  insurance  shall  be  referred, 
and  who  shall  be  authorized  to  consider  this  plan  pre- 
sented, and  put  its  provisions  into  effect  if  it  shall 
seem  wise  so  to  do.  .  Laid  on  the  table. 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  to  add,  "and  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, if  practicable."    Laid  on  the  table. 

C.  J.  North  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  a  Board  of 
Insurance  be  appointed  by  the  Bishops,  consisting  of 
fifteen   persons  in  the  city  of  Chicago   or  general 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


293 


vicinity,  and  that  the  headquarters  of  the  board  be  lo- 
cated at  Chicago.  The  Board  of  Insurance  shall  be 
authorized  to  adapt  the  Constitution  to  this  change  in 
the  manner  of  its  appointment. 

L.  B.  Wilson  moved  that  the  entire  committee  be 
appointed  by  the  Bishops. 

On  motion  of  D.  C.  Plannette,  this  was  laid  on  the 
table. 

A  motion,  that  the  whole  matter  be  referred  to  the 
committee  provided  for  in  the  report,  was  laid  on  the 
table. 

J.  F.  Rusling  moved  a  vote  by  orders,  which  was 
not  sustained,  and  the  report  was  adopted.  (See  Re- 
ports, p.  407.) 

J.  D.  Hammond,  a  reserve  delegate  from  California, 
was  seated  in  the  place  of  Jphn  Coyle,  called  home. 

The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  presented  Report  No. 
VII. 

John  Lanahan  moved  a  reconsideration  ofiijReport 
No.  VIII  of  the  Committee  on  Judiciary.  Carried. 
John  Lanahan  moved  to  recommit.  Bishop  Merrill 
was  granted  privilege  to  speak  on  the  matter  of  the 
report.  L.  B.  Wilson  moved  to  add  the  words,  "  a 
respected  member  of  the  New  York  East  Conference." 
Passed. 

A  motion  by  J.  S.  Chadwick,  to  strike  out  the  last 
three  lines,  was  laid  on  the  table.  C.  S.  Wing  moved 
to  strike  out  the  words  "  claims  to  have,"  so  that  the 
sentence  will  read,  "  from  this  decision  Joseph  Pullman 
appeals  to  the  General  Conference."  And  also  the 
word  "  alleged,"  so  that  the  last  sentence  of  that  clause 
will  read,  "  The  appeal  is  not  accompanied  by  a  tran- 
script,* etc. 

The  amendment  prevailed,  and  the  report,  as 
amended,  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  424.) 

T.  B.  Neely  presented  the  following  protest,  which 
was  ordered  to  be  published  in  the  Journal: 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  convened 
in  Cleveland,  0.,  May,  1896  : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  undersigned  respectfully  enter 
their  protest  against  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  26th  instant,  in  adopting  the  following  in  relation  to  the 
membership  of  Annual  Conferences  in  foreign  lands,  namely  :  "  Lay 


MAY  27. 

TWENTY- 
THIRD  DA  Y 

Morning. 


Report  No. 
VI  adopted. 


J.  D.  Ham- 
mond. 


Report 
No.  VII  on 
Itinerancy. 

Report 
No.  VIII  on 
Judiciary. 


294 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


MA\  27.  missionaries  in  foreign  missions  regularly  appointed  by  the  Board  of 
thSdday  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  shall  be  subject  to  appointment  by 
Morning.  the  Bishop  presiding,  or,  in  the  absence  of  a  Bishop,  by  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  mission.  They  may,  upon  invitation  of  the  Conference, 
occupy  seats  in  the  Annual  Conferences,  participate  in  the  business 
thereof ;  provided  that  they  shall  not  be  permitted  to  vote  on  any  ques- 
tion that  relates  to  the  character  or  Conference  relations  of  ministers, 
or  be  counted  in  the  basis  of  representation  in  the  General  Conference '; 
and  provided,  also,  that  they  shall  not  vote  for  ministerial  delegates  to 
the  General  Conference,  or  on  constitutional  questions." 

We  protest  against  this  action  because  the  composition  of  the 
Annual  Conference  is  a  matter  involving  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
Church,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  recognizes  ministers  only 
as  members  of  any  Annual  Conference.  Relating  as  it  does  to  the 
Constitution,  it  can  be  changed  only  by  the  constitutional  process  for 
amendment,  which  requires  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the 
General  Conference  and  a  three  fourths  vote  of  the  members  of  the 
Annual  Conferences.  We  therefore  protest  against  the  attempt  of  the 
General  Conference  to  change  the  composition  of  any  Annual  Confer- 
ence without  a  three  fourths  vote  of  the  members  in  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences. 

We  protest,  also,  that  it  is  a  violation  of  the  fundamental  law  in  that 
it  proposes  the  introduction  of  a  new  class  of  members  in  the  Annual 
Conference ;  whereas  the  Constitution  does  not  recognize  any  member- 
ship but  that  which  has  full  powers,  while  the  action  in  question  pro- 
poses to  give  the  laity  seats  with  restricted  powers. 

We  also  protest  that  the  action  is  illegal  in  that  it  proposes  to  give 
Annual  Conferences  power  to  admit  persons  to  membership  in  a  man- 
ner contrary  to  the  law  and  the  Constitution. 

T.  B.  Neely,  J.  T.  McFarland,  John  F.  Goucher,  E.  S.  Osbon,  James 
E.  Bills,  John  Lanah'an,  L.  B.  Wilson,  W.  S.  Edwards,  J.  G.  Evans, 
H.  D.  Clark,  J.  B.  Graw,  James  R.  Mace,  George  B.  Wight,  Joseph  L. 
Roe,  John  E.  Williams,  S.  A.  Morse,  E.  H.  Latimer,  C.  W.  Winchester, 
J.  L.  Romer,  T.  R.  Green,  R.  D.  Munger,  John  C.  Nichols,  James  R. 
Day,  L.  H.  Stewart,  EarlD.  Holtz,  D.  H.  Muller,  James  M.  King,  C.  W. 
Millard,  E.  D.  Whitlock,  J.  L.  Wigren,  J.  W.  Jackson,  Elvin  Swarth- 
out,  Henrv  Dietz,  George  D.  Lindsay,  A.  W.  Harris,  George  C.  Sturgiss, 
W.  F.  T.'Bushnell,  J.A.Sargent,  J.  S.  Hill,  W.  H.  Wilder,  Christie 
Galeener,  John  A.  Kumler,  John  B.  Wolfe,  Horace  Reed,  R.  T.  Miller, 
J.  D.  Walsh,  R.  J.  Cook,  Jacob  Mills,  R.  E.  Gillum,  H.  L.  Billups, 
George  S.  Bennett,  Eiji  Asada,  C.  D.  Hammond,  Albert  J.  Nast, 
Robert  Forbes,  E.  M.  Collett,  J.  I.  Buell,  M.  C.  Wilcox,  T.  B.  Ford, 
J.  M.  Carter,  G.  W.  Gue,  John  Parsons,  A.  B.  F.  Kinney,  J.  F.  Core, 
S.  A.  Hugai-,  J.  H.  Clendenning,  H.  P.  Sullivan,  James  W.  Whiting, 
A.  T.  Needham,  John  Kirby,  Milton  D.  Buck,  J.  H.  Coleman,  G.  A. 
Barrett,  G.  H.  Bridgman,  John  Mitchell,  H.  J.  Gidley,  S.  F.  Upham, 
D.  0.  Fox,  J.  C.  Deininger,  D.  C.  Plannette,  W.  H.  Shier,  F.  J.  Cheney, 
W.  L.  Gooding,  W.  H.  Rose,  F.  L.  Nagler,  C.  J.  Larsen,  J.  Kern,  H. 
Lemcke,  J.  Wuhrmann,  W.  H.  Jordan,  N.  E.  Simonsen,  D.  S.  Ham- 
mond, B.  F.  Witherspoon,  T.  Jefferson  Clark,  J.  E.  Wilson,  C.  L. 
Stafford,  Andrew  Schriver,  John  A.  Mansfield,  D.  S.  Monroe,  Robert  R. 
Doherty,  William  Kepler,  C.  C.  Wilbor,  E.  M.  Mills,  William  Wallis. 

Bo^W;sEr'e-      J.  W.  E.  Bowen  presented  his  report  as  fraternal 
port.      delegate  to  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
which  was  received,  and  ordered  to  be  published  in  the 
Journal. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Location  of  the 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


295 


Seat  of  the  next  General  Conference  was  presented  and 
read.  E.  L.  Eaton  moved  its  adoption.  A  motion  that 
we  now  proceed  to  fix  a  place  was  laid  on  the  table. 
J.  F.  Chaffee  moved  to  substitute  the  Book  Committee 
as  the  Commission.  The  substitute  was  accepted  and 
passed,  and  the  report,  as  "amended,  was  adopted.  (See 
Reports,  p.  433.) 

On  motion  of  E.  M.  Jones,  P.  P.  Wright  was  ex- 
cused from  further  attendance  at  the  Conference. 

Reports  Nos.  II  and  III  of  the  Committee  on  Freed- 
men's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  were  read 
and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  pp.  409,  411.) 

Report  No.  V  of  the  Committee  on  Epworth  League 
was  taken  up,  and,  on  motion '  of  E.  M.  Mills,  was 
adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  416.) 

Report  No.  II  of  the  same  committee  was  read. 
J.  B.  Graw  moved  to  strike  out  all  references  to  an  as- 
sistant secretary.    Laid  on  the  table. 

G.  H.  Trevor  moved,  as  a  substitute  for  the  recom- 
mendation, that  if  we  shall  elect  a  secretary  he  shall 
devote  himself  largely  to  the  Southern  work.  Laid  on 
Xhe  table. 

P.  J.  Maveety  moved  that  in  case  a  secretary  for 
the  colored  work  in  the  South  be  ordered,  we  recom- 
mend to  the  Board  of  Control  to  discontinue  the  office 
of  secretary.    Laid  on  the  table. 

A  motion  by  J.  C.  Arbuckle,  that  the  Board  of  Con- 
trol be  instructed  not  to  elect  more  than  one  secretary, 
was  laid  on  the  table.  • 

A  motion  to  lay  the  report  on  the  table  did  not  pre- 
vail, and  the  report  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  415.) 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.  The  Doxology 
was  sung,  and  Bishop  Taylor  pronounced  the  benedic- 
tion. 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 

Morning. 

Report 

No.  I  on 
seat  of  next 

General 
Conference. 


P.P.Wright 
excused. 


Reports 
Nos.  II  and 

III  on 
Freedmen's 
Aid  and 
Southern 
Education 
Society. 
Report 
No.  V  on 
Epworth 
League. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Epworth 
League. 


Adjourned. 


WEDNESDAY  AFTERNOON,  MAY  27.  may  27. 

TWENTY- 

1  he  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  3  p.  m.,  Bishop  third  day 

T   TT    -iT.  .11.  Afternoon. 

J.  II.  Vincent  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  L. 
Romer,  a  lay  delegate  of  the  Genesee  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  the  morning  session  was  read  and 
approved. 


Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


296 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 
Afternoon. 
Death  of 
J.  F.  Scott. 


Conference 
examina- 
tions. 


On  motion  of  S.  L.  Baldwin,  the  following  paper  was 
read  and  adopted : 

The  General  Conference  learns  with  deep  sorrow  that  one  of  its 
honored  members,  Julian  F.  Scott,  M.D.,  lay  delegate  from  the  North 
China  Conference,  died  at  the  Forest  City  Hotel  a  few  minutes  after 
12  o'clock,  noon,  this  day. 

We  bow  submissively  to  the  providence  which  has  thus  removed  an 
earnest  and  faithful  missionary  of  the  cross,  who  devoted  his  medical 
and  surgical  skill  to  the  service  of  his  Lord  in  our  North  China  field, 
and  whose  gentle  disposition  and  consistent  piety  endeared  him  to  all 
his  fellow-members.  We  extend  our  sincere  condolence  to  his  widow, 
to  his  brother,  the  Rev.  Jefferson  E.  Scott,  and  to  other  bereaved  rela- 
tives, praying  that  the  rich  consolations  of  the  Holy  Comforter  may  be 
bestowed  upon  them  in  this  hour  of  great  affliction. 

We  appoint  Bishop  Foster,  Drs.  A.  B.  Leonard,  W.  F.  Whitlock,  H. 
H.  Lowry,  and  M.  C.  Wilcox  to  represent  the  General  Conference  at 
the  funeral  services  to-morrow  morning. 

The  Conference  joined  in  singing, 

"  I  would  not  live  alway." 

Bishop  Foster  led  in  prayer,  and  the  Conference 
joined  in  singing, 

"  0,  think  of  a  home  over  there." 
Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst  presented  the  following: 

By  reference  to  page  442  of  the  General  Conference  Journal  of  four 
years  ago,  you  will  find  this  action  : 

" Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy,  No.  VI,  on 
Conference  Examinations  in  the  Disciplinary  Course  of  Study,  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Bishops  with  power  to  adopt  its  provisions  at  their  dis- 
cretion during  the  quadrennium.    They  now  present  their  report." 

METHOD  OF  CONDUCTING  CONFERENCE  EXAMINATIONS. 

1.  In  each  Annual  Conference  a  Board  of  Examiners  shall  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  Presiding  Bishop,  consisting  of  not  less  than  eight  (8) 
nor  more  than  twenty  (20),  care  being  taken  to  select  men  with  special 
qualifications  for  the  work,  to  whom  shall  be  referred  all  preachers, 
both  traveling  and  local,  pursuing  the  course  of  study  with  a  view  to 
ordination  or  Conference  membership.  This  board  shall  be  continued 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  subject  to  reappointments.  Vacancies  to  be 
filled  at  each  session  of  the  Annual  Conference. 

2.  This  board  shall  organize  by  electing  one  of  its  members  chair- 
man and  another  registrar,  the  latter  to  keep  a  permanent  record  of 
the  standing  of  the  students,  and  report  to  the  Conference  when  re- 
quired. This  record  shall  include  the  credits  allowed  students  for 
work  done  in  literary  and  theological  schools. 

3.  The  chairman  shall  assign  to  each  examiner  the  books  or  subjects 
in  which  he  is  to  give  instructions  by  correspondence  and  final  exam- 
ination, for  which  examination  he  shall  prepare  and  send  to  the  chair- 
man printed  or  written  questions,  at  least  ten  in  number,  two  weeks 
before  the  time  of  examination.  Vacancies  occurring  in  the  board 
during  the  year  may  be  filled  by  the  chairman  until  the  ensuing 
Annual  Conference. 

4.  One  or  two  examinations  may  be  held  during  the  year  in  locations 
convenient  to  the  students.  These  examinations  shall  be  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  some  member  of  the  board  delegated  by  the 
chairman. 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


297 


5.  The  examinations  shall  be  in  writing,  if  practicable,  and  in  the 
presence  of  witnesses,  and  in  that  case  the  papers  shall  be  sent  to  the 
examiners  to  whom  they  belong  respectively.  They  shall  be  graded 
upon  the  scale  of  100,  and  none  below  70  per  cent  shall  pass.  The 
examiners  shall  report  the  marking  of  each  paper  to  the  registrar. 

6.  The  provision  for  mid-year  examinations  shall  not  deprive  any 
student  of  the  opportunity  of  being  examined  at  the  seat  and  time  of 
the  Annual  Conference. 

7.  The  Board  of  Examiners  shall  convene  at  the  seat  and  time  of 
the  Annual  Conference,  the  day  before  the  session  opens,  to  review 
and  complete  the  work  of  the  year ;  to  examine  any  students  who  have 
not  been  examined  during  the  year,  and  to  arrange  for  the  work  of  the 
vear  to  come. 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 
Afternoon. 


A.  B.  Leonard  presented  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  which,  having  been  read,  was  or- 
dered to  be  published  in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate 
and  other  official  papers  of  the  Church. 

The  nominations  for  the  various  Church  Boards  were 
presented  and  ordered  to  be  published  in  the  Daily 
Christian  Advocate  to  be  acted  on  to-morrow. 

Report  No.  II  of  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  was 
taken  up. 

E.  W.  Parker  moved  to  strike  out  from  the  provi- 
sions for  the  formation  of  Judicial  Conferences  the 
words  "  in  the  United  States."  Carried.  Emory  Miller 
moved  to  strike  out  in  paragraph  265  the  word  "may" 
and  insert  "  shall."  Carried.  The  report,  as  amended, 
was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  418.) 

Report  No.  I  of  the  same  committee  was  taken  up. 
W.  A.  Knighten  moved  to  lay  item  1  on  the  table.  Lost. 
W.  W.  Evans  moved  that  after  the  words,  "  and  it  be 
deemed  practicable  by  the  presiding  elder,"  there  be 
added,  "  the  accused  consenting."  On  motion  of  W. 
S.  Matthew,  item  1  was  laid  on  the  table.  Items  5,  6, 
and  7  were  adopted,  and  the  report,  as  amended,  was 
adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  418.) 

The  Committee  on  Boundaries  presented  Report 
No.  II. 

L.  A.  Belt  called  up  Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee 
on  Consolidation  of  Benevolences  which  was  read,  and, 
on  motion  of  J.  D.  Walsh,  it  was  laid  on  the  table. 

The  Committee  on  Education  presented  Reports 
Nos.  VII  and  VIII. 

On  motion,  adjourned.  The  Doxology  was  sung,  and 
Bishop  J.  H.  Vincent  pronounced  the  benediction 


Missionary 
appeal. 


Church 
Boards. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Judiciary 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Judiciary. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Boundaries. 

Report 
No.  I  on 
Consolida- 
tion of  Be- 
nevolences. 


Reports 
Nos.  VII 
and  VIII  on 
Education. 

Adjourned. 


298 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 
Evening. 


Devotional 
services. 


Final  ad- 
journment. 


Speeches 
limited. 


General 
Conference 
documents. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Lay  Repre- 
sentation. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Lay  Repre- 
sentation. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Deaconess 
Work. 


WEDNESDAY  EVENING,  MAY  27. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  7:30  p.  m., 
Bishop  J.  N.  FitzGerald  presiding. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  R.  D. 
Munger,  of  the  Central  New  York  Conference. 

The  Minutes  of  the  afternoon  session  were  read  and 
approved. 

Several  motions  were  made  for  a  final  adjournment 
this  evening,  but  they  were  all  laid  on  the  table. 

On  motion  of  W.  H.  Wilder,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  rules  be  so  changed  as  to  limit  the  speeches  of  the 
chairman  of  a  committee  to  five  minutes,  and  all  others 
to  three  minutes. 

J.  A.  Sargent  presented  the  following,  which  was 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  is  authorized  to  return  the  proceedings 
of  Judicial  Conferences  to  the  Annual  Conferences  interested,  and  to 
destroy  other  papers  referred  to  committees  ;  and  is  also  authorized  to 
make  such  verbal  corrections  in  the  phraseology  of  the  Journal  as 
may  be  necessary  to  correctness  and  uniformity,  but  so  as  not  to  de- 
stroy the  meaning  of  any  action  of  this  Conference. 

The  Committee  on  Lay  Representation  called  up 
Report  No.  I,  and  Alexander  Ashley  moved  its  adop- 
tion. J.  B.  Graw  moved  to  insert  the  word  "  submit " 
instead  of  "recommend."  J.  F.  Rusling  moved  to  lay 
this  on  the  table.  Lost.  The  amendment  was  passed. 
The  report,  as  amended,  was  adopted  by  a  count  vote 
of  289  ayes  to  47  noes.    (See  Reports,  p.  428.) 

Report  No.  II  of  the  same  Committee  was  taken  up, 
and,  on  motion  of  John  Lanahan,  it  was  laid  on  the 
table. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Deaconess  Work 
was  taken  up. 

A  motion  by  W.  M.  Swindells,  to  indefinitely  post- 
pone, was  lost. 

T.  B.  Neely  moved  to  strike  out  of  paragraph  203 
these  words,  "  and  shall  arrange  for  their  consecration 
as  deaconesses  according  to  the  uniform  order  pre- 
scribed by  the  Discipline."  Lost. 

J.  A.  Sargent  presented  the  following,  which  was 

laid  on  the  table: 

Resolved,  That  there  may  be  held  a  Conference  of  Deaconesses  an- 
nually of  one  or  more  of  the  General  Conference  Districts  for  the  pro- 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


299 


motion  of  the  interests  of  the  deaconess  work.  Such  conference 
may  be  called  by  the  Bishop  residing  in  or  nearest  to  said  districts, 
and  when  such  conference  is  held  each  form  of  deaconess  work  in 
such  district  or  districts  shall  be  entitled  to  representation  therein. 

A  motion  by  T.  B.  Neely,  to  strike  out  in  paragraph 
204  these  words,  "  she  shall  also  wear  a  distinctive  cos- 
tume prescribed  by  the  home  with  which  she  is  con- 
nected," etc.,  was  laid  on  the  table.  The  report,  as 
amended,  was  then  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  426.) 

Report  No.  XII  of  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern 
was  read  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  437.) 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Trustees  of  John 
Street  Church  was  read  and  adopted,  and  the  trustees 
named  therein  were  confirmed.    (See  Reports,  p.  697.) 

The  regular  call  for  reports  of  committees  having 
been  completed,  the  chairmen  of  the  different  Standing 
and  Special  Committees,  in  accordance  with  the  action 
of  Conference,  took  control  of  the  business — having 
precedence  over  everything  else. 

Bishop  C.  C.  McCabe  took  the  chair. 

Report  No.  X  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  was 
taken  up. 

A.  J.  Kynett  moved  to  strike  out  in  the  nineteenth 
line  of  the  report  as  printed  in  the  Daily  Christian 
Advocate  the  words  "  at  least,"  and  in  the  second  line 
after  the  word  quadrennium  insert  the  words,  "  and  not 
oftener  unless  a  serious  emergency  arise."  Carried. 
A.  B.  Leonard  moved,  as  a  substitute,  that  a  General 
Superintendent  may,  by  mutual  agreement  with  the 
Missionary  Superintendent  appointed  to  a  given  foreign 
field,  preside  in  Conferences  and  Missions  in  said  field, 
and  where  so  presiding  shall  exercise  the  same  authority 
as  in  the  United  States;  provided,  that  upon  the  de- 
parture of  the  General  Superintendent  from  the  field 
the  supervision  of  the  work  shall  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  Missionary  Superintendent.  We  recommend  that 
by  such  mutual  agreement  as  is  provided  for  in  this 
paragraph  a  General  Superintendent  shall  preside  in 
the  Conferences  and  Missions  at  least  once  in  a  quad- 
rennium in  each  field  to  which  a  Missionary  Superin- 
tendent is  appointed.  Laid  on  the  table.  A  motion  by 
W.  S.  Matthew  to  substitute  "  General  Conference 
which"  for  "Superintendents  who  "  was  also  laid  on 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
THiitn  Day 

Evening. 


Report 
No.  XII  on 
Book  Con- 
cern. 

Report 
No.  I  on 
John  Street 
Church. 


Bishop 
McCahe 
presides. 
Report 
No.  X  on 
Episcopacy. 


800 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


may  27.  the  table.    T.  B.  Neely  moved  to  strike  out,  "  when 

Twenty- 

third  day  General  Superintendents  are  making  their  assignments 
Evening-  tQ  ^e  Conferences,  any  Missionary  Bishop  who  may 
be  in  the  United  States  shall  sit  with  them  when  his 
field  is  under  consideration."  Laid  on  the  table. 
The  report,  as  amended,  was  adopted.  (See  Reports, 
p.  381.) 

Notion  ^'  Upham  reported  from  the  Committee  on  Itin- 

itin^rancy.  erancv  that  part  of  Report  No.  II  relating  to  the  time 
limit,  and  moved  its  adoption. 

J.  F.  Chaffee  presented  a  minority  report,  as  follows: 

A  minority  of  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy,  not  being  able  to  agree 
with  the  majority,  beg  leave  to  present  the  following  report : 

"  We  are  not  agreed  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done.  Some  of  us  are  of 
the  opinion  that  the  term  of  pastoral  service  should  remain  as  it  is ; 
others  are  in  favor  of  removing  the  pastoral  term  limit  altogether  in 
order  that  we  may  have  a  free  and  unembarrassed  itinerancy ;  but  we 
all  agree  in  this,  that  to  condition  the  extension  of  the  term  of  pas- 
toral service,  as  proposed  in  the  majority  report,  would  work  mischief 
in  the  churches.  In  our  opinion  it  is  better  to  be  content  with  what  we 
have  until  such  times  as  we  shall  be  convinced  that  a  change  can  be 
made  with  safety,  and  therefore  without  menacing  conditions  such  as 
are  now  sought  to  be  imposed — conditions  which,  after  five  years' 
service,  introduces  an  entirely  new  method  of  making  the  appointments. 

"  We  are  also  of  the  opinion  that  this  whole  question  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Annual  and  Lay  Electoral  Conferences,  not  as  a  consti- 
tutional question,  but  that  there  may  be  full  discussion  and  a  fair  and 
free  expression  of  opinion  among  the  laity  and  ministry  of  the  Church  ; 
therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  be  instructed  to  present  to  the  Annual 
and  Lay  Electoral  Conferences  in  the  fall  of  1898,  and  the  spring  of 
1899,  the  question  of  the  pastoral  term  limit  in  this  form  and  order: 
First,  Shall  it  remain  as  it  is  ?  Second,  Shall  it  be  extended  with  con- 
ditions ?    Third,  Shall  it  be  removed  altogether  ?  " 

A  motion  by  John  Lanahan  to  lay  the  entire  question 
on  the  table  was  lost. 

J.  M.  King  moved  to  amend  the  majority  report  by 
striking  out  of  section  3,  paragraph  170,  all  after  the 
word  "  preachers  "  down  to  the  second  section,  which 
bears  on  presiding  elders.  On  motion  of  E.  J.  Gray, 
this  was  laid  on  the  table  by  a  count  vote  of  180  ayes 
to  150  noes. 

M.  D.  Buck  moved  that  it  be  amended  so  as  to  read, 
"  He  shall  not  allow  any  preacher  to  remain  in  the  same 
pastoral  charge  more  than  five  years  successively  nor 
more  than  five  years  in  ten,  except  in  a  very  rare  case 
of  manifest  and  great  urgency,  a  majority  of  the  Pre- 
siding Elders  of  the  Annual  Conference  having  re- 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


301 


quested  that  the  preacher  be  reappointed  for  another 


year."    Laid  on  the  table. 


MAY  27. 

Twenty- 
third  Day 

Evening. 


Publishing 
Committee. 


On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  the  whole  matter  was  laid 
on  the  table  by  a  count  vote  of  221  ayes  to  140  noes. 

J.  N.  Fradenburgh  nominated  the  Publishing  Com- 
mittee of  the  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate,  and  they 
were  confirmed.    (See  Managers,  p.  438.) 

On  motion,  the  Conference  adjourned.    The  Doxol-  Adjourned, 
ogy  was  sung,  and  Bishop  S.  M.  Merrill  pronounced  the 
benediction. 


THURSDAY  MORNING,  MAY  28. 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  8:30  a.  m., 
Bishop  I.  W.  Joyce  in  the  chair. 

The  devotional  services  were  conducted  by  J.  B. 
Hingeley,  of  the  Northern  Minnesota  Conference. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday  evening's  session  was  read 
and  approved. 

On  motion  of  J.  F.  Chaffee,  the  nominations  for  the 
various  Church  Boards  were  read  and  confirmed.  (See 
Managers,  pp.  434-438.) 

R.  D.  Munger  presented  the  following,  and  moved 
its  adoption: 

In  obedience  to  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  requiring  a 
more  careful  indexing  of  the  Discipline,  and  recognizing  the  need  of 
some  rearrangement  of  the  matter  therein ;  it  is 

Resolved,  1.  That  Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews  be  appointed  to  edit  the 
Discipline. 

2.  That  Bishop  Andrews,  S.  L.  Baldwin,  J.  M.  King,  J.  M.  Buckley, 
H.  A.  Buttz,  and  W.  V.  Kejley  are  hereby  appointed  a  committee  to 
index  and  rearrange  the  Discipline  in  accordance  with  the  action  of  the 
General  Conference,  under  the  following  restrictions :  (a)  They  shall 
make  no  changes  in  the  Articles  of  Religion,  or  the  chapter  on  the 
General  Conference ;  nor  on  Boundaries,  or  the  Ritual  of  the  Church, 
except  under  the  order  of  this  body  ;  (6)  They  shall  make  no  change  in 
the  language  or  the  arrangement  of  words  which  shall  change  the  ob- 
vious meaning  of  any  paragraph  as  it  now  stands.  But  they  may  re- 
arrange where  necessary  in  order  to  place  them  under  their  proper 
headings ;  provided,  that  these  changes  shall  be  effected  without 
change  of  meaning. 

T.  B.  Neely  presented  the  following,  which,  on 

motion  of  C.  J.  Little,  was  laid  on  the  table,  and  the 

original  motion  was  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  in  the  arrangement  of  the  next  edition  of  the  Book 
of  Discipline  there  shall  follow  immediately  after  the  introduction  on 
the  origin  of  the  Church,  chapter  first,  which  shall  be  divided  into 
three  parts  as  follows : 


MAY  28. 

Twenty- 
fourth 

Day. 
Morning. 

Devotional 
services. 


Journal 
approved. 


Church 
Boards. 


Editing  and 
indexing 
the  Disci- 
pline. 


302  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  28. 

Twenty- 
fourth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Report 
No.  Ill  on 
Boundaries. 


Report 
No.  II  on 
Boundaries. 


Excused. 


Report 
No.Xon 
Revisals. 


Order  of 
Worship. 


Report 
No.  I  on 
Temporal 
Economy. 


Part  I. — Articles  of  Religion. 
(Under  which  shall  be  placed  the  Articles  of  Religion.) 

Part  II. — The  General  Rules. 

(Under  which  shall  be  placed  that  part  which  is  known  as  the 
General  Rules.) 

Part  III. — The  General  Conference. 

(Under  which  shall  be  placed  the  portion  of  the  Discipline  relating 
to  the  General  Conference,  including  the  declaration  as  to  its  powers 
and  the  restrictions  upon  said  powers,  and  also  the  provision  for 
amendment  and  said  portion  relating  to  the  General  Conference  shall 
be  divided  into  paragraphs  as  recommended  by  the  Constitutional  Com- 
mission and  now  printed  on  pages  60,  61,  and  62  in  the  Agenda  of  this 
Conference.) 

F.  G.  Mitchell  presented  Report  No.  Ill  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Boundaries,  which  was  read,  and,  on  his 
motion,  it  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  355.) 

Report  No.  II  of  the  same  Committee  was  presented 
and  read,  and  F.  G.  Mitchell  moved  its  adoption.  On 
motion  of  D.  C.  Plannette,  it  was  laid  on  the  table. 

J.  F.  Chaffee  and  O.  J.  Swan  were  excused  from 
further  attendance  at  Conference. 

Report  No.  X  of  the  Committee  on  Revisals  was 
taken  up  and  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  389.) 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  King,  the  following  was  adopted: 

Besolved,  That  the  Publishing  Agents  be  and  are  hereby  directed  to 
publish  the  Order  of  Public  Worship  in  every  edition  of  the  Hymnal, 
and  also  in  such  form  that  churches  already  supplied  with  Hymnals 
may  procure  the  Order  of  Worship  separately. 

Report  No.  I  of  the  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy 
was  taken  up  and  read. 

W.  M.  Swindells  moved  an  amendment  to  the  last 
clause  of  285,  as  follows:  "To  follow  the  words,  'dur- 
ing his  effective  service.'"  The  amendment  provides 
that  her  name  shall  be  entered  upon  the  annuity  list  by 
vote  of  the  Conference. 

The  following  substitute,  offered  by  W.  H.  Shier,  was 
laid  on  the  table:  "To  strike  out  after  the  words  'a 
special  or  annuity  fund  shall  be  distributed  upon  the 
following  basis,'  beginning  with  the  word  '  special ' 
and  all  after  that,  and  if  there  be  any  words  in  the 
preceding  paragraph  that  apply  to  it  they  must  go 
with  it  to  make  sense." 

The  amendment  of  W.  M.  Swindells  was  carried. 

A  motion  by  M.  M.  Callen,  to  add  <  in  whole  or  in 


1896.] 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


303 


part  as  may  be  determined  by  each  Annual  Confer- 
ence," was  laid  on  the  table. 

M.  J.  Talbot  moved  to  strike  out  all  that  relates  to  a 
special  fund.  Laid  on  the  table.  The  report,  as 
amended,  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  389.) 

Report  No.  XIII  of  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
the  Church  was  taken  up. 

C.  D.  Hammond  moved  to  strike  out  all  reference  to 
the  separate  seating  of  laymen.    Laid  on  the  table. 

A  motion  by  John  Sweet,  "  that  instead  of  the  extreme 
rows  of  seats  being  chosen  for  laymen  they  have  the 
right  and  left  of  the  middle  rows,"  was  laid  on  the  table, 
and  the  report  was  adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  392.) 

Report  No.  VII  of  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern 
was  taken  up. 

On  motion  of  J.  B.  Young,  the  clause  "one  million  of 
new  members  in  the  last  decade  adds  nothing  to  the 
subscription  lists  "  was  stricken  out. 

The  report  was  considered  seriatim. 

Item  1  was  adopted.  Item  2  was  read.  C.  J.  Little 
moved  to  strike  out  "  the  editor  to  be  elected  by  the 
General  Conference."  Carried. 

Items  2,  3,  and  4  were  adopted.    Item  5  was  read. 

The  following,  presented  by  L.  O.  Jones,  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  committee: 

To  the  Omaha  Christian  Advocate,  $3,000,  the  ownership  to  be  de- 
livered to  the  Book  Concern  free  of  incumbrance,  with  the  subscription 
list  and  earnings  from  date. 

An  amendment  by  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer,  "  that  half  of  the 
appropriation  be  annually  expended  in  the  improve- 
ment of  a  plant,"  was  lost,  and  the  item  was  adopted. 

At  the  request  of  the  Committee,  the  following 
amendments  were  adopted : 

A  joint  profit  and  loss  account  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Publish- 
ing  Houses  shall  be  kept,  and  the  dividends  and  subsidies  and  such  ex- 
penses as  shall  be  properly  authorized  by  the  Book  Committee  or  by 
the  General  Conference  shall  be  paid  out  of  said  joint  account. 

The  Conference  also  adopted  a  recommendation  from  the  Committee 
that  the  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate  be  authorized  to  remove 
from  New  Orleans  to  Atlanta,  or  such  other  place  as  may  tend  to  in- 
crease its  income. 

J.  W.  Butler  moved  that  $1,000  worth  of  white  paper 
be  annually  appropriated  to  the  Mexico  Christian  Ad- 
vocate.   Laid  on  the  table. 
20 


MAY  28. 

Twenty- 
fourth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Report 
No.  XIII  of 
Committee 
on  State  of 

Church. 


Report 
No.  VII  on 
Book  Con- 


Book  Con- 
cerns. 


304 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


MAY  38. 

Twenty- 
fourth 
Day. 

Morning. 
Bishop 

Cranston 


Bishop 
Newman 
presides. 
Hinghua 
Mission. 


Publishing 
Committees 


Missionary 
Constitu- 
tion. 


Report 
No.  Ill  on 
Temper- 
ance. 


Consecra- 
tion of  dea- 


Protest. 


On  motion,  the  report,  as  amended,  was  adopted. 
(See  Reports,  p.  396.) 

On  motion  of  H.  A.  Buttz,  Bishop  Cranston  was 
granted  as  much  time  as  he  may  need  to  arrange  his 
affairs  before  moving  to  the  place  assigned  him  as  an 
episcopal  residence. 

Bishop  Newman  took  the  chair. 

A  motion  to  adopt  the  boundaries  of  the  Hinghua 
Mission  Conference  in  China  was  adopted.  (See  Re- 
port of  Committee  on  Boundaries,  p.  779.) 

Local  Publishing  Committees  for  the  California,  the 
Pacific,  and  the  Omaha  Christian  Advocates,  and  also 
the  Insurance  Committee,  were  nominated  and  con- 
firmed.   (See  Managers,  p.  438.) 

A.  B.  Leonard  offered  the  following  amendment,  to 
be  inserted  in  its  proper  place  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  Missionary  Society :  "  Notwithstanding  the  General 
Committee  shall  not  appropriate  more  for  a  given  year 
than  the  total  income  of  the  society  for  the  year  im- 
mediately preceding."  Adopted. 

Report  No.  Ill  of  the  Committee  on  Temperance 
and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic  was  taken  up, 
and  C.  H.  Payne  moved  its  adoption.  Lost. 

Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews  stated  that  the  Conference 
requested  the  Bishops  to  prepare  a  form  for  the  Conse- 
cration of  Deaconesses.  They  find  themselves  unable  to 
do  this  in  time  for  approval  by  this  body,  and  they  ask 
consent  to  prepare  it  and  insert  it  in  the  Appendix  of 
the  Discipline.    The  request  was  granted. 

L.  B.  Wilson  presented  the  following  protest,  which 
was  ordered  to  be  admitted  to  the  records: 

Whereas,  The  General  Conference  has  adopted  an  amendment  to 
the  Discipline,  providing  that 

"  No  pastor  shall  engage  an  evangelist  other  than  those  appointed  by 
the  Bishop  of  his  Conference  without  first  obtaining  the  written  con- 
sent of  his  presiding  elder ; "  and, 

Whereas,  Your  petitioners  believe  that  such  action  involves  an  un- 
justifiable restriction  of  pastoral  prerogative  ;  therefore, 

They,  the  undersigned,  respectfully  ask  that  there  be  entered  upon 
the  Journal  of  the  General  Conference  their  protest  against  the  action 
thus  taken.  L.  B.  Wilson. 

A.  B.  Leonard,  J.  H.  Coleman,  S.  W.  Thomas,  W.  A.  Spencer,  Win. 
M.  Swindells,  W.  H.  Hughes,  A.  Griffin,  J.  H.  Brown,  J.  E. 
C.  Sawyer,  E.  S.  Osbon,  J.  L.  Albritton,  T.  B.  Neely,  J.  T.  Bfd 
Farland,  W.  N.  McEIroy,  W.  H.  Wilder,  J.  B.  Wolfe,  C.  H. 
Payne,  S.  E.  Quimby,  Frank  G.  Mitchell,  John  French,  W.  S. 


1S96.J 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


305 


Edwards,  W.  31  Ridgway,  J.  S.  Hughes,  Mauley  S.  Hard, 
Stephen  0.  Benton,  S.  W.  Gehrett,  Jesse  B.  Young,  Merritt 
Hulburd,  Clias.  S.  Wing,  James  M.  King,  E.  M.  Mills,  D.  F. 
Pierce,  W.  D.  Marsh,  S.  M.  Coon,  H.  E.  Dingley,  J.  C.  Arbuckle, 

D.  Y.  Murdoch,  W.  D.  Cherington,  C.  L.  Stafford,  Robert  R. 
Dohertv,  Wm.  Kepler,  Robert  Smylie,  C.  W.  Winchester,  J.  W. 

E.  Bowen,  William  Burt,  F.  L.  Nagier,  E.  J.  Hunt. 

Bishop  Earl  Cranston  took  the  chair. 

Report  No.  VI  of  the  Committee  on  Missions  was 
taken  up.  Item  2  was  read,  and,  on  motion  of  Merritt 
Hulburd,  was  laid  on  the  table.  Item  3  was  read  and 
adopted.  Item  1  was  read.  J.  M.  King  moved,  as  a 
substitute,  that  this  whole  matter  be  referred  back  to 
the  Missionary  Board  with  power.  Accepted  and 
adopted.  The  other  items  of  the  report  were  laid  on 
the  table,  and  the  report,  as  amended,  was  adopted. 

Report  No.  IV  of  the  same  committee  was  read  and 
adopted.    (See  Reports,  pp.  400,  401.) 

Report  No.  VII  of  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy  was 
adopted.    (See  Reports,  p.  384.) 

C.  W.  Drees  presented  the  following  paper  which, 

on  motion,  was  referred  to  the  Board  of  Bishops : 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  be  and  are  hereby  urgently  requested  to 
provide  for  the  Presidency  of  the  South  America  Annual  Conference  at 
each  of  its  annual  sessions  during  the  ensuing  quadrennium  by  one  of 
the  General  Superintendents,  assigning  at  least  two  consecutive  sessions 
to  the  same  Bishop,  who  shall  remain  in  the  field  during  the  interim 
of  said  sessions  for  the  purpose  of  thorough  instruction  and  efficient 
administration  of  the  varied  and  important  interests  of  that  mission. 

Bishop  Merrill  took  the  chair. 

On  motion  of  J.  M.  Buckley,  a  call  of  the  House  was 
ordered,  and  all  other  business,  except  the  Report  of 
the  Committee  on  Complimentary  Resolutions,  was  laid 
on  the  table. 

The  Committee  on  Complimentary  Resolutions  pre- 
sented the  following,  which  was  adopted  by  a  rising  vote : 
Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  hereby  tenders  its  most 
hearty  thanks  to  Cleveland  Methodism  for  its  thoughtful  kindness  to- 
ward us  and  especially  to  the  Local  Committee  of  Entertainment  for 
its  herculean  and  successful  efforts  in  providing  for  the  sessions  of  this 
body  ;  to  those  citizens  of  Cleveland  who  have  extended  the  hospi- 
tality of  their  homes  to  the  members  of  this  Conference,  and  to  the  in- 
stitutions and  societies  that  have  given  us  such  delightful  receptions ; 
to  the  various  churches,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  the 
Young  Woman's  Christian  Association  for  opening  their  doors  and 
providing  suitable  and  pleasant  rooms  for  the  meeting  of  the  commit- 
tees ;  to  the  daily  and  weekly  papers,  the  Associated  Press,  and  the 
Postal  Telegraph  Company  for  their  thoughtful  and  courteous  atten- 
tion, and  also  to  the  hotels  and  railways  for  accommodation  and  re- 
faction of  rates ;  to  the  General  Conference  Commission  for  its  un- 


MAY  28. 

TWENTY- 
FOUKTH 

Day. 
Morning. 


Report 
No.  VI  on 
Missions. 


Report  No. 
IV  on  Mis- 
sions. 


Report  No. 
VII  on  Itin- 
erancy. 


Episcopal 
visitations. 


Bishop  Mer- 
rill presides. 

Call  of  the 
House. 


Compli- 
mentary 
Resolutions. 


306 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  28. 

Twenty- 
fourth 

Day. 
Morning. 


wearied  efforts  in  looking  after  every  detail  of  arrangement  for  the 
Conference  and  its  readiness  to  comply  with  every  expressed  wish  of 
this  body  that  would  administer  to  our  comfort ;  to  our  laborious  and 
faithful  Secretaries  for  the  able  and  efficient  manner  in  which  they 
have  performed  their  duties  ;  to  the  Editor  of  the  Daily  Christian  Ad- 
vocate and  his  assistants  for  the  full,  accurate,  and  satisfactory  reports 
made  of  the  proceedings  of  this  body ;  to  the  Postmaster  of  this  city 
and  the  efficient  postal  clerk  who  have  so  courteously  served  us  in  the 
distribution  of  the  Conference  mails ;  and  to  our  revered  General 
Superintendents  for  the  impartial  and  able  manner  in  which  they  have 
presided  over  the  deliberations  of  this  body ;  and  further,  it  is  our 
united  and  ferment  prayer  that  Heaven's  choicest  blessings  may  ever 
rest  upon  them  in  the  performance  of  the  sacred  duties  intrusted  to 
them. 


Roll  call. 


The  Secretary  called  the  roll,  and  the  following  re- 
sponded to  their  names : 

Adams  (B.  F.),  Adams  (J.  W.),  Albright,  Albritton, 
Albrook,  Alderman,  Allen  (C.   T.),  Appel,  Arbuckle, 
Asada,  Ash,  Ashley,  Ay  res,  Baker,  Baketel,  Baldwin, 
Bamford,  Barclay,  Barlow,  Barrett  (G.  A.),  Barrett  (L. 
E.),  Bradley,  Bashford  (J.  W.),  Bates,  Belt,  Bendixen, 
Bennett  (G.  S.),  Benton,  Berry  (J.  F.),  Bills,  Billups, 
Booth  (G.  M.),   Booth   (R.  A.),   Boreing,  Borland, 
Bowen  (G.  H.),  Bowen  (J.  W.  E.),  Bradley,  Brant, 
Bridgman,  Brill,  Bristol.  Broaddus,  Brodbeck,  Brooks 
Brown  (J.  H.),  Bruns,  Buchtel,  Buck,  Buckley,  Buell 
Butler,    Buttz,  Cady,  Callen,   Caples,  Carr,  Carter, 
Chadwick,   Chamberlain   (N.),    Cheney,  Cherington 
Childs,  Clark  (C.  B.),  Clark  (H.  C.),  Clark  (H.  D.) 
Cobern,    Colbern,    Coleman,    Collett,    Cook,  Coon 
Copeland,    Courtney,  Cowan,    Cox,   Crook,  Cubilo 
Cunningham,    Curts,    Darling,    Decker,  Deininger 
Dennis,  Dickie,    Dingley,    Doherty,   Drees,  During 
Eaton  (E.  L.),  Edman,  Edmonds,  Edwards,  Emory 
Eriksori,  Evans  (J.  G.),  Evans  (W.  W.),  Everett 
Field,   Fisher,    Fisk,   Fiske,  Foote,   Forbes,  Force 
Ford,  Fox,  Fradenburgh,  Franklin,  French  (John) 
Fryhofer,  Frysinger,  Gehrett,  Gidley,  Gillum,  Gobin 
Gordon,  Gorton,  Goucher,  Gould,  Graham,  Graw  (J.  B.) 
Gray,  Green,  Griffin,  Gue,  Gutekunst,  Guth,  Haensler 
Hair,  Hale,  Haley,  Hall,  Halstead,  Hamilton  (James) 
Hamilton  (J.  W.),  Hamilton  (W.  E.),  Hammond  (C. 
D.),  Hammond  (J.  D.),  Haney,  Hard,  Harris,  Haw, 
Heavenridge,  Henke,  Herrick,  Hess,  Hickman,  Hill  (G. 
H.),  Hill  (J.  S.),  Hills  (C.  D.),  Hingeley,  Hobbs,  Holden 


1896.]  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


307 


(A.  M.),  Holt  (D.  B.),  Holtz,  Hugar,  Hughes  (J.  S.),  ^EYNT*y8; 
Hughes  (W.  H.),  Hulburd,  Hunt  (E.  J.),  Huntington,  fourth 
Huntley,  Jackson  (H.  G.),  James,  Jennings  (H.  C),  Morning. 
Jennings  (W.  T.),  Johnson  (G.  B.),  Johnson  (J.  R.), 
Jones  (L.  O.),  Julian,  Kellerman,  Kelley,  Kendall 
(M.  A.),  Kendall  (W.  H.),  Kepler,  Kern,  Key,  Keys, 
King  (J.  D.),  King  (J.  M.),  King  (W.  F.),  Kinney, 
Knighton,  Koch,  Kratz,  Kumler,  Kynett,  Lampert, 
Lanahan,  Lane,  Langston,  Larson,  Lasby,  Laylin, 
Leitch,  Lemcke,  Lewis  (Allen),  Lewis  (W.  H.),  Libby, 
Lindgren,  Lindsay,  Little,  Lobeck,  Logan  (Wade  H.), 
Logan  (William  H.),  Long,  Lothian,  Lowther,  Mace, 
Magee,  Magill,  Mahin,  Mains,  Mando,  Manning,  Mans- 
field, Marsh,  Marshall,  Martin,  Martindale,  Mason, 
Mast,  Master,  Matthew  (W.  S.),  Maveety,  Maxfield, 
McChesney,  McCullough,  McElroy,  McFarland, 
Merchant,  Mickey,  Millard,  Miller  (Emory),  Miller 
(J.  M.),  Miller  (O.  P.),  Miller  (Ky.),  Miller  (Pittsb'g.) 
Mills,  (E.  M.),  Mills  (Jacob),  Mitchell  (F.  G.),  Mitchell 
(John),  Monroe  (D.  S.),  Monroe  (H.  A.),  Morse  (C.  C), 
Morse  (S.  A.),  Motter,  Mueller,  Muller,  Munger,  Mur- 
doch, Murphy  (W.  H.),  Murray,  Myers,  Nagler,  Nast, 
Naylor,  Needham,  Neely,  Nichols,  North,  Olsen, 
Osborne  (D.  C),  Palmer  (A.  J.),  Palmer  (J.  P.), 
Parker  (E.  W.),  Parr,  Patterson,  Payne,  Peake,  Penn, 
Perrin,  Pierce,  Pihl,  Plannette,  Poland,  Potts,  Prather, 
Price,  Quimby,  Rader  (D.  L.),  Reed  (George),  Reed 
(Horace),  Rees,  Richards,  Ridgway,  Robinson,  Roe, 
Rose,  Rothweiler,  Rusling,  Ryan,  Salzer,  Sargent, 
Sawyer  (J.  E.  C),  Scott  (I.  B.),  Scott  (J.  H.),  Sharp, 
Shaw,  Sherburn,  Shier,  Shoemaker,  Shumpert,  Simonsen, 
Smith  (Alfred),  Smith  (Erastus),  Smith  (G.  W.),  Smith 
(W.  T.),  Smylie,  'Soderberg,  Spellmeyer,  Spencer, 
Sprague,  Stafford  (C.  L.),  Stewart  (J.  W.),  Stewart 
(L.  H.),  Stevenson,  Stith,  Sturgiss,  Sullivan,  Swallow, 
Sweet  (John),  Sweet  (W.  H.),  Swindells,  Swift,  Talbot 
(M.  J.),  Talbott  (H.  J.),  Tanner  (F.  H.),  Taylor  (E. 
M.),  Tennant,  Terry,  Teter,  Thomas  (I.  L.),  Thomas  (S. 
W.),  Thomson,  Thorndike,  Trever,  Trimble  (J.  B.), 
Trousdale,  Underwood,  Upham,  Yan  Cleft,  Van 
Deusen,  Vodery,  Walker,  Wallace,  Wallis,  Walsh, 
Walworth,  Warne,  Warren,  Waters,  Waugh,  Weakley, 


308 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


MAY  2H. 

Twenty- 
fourth 

Day. 
Morning. 


Members' 
names. 


Journal 
approved. 

Closing 
services. 


Adjourned 
sine  die, 


Whiting,  Whitlock  (E.  D.),  Whitlock  (H.  G.),  Whit- 
lock  (W.  F.),  Wight,  Wigren,  Wilbor,  Wilcox,  Wilder, 
Wilker,  Willard,  Williams  (J.  E.),  Willis  (E.  R.), 
Wilson  (J.  I.),  Wilson  (L.  B.j,  Winchester,  Wing, 
Witherspoon,  Wolfe,  Wood,  Woodring,  Woods, 
Yocum,  Young,  Zoller,  Reed  (S.  S.). 

The  following  were  granted  leave  of  absence: 
Kittleman,  Moore,  Ackerman,  Carr,  Taylor,  Bowen 
(G.  W.),  Biddle,  Bristol,  Wright,  Mick,  Jamison,  Farn- 
ham,  Chaffee,  Swann  (O.  J.).  A.  B.  Leonard,  W.  F. 
Whitlock,  H.  H.  Lowry,  and  M.  C.  Wilcox,  were  ab- 
sent because  appointed  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Dr.  J. 
F.  Scott. 

J.  M.  Buckley  moved  that,  if  any  brother  discovers 
from  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate  that  his  name  is 
not  reported,  he  may  have  the  privilege  of  sending  to 
the  Secretary  by  mail  the  fact  that  he  was  present. 
Adopted. 

On  motion  of  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer,  it  was  ordered  that 
after  the  closing  exercises  the  Conference  adjourn. 

The  Journal  was  read  and  approved. 

After  a  few  remarks  by  Bishop  Merrill  the  General 
Conference  sang  hymn  816,  beginning, 
"  And  let  our  bodies  part," 

and  Bishop  Thomas  Bowman  led  in  prayer. 

The  Doxology  was  sung,  Bishop  R.  S.  Foster  pro- 
nounced the  benediction,  and  the  Twenty-second  Dele- 
gated General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  adjourned  sine  die. 


THOMAS  BOWMAN, 
RANDOLPH  S.  FOSTER, 
STEPHEN  M.  MERRILL, 
EDWARD  G.  ANDREWS, 
HENRY  W.  WARREN, 
CYRUS  D.  FOSS, 
JOHN  F.  HURST, 
WILLIAM  X.  NINDE, 
JOHN  M.  WALDEN, 

D.  S.  MONROE,  Secretary. 


WILLARD  F.  MALLALIEU, 
CHARLES  H.  FOWLER, 
JOHN  H.  VINCENT, 
JAMES  N.  FITZGERALD, 
ISAAC  W.  JOYCE, 
JOHN  P.  NEWMAN, 
DANIEL  A.  GOODSELL, 
CHARLES  C.  MCCABE, 
EARL  CRANSTON, 

Bishops. 


i  :0  ■ 

APPENDIX  I. 


A.— REPORTS  OF  MISSIONARY  BISHOPS. 

B—  REPORTS  OF  COMMISSIONS. 

C. — BOUNDARIES. 

D— CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGES. 


A 


REPORTS  OF  MISSIONARY  BISHOPS. 

Report  of  William  Taylor,  Missionary  Bishop  for  Africa. 
To  the  Bishops  and  Members  of  the  General  Conference  : 
Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren: 

The  evangelization  of  Africa  and  the  salvation  of  her  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  million  souls  is  one  of 
the  great  problems  of  our  day.  Countless  millions  of  devils 
have  ruled  the  masses  of  native-born  Africans  for  count- 
less thousands  of  generations.  These  devils  have  to  be  con- 
quered and  cast  out,  and  their  victims  brought  back  to 
God.  The  king  devil  that  commands  the  dark  legions  has  to 
be  throttled  and  cast  into  the  bottomless  pit.  God  has  called  and 
commissioned  the  Methodists  of  America,  with  volunteer  hosts  of 
kindred  kind,  to  face  this  monster  and  execute  this  work. 

Hosts  of  miners  are  delving  for  Africa's  gold  and  diamonds. 
These  diggers  are  not  American  Methodists.  Traders  and  mer- 
chants begin  to  throng  the  marts  of  African  commerce  ;  but 
these  are  not  American  Methodists.  Scientists  in  great  variety 
are  on  the  tramp  ;  but  they  are  not  seeking  to  save  souls.  Hunt- 
ers thread  the  forests  of  Africa,  but  are  not  hunting  for  souls. 
Nations  are  trying  to  preempt  a  country  that  Noah  gave  to  his 
grandson  long  ago ;  but  the  Americans,  including  their  churches, 
have  land  enough  of  their  own,  and  have  no  hand  in  the  African 
land  grab.  But  here  stands  America  with  her  broad  acres,  count- 
less industries,  deathless  energy,  with  her  churches  and  benevo- 
lent institutions !  Can  it  be  that  God  has  left  her  out  of  the 
providential  program  for  redeeming  Africa?  The  greatest  need 
of  Africa  is  Gospel  salvation,  requiring  at  the  front  a  larger  ag- 
gregate of  men  and  money  than  all  other  demands  combined. 
We  appreciate  what  has  been  done  for  Africa  by  the  Churches, 
with  their  missionary  societies,  but  it  bears  no  comparison  to  the 
magnitude  of  the  work  to  be  done  and  God's  available  resources 
for  its  accomplishment. 

Many  years  ago  our  Methodist  Missionary  Society  appropriated 
for  the  Africa  work  over  $30,000  per  year,  and  seemed  to  think 
that  they  thus  proved  the  impossibility  of  saving  Africa,  and  cut 
down  their  appropriation  to  $2,500  per  annum. 

When  I  went  to  the  General  Conference  in  1884  the  prevailing 


312 


Journal  of  the  General  Conf  erence.  '  [1896. 


sentiment  seemed  to  be  that  our  missions  in  Africa  were  such  a 
failure  that  they  would  have  to  be  abandoned.  Official  action  on 
the  subject  was  delayed,  in  the  dread  of  the  disgrace  of  failure, 
until  they  settled  on  a  scapegoat,  or  a  Joshua,  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem. Our  dear  fellow-workers  of  the  Episcopal  Church  still  ap- 
propriate $32,000  a  year  for  their  Africa  work.  The  fact  is  that 
our  liberal  appropriation  of  over  $30,000  a  year  was  applied  to 
the  Americo-Liberia  work,  incidentally  striking  a  few  notable 
cases  of  conversion  among  the  natives ;  hence,  when  I  went  there 
I  did  not  find  a  single  Methodist  mission  among  the  raw  heathen, 
and  claim,  therefore,  that  the  liberal  appropriation  to  the  Americo- 
Liberia  work,  however  important,  furnishes  no  fair  test  of  our 
Gospel  possibilities  in  direct  work  among  the  heathen.  Although 
I  have  given  due  attention  to  the  Liberia  Conference  work 
proper,  all  my  new  mission  stations  have  been  planted  among 
the  raw  heathen.  In  every  new  field  I  entered  the  way  of  the 
Lord  had  to  be  prepared  just  as  necessarily  as  the  grading  and 
track-laying  of  a  new  railroad.  It  requires  toil,  time,  and  great 
patience.  When  I  went  as  an  evangelist  to  South  Africa  I  en- 
tered a  field  in  which  preparatory  work  had  been  going  on  for 
forty  years,  so  that,  according  to  the  report  of  the  mission- 
aries, in  less  than  a  year  over  seven  thousand  Kaffirs  had 
experienced  salvation,  and  the  whole  movement  was  put  upon  a 
plane  of  direct  and  continued  effectiveness. 

A  little  over  eleven  years  ago  I  led  my  pioneer  party  of  mis- 
sionaries for  Africa  to  Angola,  south  of  the  Congo.  The  English 
language  was  not  available  at  all;  the  Kimbundu  had  not  been 
reduced  to  manuscript,  much  less  to  printing,  and  we  had  no  in- 
terpreters; so  we  had  to  sit  down  by  the  naked  heathen  and 
patiently  pick  the  words  one  by  one  from  their  mouths,  and  write 
them  down  according  to  their  sound  as  best  we  could.  In  less 
than  five  years  from  that  time  we  printed  a  Kimbundu  grammar 
and  the  gospel  by  St.  John,  and  our  pioneers  had  learned  to  talk 
and  preach  in  the  native  language.  That  was  a  slow  business, 
but  if  we  had  had  command  of  money  and  men  adequate  we 
could  by  this  time  have  established  a  thousand  stations  and  had 
them  well  on  toward  self-support.  In  opening  a  station  we  make 
it  a  point  to  secure  a  good  high,  healthy  site,  and  good  land  for 
agricultural  purposes,  and  make  simple  industries,  involving  self- 
support,  an  essential  part  of  education.  Our  plan  is  also  to  estab- 
lish a  nursery  mission  in  every  station  in  which  we  have  a  com- 
petent missionary  matron.    Instead  of  a  few  hundred  children 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Taylor. 


318 


under  training,  we  could  accept  from  the  hundreds  of  godly 
women  who  are  offering  for  our  work  missionary  matrons  to 
train  a  million  children.  It  was  several  years  before  we  could 
successfully  establish  our  nursery  missions  owing  to  the  difficulty 
in  obtaining  the  young  children.  I  learned  my  first  lesson  on 
the  necessity  of  gaining  the  marriage  dowry  control  of  the  little 
girls  to  be  adopted  by  a  conversation  with  Rev.  David  A.  Day, 
of  the  Muhlenberg  Mission.  Said  he:  "Over  twenty  years  ago 
my  wife  and  I,  on  a  visit  to  Boporo,  became  acquainted  with  a 
native  family  in  which  was  a  beautiful  little  girl.  We  fell  in 
love  with  the  child  and  begged  the  parents  to  give  her  to  the 
mission;  so  they  gave  her  up  without  urging  very  strong  objec- 
tions, and  we  brought  her  home  with  us,  and  loved  and  edu- 
cated her  just  as  if  she  had  been  our  own  child.  She  was  a 
lovely  child,  and  became  a  good  musician.  As  she  grew  to 
womanhood  she  received  the  attentions  of  a  young  man  edu- 
cated on  our  station,  and  they  expressed  a  wish  to  be  united  in 
marriage.  The  fact  was  communicated  to  her  parents,  who 
gave  consent,  and  they  were  married.  Soon  after  messengers 
came  from  the  parents  stating  that  her  marriage  dower  had 
been  paid  by  an  old  man  when  she  was  a  child,  and  they  must 
conduct  her  to  his  house.  We  were  horrified  at  the  revelation 
of  this  fact,  and  begged  for  time,  and  in  response  to  our  im- 
portunity the  parents  finally  agreed  to  permit  the  newly  married 
couple  to  live  in  peace.  A  few  months  afterward  the  parents 
begged  to  have  their  daughter  and  her  husband  visit  them; 
so  accordingly  they  proceeded  to  Boporo,  but  on  entering  the 
town  a  mob,  led  by  her  parents,  attacked  the  young  man  and 
killed  him,  and  tied  the  young  woman  to  a  tree,  and  gave  her  a 
whipping  about  every  hour  for  a  whole  day,  and  thus  compelling 
her  to  promise  to  go  and  live  with  the  old  heathen  who  had  paid 
her  marriage  dower  when  she  wras  a  child."  That  was  my  first 
n  on  the  marriage  dower,  by  which  no  child  can  be  enslaved, 
but  their  selection  of  marriage  is  controlled.  No  marriage  dower 
is  paid  for  slave  girls;  they  are  bought  and  sold  like  cattle.  We 
never  procured  any  as  slaves.  We  adopted  about  forty  little 
girls  to  be  our  daughters  under  the  same  kind  of  training  we  give 
to  our  own  children.  Later,  however,  as  the  people  became  ac- 
quainted with  us  and  our  work,  we  have  the  offer  of  all  the  chil- 
dren we  can  take  care  of,  for  the  most  part  orphans;  so  we  have 
Dearly  ceased  to  redeem  children  by  paying  the  marriage  dower 
too  soon  for  many  of  our  home  patrons  who  give  cheerfully  to 


314 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


redeem  the  little  girls.  Some  time  ago  a  big  native  man  came  to 
our  mission  at  Malange  with  a  little  girl  about  three  years  old  on 
his  shoulder.  She  was,  as  is  usual  with  the  children  in  that  coun- 
try, almost  entirely  nude,  and  covered  from  head  to  foot  with 
fresh  marks  of  smallpox.  The  man  laid  her  down  on  the  floor 
and  said :  u  Three  months  ago  the  mother  of  this  child  died  at 
Loanda.  When  dying  she  said  to  me,  '  When  you  see  me  put  in 
the  ground  carry  my  child  to  Malange  and  give  her  to  the  mis- 
sionaries.' [From  Loanda  to  Malange  is  about  three  hundred 
miles.]  So,"  said  he,  "  when  the  woman  died  and  was  buried  I 
laid  the  child  on  my  back,  but  when  about  halfway  on  the  jour- 
ney she  was  taken  with  smallpox.  I  nursed  her  for  a  whole 
moon  until  she  was  able  to  travel;  so  to-day  I  finish  my  task,  and 
put  her  in  your  care."  Americana,  a  little  girl  who  had 
been  with  the  mission  for  three  years,  went  and  looked  closely 
at  the  little  girl  and  said,  "  What  is  your  name  ?"  The  little  one 
replied,  "My  name  is  Lubina."  So  Americana  pressed  her  to  her 
bosom,  exclaiming,  "  O,  she  is  my  sister!"  The  mother  had  for- 
merly lived  near  Malange,  and  became  acquainted  with  our  mis- 
sionaries there,  and  gave  them  her  older  daughter  when  a  baby. 
So  that  as  we  become  acquainted  with  the  people  we  have  not 
much  difficulty  in  obtaining  all  the  children  we  can  train. 

We  have  in  our  work,  purely  among  the  heathen,  twenty- 
seven  principal  stations  and  nearly  as  many  more  substations, 
manned  by  forty-eight  white  missionaries  and  some  hundreds  of 
natives  under  training.  The  best  material  for  evangelizing  agency 
in  Africa  is  the  raw  material,  and  the  best  place  for  its  develop- 
ment is  where  it  was  born.  Already  the  Lord  is  indicating  his 
chosen  vessels  among  our  converted  natives,  who  will  surpass  in 
Gospel  effectiveness  those  who  under  God  dug  them  out  of 
heathenism. 

Rev.  George  Grenfell,  of  the  English  Congo  Baptist  Mission, 
spent  a  few  days  with  us  at  Malange.  One  day,  having  listened 
to  one  of  our  native  men  preach,  he  said,  "  Mr.  Mead,  where  was 
that  man  educated  ?  "  "  He  was  educated  here  in  my  school,"  re- 
plied Mr.  Mead.  Mr.  Grenfell  said,  "That  cannot  be.  I  have 
never  heard  such  preaching  before.  That  man  was  well  educated 
before  you  ever  saw  him."  He  was  a  freight  carrier  from  the 
interior,  and  when  he  came  to  the  mission  he  did  not  know  a 
letter  in  the  book.  In  one  of  the  meetings  he  was  awakened  and 
converted  to  God.  Then  he  came  to  Mr.  Mead  and  said  he  wanted 
an  education.    Mr.  Mead  said  he  was  short  one  pit  sawyer,  and  if 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Taylor. 


315 


the  man  would  come  and  work  in  the  daytime  he  would  pay  him 
regular  wages  and  teach  him  at  night.  The  big  Ambundu,  a 
powerful  man,  said  he  would  not  take  any  pay  for  his  work,  but 
would  work  every  day  and  study  every  night.  He  subsequently 
married  one  of  the  mission  girls,  and  they  are  doing  effective 
work  for  God  in  one  of  our  substations  in  Angola. 

Visiting  Barraka  Station  a  few  years  ago,  Miss  White,  our 
preacher  in  charge  there,  said  to  me:  "I  want  to  consult  you  in 
regard  to  our  man  Jasper.  He  is  my  best  farmer,  my  best 
preacher,  and  my  most  successful  soul-saving  worker.  But  he  is 
beaten  by  the  natives  whenever  they  can  get  near  enough  to  him, 
and  I  am  afraid  they  will  kill  him.  I  have  waited  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  consult  with  you  as  to  what  we  had  best  do."  "  The 
best  way,"  I  said,  "is  to  let  Jasper  decide  for  himself."  So  he 
was  called  in,  and  the  case  stated  to  him,  and  his  prompt  reply 
was:  "I  was  born  here;  these  people  who  want  to  kill  me  are 
my  people;  they  have  the  same  hatred  toward  Christ  and  Chris- 
tians that  I  had  before  I  found  Jesus;  so  I  have  no  quarrel  with 
them.  I  patiently  bear  their  unmerciful  thrashings,  and  if  the 
Lord  wants  me  to  die  for  Jesus  I  prefer  to  die  on  my  own  native 
soil."  A  year  from  that  time  Jasper's  name  was  sung  among  the 
heroes  in  their  war  songs.  The  Barraka  nation,  to  which  he  be- 
longed, had  been  at  war  with  a  neighboring  nation  for  over  a 
hundred  years,  and  anyone  of  either  party  crossing  the  dividing 
line  met  his  death.  But  about  a  year  ago  Jasper  crossed  the  line, 
walked  straight  to  the  royal  house  of  the  belligerent  nation's 
king,  and,  hailing  him,  said:  "My  name  is  Jasper.  I  belong  to 
the  Barraka  nation,  and  I  bring  to  you  to-day  a  message  from 
God.  It  is  very  simple.  God  wants  you  to  open  to  me  and  my 
fellow-workers  a  house  in  which  to  hold  a  prayer  meeting  in  your 
town."  The  king,  without  hesitation,  consented,  and  Jasper  and 
his  praying  band  came  on  immediately.  Then,  after  three  nights 
of  prayer,  he  called  on  the  king  again  with  another  message  from 
God,  which  was  to  ask  the  king  to  call  a  peace  palaver  in  his  own 
house,  to  be  conducted  by  the  king  and  his  counselors  on  one 
Bide  and  by  Jasper  and  his  praying  band  on  the  other.  They 
prayed  twenty-eight  nights,  and  on  three  occasions  all  night. 
The  joint  parties  talked  peace  twenty-three  days,  and  made  a 
settlement,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  two  nations,  establish- 
ing a  permanent  peace.  There  have  been  since  two  or  three 
occasions  of  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  two  nations,  but  they 
were  settled  by  arbitration.     Suppose  our  friends  had  given 


316 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


us  money  to  establish  a  thousand  such  stations,  each  one  turning 
out  a  Jasper;  we  could  begin  to  see  the  culmination  of  our  evan- 
gelizing work  in  the  Gospel  conquest  of  the  nations  of  Africa. 
As  it  is,  despite  the  devastating  wars  all  along  our  lines, 
especially  on  the  west  coast,  our  official  statistics  indicate  our 
progress  from  1892  to  1896  as  follows: 


1892. 

1896. 

Increase. 

202 

528 

326 

3,064 

4,403 

1,339 

54 

62 

8 

85 

234 

149 

75 

190 

115 

31 

42 

11 

$28,526  $53,684  25  %\ 

25,158  25 

1 

8 

7 

$75 

$6,040 

$5,965 

38 

84 

46 

320 

510 

190 

2,750 

3,072 

322 

Of  these  scholars  1,070  are  members  of  our  Church. 


From  the  incipiency  of  our  preparative  work  among  wild 
heathen  and  the  sparse  population  of  the  Americo-Liberians 
the  numerical  results  are  meager.  Not  to  burden  you  with 
statistics  in  detail,  I  will  add  a  few  points  illustrative  of  our 
progress. 

When  I  was  sent  to  Africa  Cape  Palmas  District  had  but  one 
station,  with  two  appointments — Mount  Scott  and  Tubmantown, 
Rev.  C.  H.  Harmon  being  both  presiding  elder  and  preacher  in 
charge.  Now  Cape  Palmas  District  contains  thirteen  stations, 
and  all  except  two  of  them  are  advancing  toward  a  basis  of  self- 
support.  I  recently  presided  at  the  anniversary  of  Mount  Scott 
Sunday  school,  which  has  two  hundred  and  eighty-four  scholars, 
and  they  raised  on  that  day  for  Sunday  school  library  and  current 
expenses  $343  in  cash. 

Our  old  Liberian  work  is  regarded  as  a  great  burden  to  the 
Missionary  Society.  I  have  to  say  that  the  Americo-Liberians 
numerically  approximate  in  population  a  first-class  New  Jersey 
village,  and  yet  they  themselves  paid  last  year  on  pastors'  salaries 
and  current  expenses  $1,995.93.  The  most  of  our  Liberian 
church  members  have  but  little  of  this  world's  goods.  Some 
who  are  able  give  freely,  but  altogether  the  Liberia  Conference 
is  in  ability  but  on  a  par  with  many  of  our  mission  fields  which 
receive  much  larger  appropriations;  for  example,  only  two  sta- 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bisliop  Taylor. 


317 


tions  receive  as  much  as  one  hundred  dollars  each,  ten  stations 
and  circuits  receive  fifty  dollars  each,  one  station  forty  dollars, 
and  one  thirty  dollars,  paid  in  semiannual  installments.  The 
Pesseh  and  Ghola  mission  stations,  operated  by  the  society,  re- 
ceive two  hundred  dollars  each.  The  seven  stations  which  I 
turned  over  to  the  Missionary  Society  receive  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  each,  more  than  double  the  amount  given  to  the  old 
work,  the  difference  being  that  in  the  old  work  pastors  live  in 
their  own  homes  and  support  themselves  by  different  avocations, 
while  in  the  mission  stations  the  missionaries  are  building  up 
homes  and  churches  on  the  line  of  self-support  which  will  be 
available  for  the  continuance  of  the  work  on  a  firm  mission  prop- 
erty basis. 

Our  great  American  Methodist  armies,  under  marching  orders 
from  God,  are  compassing  the  globe  proclaiming  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature — till  they  meet  the  black  man.  If  he  were  a 
white  man,  instead  of  depending  upon  a  few  pioneer  missionaries 
to  rescue  two  hundred  million  souls,  would  we  not  go  into  Africa 
with  Jesus  and  obey  his  command?  One  of  two  things  re- 
quires to  be  done,  either  for  God  to  make  him  white  or  for  us, 
at  least  so  far  as  our  Gospel  mission  to  every  creature  is  con- 
cerned, to  ignore  the  color  lines  and  obey  the  divine  command 
to  tell  the  glad  news  to  every  member  of  the  human  family,  be- 
ginning at  home. 

All  I  ask  for  Africa  is  that  in  the  general  mission  work  we  do  for 
blacks  all  that  we  would  if  they  were  white.  In  obedience  to  the 
call  of  God  and  his  Church  I  have  been  demonstrating  Gospel 
,  possibilities  in  the  Dark  Continent  for  nearly  a  dozen  years,  and 
am  learning  more  perfectly  the  way  of  the  Lord.  I  have  never 
asked  an  appointment  from  the  Church  nor  shirked  a  responsibil- 
ity— never  hailed  a  ship  bound  for  Tarshish.  I  am  not  here  now 
to  ask  favors,  but,  pursuant  to  the  policy  avowed  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  my  plan  is  to  utilize  indigenous  self-supporting  re- 
sources as  a  Gospel  basis  from  which  to  extend  and  administer 
the  grand  work  of  our  Missionary  Society.  In  regard  to  our 
new  work  in  Africa  I  have  simply  to  say  that  if  this  General 
Conference  shall  decide  that  the  time  has  come  to  put  all  of  my 
Africa  missions  under  the  direct  control  of  our  Missionary  So- 
ciety I  shall  make  no  objection  but  to  name  three  established 
ooints  :  First,  all  stations  receiving  aid  from  the  society  will,  in 
common  with  nil  such  missions,  be  under  the  control  of  the  so- 
;iety.    Second,  as  heretofore  in  my  work,  any  person  or  persons 


318 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896.. 


who  may  wish  to  found  and  develop  a  mission  in  our  Church 
up  to  the  point  of  self-support  shall  be  allowed  to  do  so.  Third, 
all  self-supporting  churches  in  our  mission  field  shall  sustain 
the  same  relation  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  that  of 
our  self-supporting  churches  at  home. 

If  the  change  I  now  propose  shall  by  your  action  become  his- 
tory I  will,  when  not  in  Africa,  assist  in  raising  funds  for  the 
Missionary  Society.  My  son  Ross  has  for  six  years  been  my  right- 
hand  man  at  this  end  of  the  line,  and  I  cannot  well  spare  him 
from  a  work  for  which  he  is  well  qualified.  He  will  be  useful 
among  my  financial  patrons,  also  in  helping  you  raise  your  two 
million  dollars  for  missions,  and  I  will  be  gratified  if  you  will  ap- 
point him  to  this  work. 


1 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Thobum. 


319 


Report  of  James  M.  Thoburn,  Missionary  Bishop  for  India 

and  Malaysia. 
To  the  Bishops  and  Members  of  the  General  Conference: 
Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren: 

Four  years  ago  it  became  my  happy  privilege  to  lay  before  the 
General  Conference,  at  Omaha,  a  report  of  my  stewardship  as 
superintendent  of  your  missions  in  southern  Asia.  It  seemed 
fitting  in  that,  my  first  report,  to  give  a  sketch  of  the  vast  field 
which  we  are  trying  to  occupy,  the  various  agencies  which  we 
are  employing,  the  lines  of  progress  which  we  are  following,  the 
advance  made  in  the  organization  of  the  work,  and  the  measure 
of  success  with  which  God  has  favored  us.  Four  more  years 
have  passed,  and  again  I  am  permitted  to  appear  before  you  with 
tidings  from  our  far-off  field,  and  with  greetings  from  the  devoted 
men  and  women  who  represent  you  there.  On  this  occasion  I 
take  it  for  granted  that  I  shall  not  be  expected  to  go  over 
again  the  same  ground  which  I  occupied  in  my  first  report.  It 
will  suffice,  I  trust,  if  I  simply  give  you  a  statement  of  the  prog- 
ress made  and  of  the  somewhat  startling  demands  which  confront 
us  as  we  face  the  immediate  future. 

In  general  terms  I  may  say  that  we  have  abundant  reason  to 
thank  God  for  the  measure  of  prosperity  which  we  have  enjoyed 
through  all  these  four  years  past.  In  the  midst  of  many  tokens 
of  discouragement,  and  while  struggling  under  almost  constant 
burdens  of  anxiety,  our  missionaries  have  moved  steadily  forward, 
and  from  year  to  year  our  lines  have  become  more  and  more  ex- 
tended. This  extension  has  not  consisted  so  much  in  movements 
into  territories  beyond  our  former  geographical  limits,  although 
such  advance  movements  have  been  made,  as  in  occupying  more 
fully  the  immense  regions  within  our  already  extended  bounda- 
rio.  In  almost  every  direction  this  movement  along  what  mili- 
tary men  would  call  interior  lines  has  been  going  steadily  for- 
ward, and  it  thus  happens  that  we  are  able  to  report  an  increase 
of  two  Annual  Conferences  and  eleven  presiding  elders'  districts 
during  the  past  four  years.  We  have  now  twenty-four  District 
Conference?,  all  of  them  much  more  carefully  and  thoroughly 
organized  than  the  average  District  Conference  in  the  United 
States.  Our  brethren  are  preaching  in  sixteen  languages,  or  three 
more  than  they  were  able  to  use  at  the  date  of  my  last  report, 
md  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  sixteen  will  become  twenty  be- 

bre  the  close  of  the  century. 
21 


320 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Four  years  ago  I  ventured  to  report  a  total  Christian  com- 
munity in  our  missions  in  southern  Asia  of  50,000  ;  but  in  order 
to  reach  these  figures  I  was  obliged  not  only  to  include  the  Euro- 
peans and  Eurasians  in  connection  with  us,  but  to  take  into  ac- 
count the  increase  of  converts  during  the  first  four  months  of 
1892.  On  the  present  occasion,  however,  without  bringing  our 
statistics  down  later  than  the  close  of  1895,  we  are  able  to  report 
a  total  native  Christian  community  of  97,610,  or,  if  we  include 
the  Europeans  and  Eurasians,  a  total  community  belonging  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  India  and  Malaysia  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  year  of  considerably  more  than  100,000 
souls.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  we  have  maintained  a  steady  in- 
crease of  more  than  1,000  a  month  throughout  the  quadrennium, 
and  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  up  to  date  but  few  signs  have  ap- 
peared of  any  wane  in  the  forward  movement  which  has  now 
held  its  steady  course  for  eight  eventful  years.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  current  year  the  total  number  of  members  reported  at  our 
several  Conference  sessions  was  25,627,  and  of  probationers, 
44,175,  making  a  total  of  69,802,  an  increase  of  39,802,  or  130 
per  cent  during  the  previous  four  years.  If  attention  is  called 
to  the  fact  that  our  probationers  so  largely  outnumber  our  full 
members,  I  may  explain  that  we  neither  admit  probationers  pre- 
maturely nor  send  them  adrift  in  case  they  are  not  found  worthy 
of  admission  at  the  end  of  six  months.  Thousands  of  our  bap- 
tized converts  are  kept  on  the  church  registers  for  months,  and 
in  some  cases  even  years,  beyond  the  minimum  period  of  six 
months  which  is  allowed  as  the  term  of  probation. 

The  several  departments  of  our  Church  work  have  kept  pace 
fairly  well  with  the  rapid  increase  of  our  membership  and  Chris- 
tian community.  We  have  now  2,249  Sunday  schools,  with  an 
enrollment  of  71,955  pupils,  an  increase  of  873  schools  an1 
21,712  pupils  since  1892.  This  increase  would  have  been  much 
larger  had  it  not  been  for  the  unfortunate  curtailment  of  our 
appropriations,  compelling  us  to  close  many  of  our  day  schools  ; 
and  as  at  least  one  Sunday  school  is  maintained  in  connection 
with  every  day  school,  every  loss  in  the  one  department  is 
quickly  repeated  in  the  other.  Our  schools  of  all  grades  reporj 
an  increase  of  258,  with  an  increase  of  pupils  of  only  1,764,  and 
but  for  the  fact  that  the  statistics  cover  four  years  the  more 
recent  figures  would  show  a  positive  decrease.  This,  however,  is 
in  no  measure  owing  to  want  of  success  in  the  work,  but  is 
wholly  attributed  to  our  diminished  appropriations  during  the 


WO.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Thobwrn* 


321 


past  two  years.  The  people  are  as  anxious  to  have  their  children 
educated,  and  the  children  as  eager  to  learn,  as  at  any  time  since 
our  missionary  work  was  commenced  in  India.  We  still  have 
more  than  thirty  thousand  pupils  in  our  schools,  and,  feeling  as- 
sured that  the  present  financial  stringency  will  be  removed  at  an 
early  day,  look  forward  hopefully  to  the  future  of  this  part  of 
the  work. 

For  the  first  time  in  a  report  of  this  kind  the  Epworth  League 
makes  its  appearance  in  our  table  of  statistics.  The  latest  reports 
show  that  134  chapters  of  the  League  have  been  organized,  with 
an  enrollment  of  6,555  members.  The  success  of  the  Epworth 
League  in  India  has  from  the  first  been  surprising.  Our  young 
people  show  an  unexpected  aptitude  both  for  the  privileges  and 
responsibilities  which  the  League  places  before  them,  and  as  edu- 
cation spreads  we  may  confidently  expect  that  this  effective  arm 
of  our  common  service  will  become  much  more  actively  developed, 
and  prove  as  effective  in  the  mission  field  as  it  has  done  in  Chris- 
tian lands.  I  am  also  very  thankful  to  report  a  steady  increase 
in  the  number  of  our  native  workers,  both  as  regards  numbers 
and  efficiency.  We  have  now  a  force  of  more  than  two  thousand 
men,  whose  time  is  exclusively  devoted  to  the  work  of  teaching 
and  preaching ;  and  inasmuch  as  nearly  all  our  teachers  are  ex- 
pected to  perform  more  or  less  pastoral  work,  this  whole  great 
force  may  justly  be  regarded  as  made  up  of  preachers  of  the 
word.  Of  Bible  readers  we  employ  560  ;  but  since  many  of  our 
Christian  teachers  are  women,  we  may  reckon  the  entire  force  of 
our  Christian  sisterhood  as  numbering  several  hundred  more. 

The  rapid  and  long-continued  increase  of  converts  throughout 
our  field  lias  with  each  returning  year  added  to  the  urgency  of 
the  demand  for  pastors  and  teachers  for  our  people.  From  the 
first  we  have  felt  this  demand  very  keenly.  It  amounts,  in  fact, 
to  an  absolute  necessity.  If  we  had  been  provided  with  properly 
qualified  pastors  and  teachers  from  the  beginning  we  should  prob- 
ably have  had  200,000  Christians  in  India  to-day  instead  of  half 
that  number,  and  we  should  no  doubt  have  been  equipped  for  a 
measure  of  success  in  the  immediate  future  which  now  seems  be- 
yond our  reach.  Early  last  year,  when  perplexed  beyond  meas- 
ure to  know  what  should  or  could  be  done  with  the  thousands 
of  inquirers  who  were  coming  to  us  in  the  Northwest  India  Con- 
ference, a  plan  was  formed  to  gather  together  five  bands  of  young 
men,  numbering  thirty  each,  and  give  them  a  brief  two  years' 
course  for  the  work  of  pastor-teachers.    A  little  later  a  similar 


322  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


band  was  organized  in  Oudh,  and  since  then  arrangements  have 
been  perfected  for  similar  attempts  in  Gujarat  and  Malaysia.  In 
addition  to  our  regular  theological  school  we  have  thus  far  over 
two  hundred  young  men  actually  under  instructions  with  the 
view  of  taking  up  the  work  of  pastor-teachers  in  regions  where 
such  workers  are  urgently  needed.  In  other  words,  we  have,  in- 
cluding the  students  in  our  seminary,  a  total  of  over  three  hun- 
dred young  men  who  are  preparing  for  this  most  important  work, 
and  while  it  may  seem  absurd  to  dignify  most  of  these  youths 
with  the  title  of  "  theological  students,"  yet,  in  a  very  practical 
sense,  they  are  students  of  simple  theology  and  are  preparing  for 
the  legitimate  work  of  preachers  of  the  Gospel.  If  funds  were 
at  our  disposal,  we  could  double  the  number  of  students  within 
the  next  twelve  months,  and  thus  not  only  provide  proper  nur- 
ture for  the  converts  God  has  given  us,  but  prepare  to  receive 
and  care  for  the  tens  of  thousands  who  will  certainly  come  to 
our  doors  within  the  next  year  or  two. 

Our  friends  in  America  very  naturally,  and  very  justly,  too, 
manifest  no  little  anxiety  to  know  what  manner  of  Christians  our 
converts  in  India  really  are.  When  we  hear  of  such  unwonted 
numbers  coming  into  the  Church  and  remember  how  ignorant 
these  converts  have  been,  how  in  the  nature  of  the  case  they 
must  have  been  the  victims  of  error  and  superstition,  it  is  not 
strange  that  earnest  questions  are  asked  concerning  their  present 
spiritual  state.  Four  years  ago  I  tried  to  give  a  sketch  of  the 
actual  condition  of  these  people;  but,  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, my  most  positive  statements  at  that  time  were  received 
with  a  measure  of  doubt.  I  do  not  complain  of  this,  knowing 
well  that  it  could  not  have  been  otherwise.  Very  seldom  in  the 
history  of  modern  missions  had  a  movement  of  such  magnitude 
been  witnessed  in  mission  fields,  and  we  had  no  right  to  complain 
because  friends  in  America  could  not  fully  share  either  our  en- 
thusiasm or  our  confidence  in  the  converts  who  had  gathered 
around  us.  Four  years  of  added  experience,  however,  have 
greatly  strengthened  our  confidence,  both  in  the  work  of  the  past 
and  the  possibilities  of  the  future. 

First  of  all,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  our  Indian  preachers,  as  a 
class,  have  given  us  much  cause  for  devout  thanksgiving,  both 
by  their  steady  improvement  as  Christian  believers  and  Christian 
workers.  Our  Annual  and  District  Conferences,  from  year  to 
year,  show  signs  of  steady  progress  among  the  preachers  of  all 
grades.    Painful  lapses  from  the  standard  of  Christian  morality 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Thoburn. 


323 


are  much  less  frequent  than  would  be  expected  by  those  who  know 
what  the  ordinary  standard  of  morality  in  India  has  been  for 
ages  past.  Taking  the  preachers  as  a  body,  I  think  it  may 
truthfully  be  said  that  from  year  to  year  they  are  becoming  more 
spiritual,  as  well  as  more  intelligent.  In  many  parts  of  the  field 
revivals  have  been  frequent  during  the  past  two  or  three  years, 
and  the  fruits  of  those  revivals  have  been  as  permanent  and  sat- 
isfactory as  those  which  are  usually  witnessed  in  similar  meetings 
in  the  United  States.  Very  many  of  our  preachers  manifest  a  spirit 
of  intelligent  consecration,  which  is  most  satisfactory  and  hopeful. 

As  for  the  masses  of  baptized  converts  who  live  in  the  villages 
and  hamlets  where  their  fathers  lived  before  them,  and  who  have 
enjoyed  only  the  most  limited  advantages  in  hearing  the  word, 
or  in  associating  with  mature  Christians,  it  could  not  reasonably 
be  expected  that  they  would  at  once  adopt  all  the  usages  with 
which  we  are  familiar  in  Christian  lands,  or  that  they  should  ex- 
hibit a  type  of  piety  in  every  respect  corresponding  to  that  which 
is  th£  product  of  years  of  culture  among  more  favored  people. 
When  due  allowance  is  made  for  the  previous  ignorance  and  life- 
long habits  of  the  people,  we  find  but. little  cause  of  discourage- 
ment in  the  condition  of  the  ©ne  hundred  thousand  converts  who 
are  to-day  looking  to  us  for  spiritual  guidance.  They  are  not  a 
fickle  people,  nor  are  they  the  converts  of  a  day  only.  We  do 
not,  it  is  true,  succeed  in  holding  all  of  them,  and  in  some  cases 
the  number  of  those  who,  after  a  brief  trial,  have  turned  their 
backs  on  the  new  religion  has  been  painfully  large.  But  our 
friends  in  the  United  States  should  be  the  last  to  withhold  confi- 
dence from  our  work  on  this  account.  You  also  receive  great 
hosts  of  probationers  every  year,  and  no  doubt  make  diligent 
efforts  to  keep  them  within  your  fold;  and  yet  it  has  recently 
been  stated  that  forty  per  cent  of  your  probationers  are  lost  to 
the  Church  within  twelve  months  from  the  date  of  their  recep- 
tion; whereas  our  brethren  in  India  have  thus  far  been  able  to 
keep  within  their  lines  eighty-four  per  cent  of  their  converts, 
while  only  sixteen  per  cent  permanently  disappear  from  our  rolls. 
In  other  words,  your  relative  loss  in  the  United  States  is  two  and 
a  half  times  greater  than  that  of  your  missionaries  in  India.  The 
task  of  caring  for  new  converts  is  in  all  lands  a  most  difficult 
one,  and  the  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  our  probationers 
bo  soon  fall  away  only  illustrates  the  painful  fact  that  now,  as  in 
(>\\r  Saviour's  day,  a  large  share  of  the  precious  Gospel  seed  falls 
on  stony  ground. 


324 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


One  of  the  most  encouraging  signs  of  a  genuine  Christian  life 
among  our  people  is  found  in  the  remarkable  stimulus  which  has 
recently  been  given  to  the  cause  of  self-support,  especially  in  those 
parts  of  the  field  where  the  converts  have  had  this  duty  pressed 
upon  their  attention.  These  converts  are,  perhaps,  the  poorest  in 
this  world's  goods  of  any  Christians  in  the  world.  Three  fourths 
of  them  live  upon  an  average  income  of  not  more  than  twenty- 
five  dollars  a  year  for  each  family.  Thousands  of  them  habitually 
live  upon  the  verge  of  absolute  starvation,  the  parents  often  being 
unable  to  provide  two  meals  a  day  for  themselves  and  their  chil- 
dren. An  income  of  fifty  dollars  a  year  is  amply  sufficient  to  give 
a  family  in  an  ordinary  village  not  only  a  subsistence,  but  a 
respectable  standing  in  the  village  community.  Among  such 
people  it  may  seem  almost  cruel  to  raise  the  question  of  self-sup- 
port at  all ;  but  it  has  not  only  been  raised,  but  has  led  to  results 
which  have  filled  us  with  both  wonder  and  gratitude.  But  few 
of  the  people  can  pay  anything  in  money,  but  offerings  of  all  man- 
ner of  things  are  freely  tendered  and  gratefully  received.  Not 
long  before  leaving  India  I  preached  to  a  large  congregation  of 
attentive  hearers,  and  when  at  the  close  a  collection  for  self-sup- 
port was  announced  the  people  pressed  forward  with  chickens  and 
pigeons,  eggs  and  meal,  kids  and  pigs,  rice  and  millet,  together  with 
trinkets  and  ornaments  of  many  kinds,  until  at  last,  as  the  enthusi- 
asm rose,  some  of  the  poor  women  began  to  pluck  off  the  jingling 
bells  from  their  toes  and  lay  them  with  reverence  upon  the  pulpit. 

We  smile  at  such  a  manifestation  of  the  true  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian giving,  but  when  we  look  beyond  the  mere  financial  value  of 
the  offerings  and  consider  what  this  means  for  the  future  of 
Christianity  in  India  we  feel  constrained  to  pause  and  thank  God 
for  such  a  spectacle.  What  did  this  really  mean?  It  meant 
that  among  the  very  poorest  of  living  men,  under  conditions  as 
difficult  as  any  which  we  may  expect  to  find  in  all  the  future, 
Christianity  can  live  and  flourish  and  develop  resources  of  its 
own  sufficient  for  its  maintenance.  This  incident  occurred  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Kasgunge  District,  and  a  few  weeks  later  it 
was  stated  that  not  only  the  presiding  elder,  but  every  preacher 
in  charge  in  the  district  was  to  be  wholly  supported  during  the 
current  year  by  the  poor  people  to  whom  they  minister.  Not 
one  cowrie  of  missionary  money  is  paid  to  either  .presiding  elder 
or  preacher  in  charge  on  the  Kasgunge  District.  Of  how  many 
districts,  I  venture  to  ask,  south  of  the  Ohio  and  west  of  the 
Mississippi  Rivers  can  a  like  remark  be  made  ? 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Thobum. 


325 


Two  sessions  of  our  Central  Conference  have  been  held  since 
the  date  of  my  last  report,  and  on  both  occasions  the  growing 
importance  of  this  body  was  a  subject  of  frequent  general  re- 
mark. The  last  meeting,  which  was  held  in  the  city  of  Poona 
only  two  months  ago,  was  a  notable  gathering  of  men  and  women, 
many  of  whom  had  come  great  distances,  and  all  of  whom  were 
made  to  realize  as  never  before  that  God  was  truly  committing 
into  their  hands  a  missionary  task  not  inferior  in  its  extent  and 
importance  to  any  that  had  ever  before  been  given  into  mortal 
hands.  We  were  amazed  when  we  contemplated  the  multiplicity 
of  interests  which  were  growing  up  around  us,  and  almost  ap- 
palled when  we  looked  out  over  our  field  and  saw  how  God  was 
setting  before  us  open  door  of  access  to  one  fifth  of  the  human 
race.  We  were  profoundly  impressed  also  as  we  observed  from 
day  to  day  the  momentum  which  this  central  body  has  gained 
and  the  influence  which  it  seemed  destined  to  exert,  not  only  upon 
our  own  work,  but  upon  the  general  interests  of  the  whole  Chris- 
tian Church  throughout  India.  No  shadow  of  doubt  now  seems 
to  remain  as  to  the  necessity  for  a  representative  body  of  this 
kind,  or  as  to  the  providential  tokens  which  have  guided  our 
brethren  thus  far  in  organizing  and  directing  a  Conference  which 
in  a  peculiar  way  unifies  our  work  and  binds  the  hearts  of  the 
workers  together  while  they  toil  in  their  widely  separated  fields. 

At  the  recent  session  of  our  Central  Conference  several  meas- 
ures were  enacted  which  will,  I  trust,  receive  the  favorable  atten- 
tion of  this  General  Conference.  First  of  all,  a  few  changes  will 
be  asked  in  the  disciplinary  provision  made  for  the  organization 
of  the  Central  Conference,  and  probably  also  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  Conference  as  it  now  stands.  As  our  work  expands  and 
our  interests  become  more  complicated,  it  is  found  that  the  au- 
thority of  the  Central  Conference  needs  to  be  more  carefully  de- 
fined and  its  powers  in  some  particulars  slightly  enlarged.  The 
Conference  has  also  ventured  to  express  its  convictions  upon  our 
financial  situation,  upon  the  question  of  episcopal  superintendence 
of  our  missions,  and  upon  the  need  of  an  additional  missionary 
bishop  for  India  and  Malaysia.  Upon  this  last  subject  I  beg  to 
be  allowed  to  submit  a  few  remarks. 

For  some  time  the  necessity  for  an  additional  superintendent 
in  southern  Asia  has  been  very  generally  felt  among  us,  but  until 
rcrently  a  fear  had  prevailed  that  a  request  for  a  second  bishop 
might  bo  regarded  as  premature,  and  perhaps  affect  unfavorably 
both  the  General  Conference  and  the  Church.    The  progress  of 


326 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


our  work,  however,  has  been  so  uniform  and  so  rapid  that  our 
brethren  have,  with  few  exceptions,  been  recently  led  to  dismiss 
their  fears,  and  now  boldly  ask  that  due  provision  be  made  for  a 
work  ^hich  no  single  individual  can  possibly  perform.  In  con- 
sidering this  request  you  should,  first  of  all,  remember  that  our 
field  in  southern  Asia  covers  an  immense  area.  Two  of  our  pre- 
siding elders  live  4,000  miles  apart,  and  in  order  to  reach  our 
recent  Central  Conference  some  of  the  delegates  were  obliged  to 
travel  more  than  three  thousand,  or,  including  the  return  journey, 
more  than  six  thousand,  miles.  We  have  mission  stations  dotted 
all  over  this  vast  area,  and  if  there  were  no  other  special  features 
of  the  work  this  question  of  distance  alone  would  make  it  impos- 
sible for  any  one  individual  to  superintend  the  work,  in  the 
Methodist  sense  of  the  word  superintend.  Then  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  we  have  twenty-four  District  Conferences,  and 
that  these  bodies  in  India  are  much  more  fully  developed  than  in 
America.  The  itinerant  polity  of  our  Church  is  applied  to  all 
our  workers,  male  and  female,  in  connection  with  the  District 
Conferences,  and  the  annual  meetings  of  some  of  these  bodies  are 
of  more  real  importance  than  the  regular  sessions  of  our  Annual 
Conferences.  It  is  extremely  important  that  a  bishop  be  present 
at  all  the  meetings  of  the  six  Annual  and  twenty-four  District 
Conferences,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  appointments 
of  nearly  three  thousand  Christian  workers  are  made  on  these 
occasions. 

Our  educational  work  also  demands  a  much  more  efficient  super- 
vision than  is  possible  with  only  one  superintendent  in  the  field. 
With  sixteen  bishops  in  the  United  States,  you  have  thirty -four 
thousand  pupils  in  all  the  Methodist  schools  of  the  country.  With 
one  bishop  in  southern  Asia  we  have  thirty  thousand  pupils  in 
our  Methodist  schools,  and  but  for  the  reduction  in  our  income  we 
should  probably  have  had  more  pupils  in  our  schools  to-day  than 
you  have  in  all  of  yours  in  this  country.  So  deeply  do  I  feel  im- 
pressed with  the  urgency  of  this  demand  that  I.  have  frequently 
said  that  if  every  other  duty  were  laid  aside,  so  that  I  could  give 
my  undivided  time  to  our  educational  interests,  I  could  not  over- 
take half  the  work  which  would  thus  be  imposed  upon  me. 

I  beg  to  be  indulged  in  one  word  more  upon  this  subject.  In  many 
respects  our  work  differs  from  that  of  our  brethren  in  America. 
We  are  a  militant  people,  not  democratic,  not  monarchic,  not  sac- 
erdotal, not  military,  but  militant,  after  the  pattern  of  the  Now 
Testament  and  of  early  Methodism.    As  such  we  need  leaders. 


1396.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Thoburn. 


327 


Five  of  our  presiding  elders  are  natives,  and  as  time  passes  the 
number  of  these  men  will  increase,  while  the  Americans  and  Eu- 
ropeans must  relatively  decrease.  These  India  elders  succeed 
well,  but  for  obvious  reasons  they  need  leaders.  They  make 
excellent  corps  commanders,  but  not  many  of  them  could  assume 
supreme  command  upon  the  battlefield. 

I  now  come  to  another  question  which  I  approach  with  some 
hesitation,  and  yet  cannot  pass  by  in  silence.  While  pleading 
for  additional  episcopal  help,  it  may  possibly  be  objected  that  the 
present  missionary  bishop  has  frequently  absented  himself  from 
his  field,  and  that,  too,  for  comparatively  long  periods.  I  have 
no  shadow  of  wish  to  evade  this  objection,  but  in  discussing  it 
I  must  beg  permission  to  speak  with  all  possible  frankness,  as 
well  as  with  all  possible  loyalty  and  good  will.  If  compelled  to 
refer  to  the  Missionary  Society  in  connection  with  our  difficulties, 
I  wish  to  say  in  advance  that  no  man  is  more  indebted  to  that 
society  than  myself,  and  perhaps  I  might  even  venture  to  add 
that  no  one  is  more  sincerely  devoted  to  its  interests  than  I  am. 
But  for  our  Missionary  Society  I  should  never  have  been  sent  to 
India,  and  might  to-day  have  been  occupying  a  pulpit  in  some 
Ohio  town,  instead  of  enjoying  the  noblest  opportunity  for  en- 
larged usefulness  which  has  been  set  before  any  Methodist 
preacher  during  the  present  century.  Not  until  my  right  hand 
forgets  its  cunning  shall  it  ever  be  said  of  me  that  I  do  not  prize 
the  welfare  of  our  Missionary  Society  above  my  chief  joy,  but 
while  fully  realizing  all  this  I  must  at  the  same  time  beg  to  be 
allowed  to  place  before  you  a  brief  statement  of  the  peculiar  re- 
lation which  our  missions  in  southern  Asia  sustain  toward  the 
society. 

Sixteen  years  ago  our  mission  field  in  India  embraced  only  a 
small  territory,  not  so  large,  indeed,  as  the  State  of  Ohio.  A 
little  later  our  work  began  to  be  extended  far  beyond  these  limits, 
chiefly,  however,  among  the  small  settlements  of  English-speak- 
ing people,  and  without  aid  from  our  Missionary  Society.  As 
time  passed  it  began  to  be  felt,  both  in  India  and  America,  that 
the  work  should  be  unified  and  the  aid  of  the  Missionary  Society 
extended  freely  to  all  parts  of  the  great  Indian  empire.  The 
missionaries  in  charge  of  the  new  work,  however,  disapproved  of 
this  policy,  and  for  ten  long  years  struggled  manfully  to  support 
their  work  exclusively  on  a  self-supporting  basis.  In  December, 
1  882,  liishop  Foster  and  Dr.  Reid,  at  that  time  senior  Missionary 
Secretary,  visited  India,  and  while  they  were  in  attendance  at  the 


328 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


session  of  the  South  India  Conference  an  earnest  effort  was  made  to 
induce  that  body  to  abandon  as  hopeless  its  exclusive  adherence  to 
self -support,  and  accept  grants  from  the  Missionary  Society.  Many 
influential  friends  urged  the  missionaries  to  reverse  their  policy, 
but  for  my  own  part  I  opposed  the  change  to  the  utmost  of  my 
ability.  In  doing  so  the  chief  point  I  made  was  that  both  our 
friends  in  America  and  our  advisers  in  India  utterly  failed  to 
realize  what  was  meant  by  extending  the  policy  adopted  in  our 
original  mission  in  North  India  over  a  field  more  than  forty  times 
as  large  and  containing  a  population  eighteen  times  as  great  as 
that  very  limited  territory.  I  begged  our  brethren  with  tears 
not  to  take  such  a  step,  and  assured  them  that,  if  the  change 
should  be  made,  in  a  very  few  years  India  would  require  an  an- 
nual grant  of  $350,000  in  order  to  sustain  such  a  work.  This 
estimate  was  received  with  incredulity,  and  no  doubt  seemed  to 
many  wildly  extravagant,  but  it  represents  about  the  sum  which 
we  need  to-day.  On  that  occasion  I  was  wrong  in  my  advice,  but 
right  in  my  estimate.  The  proposal  to  accept  grants  from  the 
Missionary  Society  was  defeated  for  the  time,  but  a  few  years 
later  it  was  successfully  renewed,  and  for  nine  years  past  all 
India  has  constituted  one  grand  mission  field,  under  the  fostering 
care  of  our  Missionary  Society. 

In  November,  1887,  I  met  Dr.  Reid  and  the  late  Mr.  Phillips, 
treasurer  of  the  Missionary  Society,  to  confer  with  them  con- 
cerning the  estimates  for  the  new  field  in  India,  and  found  them 
much  troubled  over  the  unexpected  magnitude  of  the  sum  asked 
for  the  work.  We  discussed  the  whole  bearings  of  the  case,  and 
I  assumed  the  responsibility  of  advising  a  reduction  of  nearly 
fifty  per  cent  in  the  estimates,  but  with  the  understanding  that 
the  grant  would  be  increased  year  by  year,  until  a  figure  should 
be  reached  corresponding  to  the  amounts  usually  given  for  sim- 
ilar work  elsewhere.  The  General  Committee  accepted  our  rec- 
ommendation, and  gave  the  amount  asked  without  serious  oppo- 
sition. 

The  following  year  I  was  made  superintendent  of  our  mis- 
sions in  southern  Asia,  and  in  November  of  that  year  met  the 
General  Committee  in  session  in  New  York.  To  my  dismay, 
however,  instead  of  receiving  our  first  installment  of  the  expected 
gradual  increase,  a  large  reduction  was  made  in  our  appropria- 
tion of  the  previous  year,  and  to  this  day  this  reduction  has  never 
been  fully  restored.  I  thus  began  my  administration  under  very 
trying  circumstances,  and  the  embarrassment  of  the  situation  waa 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Thobum. 


329 


soon  greatly  increased  by  the  discovery  that  God  was  bringing 
to  our  very  doors  large  numbers  of  converts  and  inquirers,  and 
that  a  movement  of  unwonted  magnitude  seemed  to  be  opening 
before  us.  We  laid  the  case  before  the  General  Committee  at 
its  next  meeting,  and  in  response  to  our  appeal  for  help  a  grant 
of  $2,000  was  made  for  this  new  work,  but  with  the  exception  of 
this  sum  the  General  Committee  has  never  felt  able  to  give  a 
single  dollar  in  aid  of  this  great  movement,  which  has  attracted 
so  much  attention  and  added  so  much  to  our  responsibilities. 
This  statement  is  not  made  by  way  of  complaint,  but  solely  that 
you  may  be  able  to  understand  the  extreme  necessity  which  was 
laid  upon  us  to  seek  help  at  whatever  door  God  should  open  be- 
fore us.  In  our  time  of  great  need  a  door  of  hope  and  help  was 
opened  to  us  in  the  shape  of  special  contributions  from  private 
parties  in  America  and  elsewhere.  We  did  not  seek  this  kind  of 
help  until  it  began  to  flow  to  us.  Persons  of  whom  we  had  never 
heard  began  to  send  us  sums  of  money,  and  we  very  naturally 
accepted  such  gifts  as  sent  by  God,  and  as  tokens  of  his  loving 
care. 

In  the  summer  of  1890  I  first  came  to  this  country  on  special 
leave,  but  I  did  so  without  any  thought  of  canvassing  for  funds 
in  aid  of  our  new  work.  I  came  on  another  errand,  came  with 
extreme  reluctance,  and  planned  for  a  brief  stay  of  only  four 
months.  To  my  extreme  surprise,  however,  God  opened  my  way 
to  secure  help  for  the  work,  and  when  I  returned  to  India  I  found 
one  hundred  preachers  at  work  in  the  new  harvest  fields,  all  sup- 
ported by  funds  received  during  my  brief  visit  to  this  country. 
From  that  day  these  special  gifts  have  continued  to  come  to  us,  but 
not  at  all  in  such  sums  as  has  been  popularly  supposed.  Our  total 
receipts  from  this  source  during  the  last  eight  years  have  averaged 
a  little  less  than  825,000  a  year,  a  very  modest  sum  indeed  when 
measured  by  the  results  which  it  has  yielded.  But  for  this  aid 
some  of  our  missionaries  must  have  been  sent  back  home  six  or 
seven  years  ago,  and  but  for  this  our  extraordinary  success  in 
North  India  could  never  have  been  realized.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  more  than  half  of  our  increase  in  converts,  schools, 
•  fcnd  Sunday  schools  has  been  owing  to  the  help  received  by  our 
missionaries  in  the  shape  of  special  gifts,  and  when  the  magnitude 
of  this  increase  in  considered  we  may  well  doubt  if  in  all  the 
pagefl  of  missionary  history  any  other  instance  can  be  cited  in 
which  such  amazing  results  have  been  achieved  at  so  slight  a 
cost.    The  average  cost  of  missionary  labor  in  India  can  easily 


330  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

be  ascertained,  as  the  statistics  of  all  the  great  societies  are 
within  easy  reach.  We  are  thus  able  to  form  an  estimate  of  the 
average  cost  of  such  a  work  as  that  which  our  missionaries  have 
accomplished,  and  the  comparison  which  this  furnishes  is  simply 
astounding.  The  special  work  which  has  cost  our  missionaries 
$200,000  in  the  course  of  eight  years  would  in  the  general  labor 
market  of  the  missionary  world  cost  at  least  $2,000,000,  and  this 
without  furnishing  any  assurance  that  the  same  measure  of  suc- 
cess would  be  achieved  which  has  attended  the  labors  of  our 
brethren  in  India. 

During  the  past  eight  years  I  have  twice  left  my  field  to  attend 
the  General  Conference,  once  I  came  to  this  country  by  special 
authority  of  the  General  Committee,  and  twice  only  have  I  come 
on  my  own  official  responsibility.  It  seems  a  pity  indeed  that  I 
have  had  to  assume  such  a  responsibility,  but,  in  the  light  of  re- 
sults, I  venture  to  ask  how  it  would  have  seemed  if  I  had  not 
come  ?  By  shutting  my  eyes  and  closing  my  ears  to  the  manifest 
tokens  of  God's  providence  I  might  have  kept  out  of  sight  and 
hearing  of  the  Church  in  America,  but,  had  I  done  so,  50,000  of 
your  fellow-Christians  would  to-day  be  bowing  down  to  idols,  and 
a  dozen  of  your  missionaries  would  long  ere  this  have  been  com- 
pelled to  forsake  the  field  to  which  God  had  called  them.  It  is 
sometimes  easy  to  say  what  ought  to  have  been  done  in  a  given 
case,  but  until  one  is  compelled  to  stand  for  months  and  years 
face  to  face  with  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  eager  in- 
quirers one  cannot  tell  what  ought  to  be  done  or  left  undone  in 
such  an  emergency  as  this. 

Our  present  financial  embarrassment  in  India  and  Malaysia  can 
be  readily  understood  in  the  light  of  the  facts  which  I  have  set 
before  you.  It  is  due  to  the  present  secretaries  to  say  that  the 
difficulties  of  the  situation  had  been  foreseen,  and  to  some  extent 
realized,  before  their  administration  commenced.  The  situation 
became  desperate  from  the  day  that  the  financial  su£>port  of  all 
our  missions  in  southern  Asia  was  assumed,  but  unfortunately  it 
has  seemed  impossible  to  get  the  Church,  or  even  the  General 
Committee,  to  comprehend  the  actual  state  of  our  affairs.  Our 
situ?  tion  has  for  years  been  unlike  that  of  the  other  foreign  mis- 
sions of  our  Church.  Two  of  our  Conferences  receive,  relatively, 
full  seventy  per  cent  less  from  the  Missionary  Society  than  other 
missions  of  similar  grade  in  the  foreign  field.  Three  others  re- 
ceive fifty  per  cent  less.  For  this  we  blame  no  one,  believing  as 
we  do  that  the  situation  has  never  been  understood,  and  even  if 


1896.] 


Report  of  Bishop  Thoburn. 


331 


it  had  been  comprehended,  there  has  never  been  a  day  when  there 
was  enough  money  in  the  treasury  to  meet  our  urgent  needs.  At 
last,  however,  the  situation  has  become  desperate.  While  the 
work  has  expanded  the  appropriations  have  been  diminished, 
until  we  are  now  compelled  to  consider  seriously  the  question  of 
sending  back  to  America  about  one  sixth  of  our  missionaries.  I 
fully  realize  the  grave  import  of  these  words,  but  I  should  be  do- 
ing less  than  my  duty  if  I  did  not  faithfully  lay  the  whole  case 
before  you. 

Four  years  ago,  when  I  ventured  to  exhort  you  not  to  neglect 
the  day  of  your  missionary  visitation  and  entreated  you  to  take 
advanced  ground,  and  if  need  be  adapt  legislation  to  the  needs  of 
this  extraordinary  era,  my  words  were  received  with  every  token 
of  kindness  and  favor,  but  very  little  was  done.  Again  I  appear 
before  you  with  a  still  more  urgent  appeal,  but  in  presenting  it  I 
must  be  allowed  to  say  that  if  this  General  Conference  does  not 
take  some  definite  action  toward  relieving  the  present  extreme 
tension  of  our  missionary  finances  little  or  nothing  will  be  done 
elsewhere.  The  General  Missionary  Committee  is,  and  possibly 
ought  to  be,  the  most  conservative  body  in  Methodism.  It  has 
been  constituted  for  the  purpose  of  disbursing  money,  not  of  col- 
lecting it,  and  has  seldom  favored  new  measures  of  any  kind. 
The  Missionary  Board  has  been  constituted  for  the  purpose  of 
administering  the  money  appropriated  by  the  General  Committee, 
and  has  rarely  attempted  to  deal  with  proposals  for  increasing 
our  sources  of  missionary  revenue.  All  parties  naturally  look  to 
the  General  Conference  for  help  in  an  emergency  such  as  is  upon 
us  now,  and  I  pray  God  that  they  may  not  look  in  vain.  That 
your  hearts  are  with  us  in  our  present  troubles  no  one  doubts, 
but  we  want  both  your  hearts  and  your  help.  The  collective 
wisdom  of  this  great  representative  body  can  surely  devise 
adequate  measures,  not  only  to  extricate  our  missionary  enterprise 
from  its  present  danger,  but  to  place  it  on  firmer  ground  than  it 
has  ever  occupied  before. 

It  would  be  presumption  on  my  part  to  attempt  to  point  out  to 
you  how  so  serious  a  problem  can  be  solved,  but  perhaps  you  will 
bear  with  me  if  I  indicate  one  or  two  steps  which  might  help  in 
the  difficult  task.  First  and  foremost,  an  organized  and  adequate 
effort  must  be  made  to  reach  the  mass  of  non-givers  in  our  Church. 
Some  two  millions  or  more  of  our  people  give  nothing  whatever 
to  the  missionary  cause.  Assuming  that  one  million  of  these  are 
not  purse-holders,  and  are  represented  by  husbands  or  parents. 


332 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


we  have  still  a  mighty  reserve  force,  one  million  strong,  who  give 
nothing.  An  organized  and  permanent  effort  should  be  made  to 
reach  this  host  of  non-givers.  The  system  of  annual  collections 
should  give  place  to  monthly  or  weekly  gatherings.  To  make 
a  proposal  of  this  kind  possible,  agencies  must  be  provided  and 
trained  for  effectively  reaching  the  entire  membership.  In  the 
Conference  Missionary  Society  we  have  the  unfinished  framework 
of  the  kind  of  auxiliary  agency  needed.  Complete  the  evolution 
of  this  society  so  that  there  may  be  an  effective  auxiliary  in  every 
district,  and  in  every  pastoral  charge,  and  a  stimulus  will  be  given 
to  the  cause  all  through  the  land. 

In  the  next  place,  our  people  should  be  not  merely  permitted, 
but  heartily  encouraged  and  invited,  to  undertake  the  support  of 
special  objects  in  the  mission  field.  For  some  years  past  there 
has  been  a  growing  desire  among  Christians  of  all  denomina- 
tions, both  in  Europe  and  America,  to  give  in  this  way.  In  our 
own  Church,  however,  this  kind  of  giving  has  been  regarded 
with  a  large  measure  of  disfavor,  and  while  tolerated  it  has  not 
been  encouraged.  But  why  not  encourage  it  ?  Every  successful 
collector  knows  that  benevolent  people  extremely  dislike  to  be 
dictated  to  in  reference  to  the  objects  of  their  charity,  and  we 
chill  liberal  hearts,  repel  generous  givers,  and  discourage  ardent  "* 
workers  when  we  insist  that  each  and  every  steward  of  our  com- 
mon Master  must  ask  strangers  to  select  the  object  to  which 
their  gifts  are  to  be  applied.  We  gain  nothing  and  lose  much 
by  attempting  this  impossible  policy.  Why  not,  then,  in  the 
name  of  our  great  Church,  spread  out  before  the  people  a  state- 
ment of  the  needs  of  the  work,  and  let  all  who  are  so  inclined 
freely  select  such  objects  as  they  wish  to  support,  and  give  ac- 
cordingly. Let  the  Missionary  Society  assume  full  charge  of 
this  work,  and  thus  protect  men  like  myself  from  the  charge  so 
often  made  of  irregularity  and  irresponsibility.  If  it  be  said 
that  this  will  open  a  door  to  all  manner  of  unauthorized  collect- 
ing and  misguided  giving,  I  reply  that  it  will  effectually  put  a 
stop  to  both  of  those  evils.  We  cannot  frown  down  a  movement 
of  this  kind,  and  the  only  possible  way  of  preventing  its  abuse  is 
to  assume  charge  of  it  in  a  generous  and  trustful  spirit.  I  verily 
believe  that  $100,000  might  be  added  to  the  income  of  our  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  a  single  year  if  this  policy  were  boldly 
avowed  and  formally  adopted  by  this  General  Conference. 

I  shall  not  trespass  upon  your  time  by  offering  other  sugges- 
tions, but  if  desired  I  shall  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  be  allowed  to 


1896.J 


Report  of  Bishop  Thoburn. 


appear  before  a  committee  and  call  attention  to  other  possible 
ways  of  adding  to  our  resources,  and  also  of  lessening  our  expend- 
itures. 

And  now,  dear  fathers  and  brethren,  we  stand  at  the  parting 
of  the  missionary  ways.  The  times  are  critical,  the  skies  are 
clouded,  and  the  hearts  of  multitudes  are  failing  them  because  of 
the  gloomy  outlook.  Not  for  fifty  years  has  there  been  so  much 
hostility  manifested  by  the  press  toward  the  missionary  enterprise 
as  during  the  past  year.  In  Turkey  the  work  is  arrested,  in  Per- 
sia it  is  threatened,  in  Korea  the  shadow  of  Russian  domination 
is  impending,  in  China  a  cry  is  raised  for  recalling  all  mission- 
aries from  the  interior,  in  India  shrinking  finances  affect  the 
progress  of  nearly  all  the  societies,  and  even  in  Africa  so-called 
statesmen  who  chance  to  live  a  century  behind  the  times  are 
proposing  to  exclude  the  missionaries  from  vast  regions  in  the 
interests  of  peace.  At  such  a  time  our  responsibilities  become 
unspeakably  great.  If  you  do  nothing,  or  if  you  do  less  than 
your  whole  duty  at  this  critical  moment,  you  will  miss  one 
of  the  noblest  opportunities  which  God  has  ever  set  before 
a  Church  or  a  people;  but  if  you  appreciate  the  peril  of  the 
hour,  if  you  resolve  to  meet  the  crisis  at  once,  even  though  you 
have  to  summon  a  thousand,  or  ten  thousand,  collectors  into  the 
field,  you  will  send  a  thrill  of  hope  and  joy  around  the  globe. 
You  will  give  an  answer  to  the  detractors  of  the  missionary  cause 
which  will  silence  them  for  a  hundred  years.  You  will  assure 
the  teeming  millions  of  China  that,  so  far  from  withdrawing,  you 
propose  in  the  early  future  to  have  a  larger  force  of  your  own 
upon  her  shores  than  there  is  now  of  all  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries of  Europe  and  America  combined.  You  will  say  to  Africa 
that  you  are  at  last  awake  to  a  sense  of  the  awful  debt  which  you 
owe  her,  and  that  you  intend  at  once  to  found  at  least  three 
mighty  spiritual  empires  among  her  long-benighted  millions. 
And  to  India  you  will  speak  in  a  voice  which  will  raise  a  shout 
of  joy  that  the  very  stars  shall  hear.  Stand  by  your  exiled  chil- 
dren in  that  far-off  land,  fulfill  the  obligations  which  you  assumed 
in  sending  them  there,  and  the  victories  of  to-day  will  fade  out  of 
sight  in  the  glowing  splendor  of  the  greater  victories  of  to-mor- 
row. Stand  by  your  sons  and  daughters  as  they  have  stood  by 
you,  and  in  the  fear  of  God  I  venture  to  promise  for  them  that 
when  they  step  across  the  threshold  of  the  new  century  they  will 
lead  with  them  a  mighty  host  of  two  hundred  thousand  Indian 
Methodists! 


334 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


More  than  thirty-seven  years  ago  I  left  your  shores  for  a  dis- 
tant land  of  which  I  knew  almost  nothing,  and  for  a  work  to 
which  I  was  an  utter  stranger.  In  the  years  which  have  since 
passed  I  have  sometimes  been  sorely  tried,  have  sometimes 
seemed  to  pass  under  the  cloud  and  through  the  sea,  but  at 
no  time  has  the  trial  been  so  sharp  as  during  the  last  twelve 
months.  We  dare  not  pause,  and  yet  our  way  seems  utterly 
hedged  in.  I  do  not  pretend  to  have  lived  superior  to  all  feel- 
ings of  despondency  through  all  these  trying  months,  but  for 
weeks,  or  perhaps  months  past,  at  times,  God  has  given  me  a 
vision  which  has  seemed  to  gird  me  with  new  strength.  When 
John  stood  upon  the  Patmos  sands,  a  banished  criminal,  he  saw 
an  angel  flying  in  midheaven,  having  the  everlasting  Gospel  for 
every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people  of  earth.  We 
make  little  headway  in  interpreting  the  imageries  of  Revelation, 
but  they  often  teach  us  wonderful  lessons.  In  my  despondency, 
again  and  again,  I  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  angel  John 
saw  of  old.  He  is  the  angel  of  promise  to  the  nations  still. 
Since  coming  here  I  seem  to  see  him  every  hour,  and  I  cannot 
but  believe  that  God  gives  me  the  vision.  We  shall  not  fail. 
This  General  Conference  will  do  its  duty.  A  new  era  shall  dawn 
upon  the  missionary  world,  and  while  the  angel  speeds  his  con- 
quering flight  the  nations  will  begin  to  own  their  Lord,  the 
sons  of  God  in  earth  and  heaven  will  send  up  a  mighty  shout 
of  joy,  and  the  morning  stars  again  take  up  their  almost  forgot- 
ten song. 


B. 


REPORTS  OF  COMMISSIONS. 

The  Constitutional  Commission  appointed  by  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1888  made  its  report  to  the  General  Conference  of 
1892.  After  considerable  discussion,  the  report  was,  on  motion 
of  J.  M.  Buckley,  indefinitely  postponed  with  instructions  to 
have  it  published  in  the  papers  of  the  Church  and  presented  to 
the  General  Conference  of  1896.    The  report  is  as  follows: 

CONSTITUTIONAL  COMMISSION. 

Journal,  pages  94,  132,  170,  191,  206,  227,  228. 

To  the  Twenty-first  Delegated  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America : 

Fathers  and  Brethren  :  At  the  Twentieth  Delegated  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  held  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  in  May,  1888,  the  importance  of  a  formal 
definition  or  identification  of  the  organic  law  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  and  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence was  presented  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  matter. 

This  committee  presented  a  report,  which,  after  amendment, 
was  adopted  and  appears  in  the  Journal  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1888,  as  follows  : 

"  They  are  convinced  that  the  organic  law  of  the  Church,  and 
especially  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Conference,  needs  to  be 
accurately  defined  and  determined ;  that  the  method  to  be  pur- 
sued in  the  organization  of  the  General  Conference  should  be  pre- 
cisely and  explicitly  stated  ;  that  the  relations  of  lay  to  minis- 
terial representations  should  be  more  satisfactorily  adjusted. 
They  are  also  convinced  that  these  questions  require  most  thor- 
ough and  careful  consideration. 

"They  therefore  recommend  the  appointment  of  a  Commission 
of  seven  ministers  and  seven  laymen,  one  from  each  General  Con- 
ference District,  and  three  of  the  General  Superintendents,  who 
may  prepare  paragraphs  to  take  the  place  of  paragraphs  63  and 
64,  inclusive,  in  the  present  edition  of  the  Discipline,  said  para- 
graphs to  define  and  determine  the  Constitution  of  the  General 
Conference;  to  state  of  whom  it  shall  be  composed,  and  by  what 
method  it  shall  be  organized;  to  declare  what  shall  be  the  powers 
thereof,  and  in  what  manner  they  shall  be  exercised;  and  to  pro- 
vide the  process  by  which  the  Constitution,  or  any  part  thereof, 
shall  be  amended,  and  report  to  the  General  Conference  of  1892  " 
(General  Conference  Journal,  1888,  p.  468). 

In  pursuance  of  this  action,  and  in  obedience  to  it,  the  Bishops, 
at  their  meeting  in  October,  1888,  appointed  the  members  of 
22 


336 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


the  Commission  for  the  General  Conference  Districts,  as  fol- 
lows: 

DISTRICT. 

I,  Governor  William  P.  Dillingham,  of  Montpelier,  Vt. 
II,  Rev.  John  Miley,  D.D.,  of*  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  Madison,  N.  J. 

III,  Mr.  Francis  H.  Root,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

IV,  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Neely,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa 
V,  The  Hon.  Judge  Hiram  L.  Sibley,  of  Marietta,  0. 

VI,  Rev.  Jacob  Todd,  D.D.,  of  Wilmington,  Del. 

VII,  Colonel  John  W.  Ray,  of  Indianapolis,  Ind. 
VIII,  Rev.  Luke  Hitchcock,  D.D.,  of  Chicago,  111. 

IX,  Rev.  Alpha  J.  Kynett,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Church 
Extension  Society. 
X,  The  Hon.  Judge  Samuel  H.  Elbert,  of  Denver,  Colo. 
XI,  Rev.  Charles  L.  Madison,  San  Antonio,  Tex. 
XII,  Mr.  T.  B.  Sweet,  Topeka,  Kan. 

XIII,  Rev.  Jacob  Rothweiler,  D.D.,  Newport,  Ky. 

XIV,  The  Hon.  Judge  R.  M.  Widne^v,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

The  Bishops  also  designated  three  of  their  own  number  to  act  as  members  of 
the  Commission,  namely,  Bishop  S.  M.  Merrill,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop  C.  D.  Foss, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  and  Bishop  W.  X.  Ninde.  D.D.,  LL.D. 

As  no  one  had  been  charged  with  the  duty  of  calling  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Commission,  the  three  Bishops  appointed  to  act 
with  it,  after  consulting  with  several  members,  issued  a  call  for  a 
meeting  at  Chautauqua,  N.  Y.,  on  the  6th  day  of  August,  1890. 

A  quorum  having  assembled  at  the  time  and  place  appointed, 
the  Commission  organized  by  electing  Bishop  Merrill  President 
and  Dr.  T.  B.  Neely,  of  Philadelphia,  Secretary. 

At  Chautauqua  the  Commission  was  in  session  two  days,  and 
then,  after  appointing  a  committee  to  digest  the  various  propo- 
sitions presented,  and  to  prepare  a  basis  for  action  at  the  next 
meeting,  adjourned  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  on 
the  10th  of  December,  1890. 

The  Commission  reconvened  at  that  time  and  place,  and  re- 
mained in  session  four  days.  At  this  session  the  report  of  the 
committee  was  carefully  considered  and  many  new  points  were 
passed  upon. 

The  next  session  of  the  Commission  was  held  at  Ocean  Grove, 
N.  J.,  where  the  Commission  met  on  the  23d  of  July,  1891,  and 
continued  in  session  six  days,  not  including  the  Sabbath  day. 

The  members  of  the  Commission  were  not  all  present  at  any 
one  time,  but  all  who  were  appointed  were  in  attendance  a  por- 
tion of  the  time,  excepting  Governor  Dillingham,  who  was  de- 
tained from  the  first  two  meetings  by  the  claims  of  official  duty, 
and  from  the  last  meeting  by  the  illness  and  death  of  his  vener- 
able and  honored  father. 

A  quorum  of  the  Commission  was  present  at  the  Chautauqua, 
Indianapolis,  and  Ocean  Grove  sessions,  so  that  at  no  time  was  the 
business  delayed  by  the  nonattendance  of  a  quorum. 

The  first  thing  considered  by  the  Commission  was  the  nature 
and  scope  of  the  duties  assigned  it  by  the  General  Conference. 

After  careful  examination  it  was  found  that  the  work  expected 


1896.]  Report  of  Constitutional  Commission. 


337 


of  the  Commission  consisted  of  two  principal  parts:  First,  the  des- 
ignation of  those  parts  of  the  Discipline  which  should  be  re- 
garded as  having  the  nature  and  force  of  a  "  Constitution  of  the 
General  Conference,"  and  those  forming  "  the  organic  law  of  the 
Church;"  and,  second,  the  preparation  of  paragraphs  to  take  the 
place  of  certain  designated  paragraphs  now  in  the  Discipline. 

It  was  further  found  that  the  other  duties  specified  in  the  in- 
structions given  the  Commission  would  be  met  in  the  preparation 
of  the  said  paragraphs. 

The  Commission  was  at  first  somewhat  embarrassed  by  the 
figures  which  appear  in  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1888,  as  published  in  the  Journal oi  that  body.  According  to  the 
form  of  the  report  as  printed  in  the  Journal,  the  Commission  was 
empowered  to  "  prepare  paragraphs  to  take  the  place  of  para- 
graphs 63  and  64,  inclusive,"  in  the  Discipline  of  1884. 

In  this  there  was  a  manifest  mistake,  for  if  "  paragraphs  63 
and  64  "  were  all  that  were  intended,  then  the  word  "inclusive  " 
would  have  been  superfluous,  as  nothing  intervened  between  "  63 
and  64."  It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  there  was  a  clerical  or 
typographical  error. 

In  addition  to  this,  it  was  the  recollection  of  members  of  the 
Commission  that  the  report  adopted  by  the  General  Conference 
included  the  entire  section  on  the  General  Conference,  and  speci- 
fied paragraphs  63  to  72,  inclusive,  which  covered  the  above  sec- 
tion. An  examination  of  the  report  as  it  appeared  in  the  Daily 
Christian  Advocate  of  1888  showed  that  the  words  therein  used 
were  "  paragraphs  63  to  72,  inclusive  "  (Daily  Christian  Advo- 
cate, 1888,  May  29,  p.  195),  thus  corresponding  with  the  recol- 
lection of  members  of  the  Commission,  and  harmonizing  with  the 
evident  intention  of  the  General  Conference  of  1888. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  and  because  any  other  interpretation 
would  defeat  in  large  measure  the  purpose  for  which  the  Com- 
mission was  created,  it  was  decided  to  follow  the  figures  as  re- 
ported by  the  Committee  of  the  late  General  Conference. 

The  Constitutional  Commission  appointed  according  to  the 
action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1888,  and  acting  under  its 
instructions  and  permissions,  begs  leave  to  report  the  following 
conclusions  and  suggestions: 

First.  As  to  the  definition  of  "  The  Constitution  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference/'  we  respectfully  report  as  follows: 

In  considering  the  question  as  to  what  is  the  Constitution  of 
the  General  Conference,  we  find  that  in  1784,  when  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  organized,  the  preachers,  with  the  acqui- 
escence of  the  people,  exercised  supreme  authority. 

After  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  the 
preachers  generally  in  General  Conference  assembled  constituted 
the  General  Conference.  Thus  the  early  Disciplines  read:  "All 
the  traveling  preachers  who  shall  be  in  full  connection  at  the  time 
of  holding  the  Conference  "  "  shall  compose  the  General  Confer- 
ence."   In  1800  were  added  the  words,  "and  have  traveled  four 


338 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


years;  "  and  in  1804  the  following  additional  words  were  added, 
"  from  the  time  that  they  were  received  on  trial  by  an  Annual 
Conference,"  so  that  in  1808  the  Church  was  represented  in  the 
General  Conference  by  all  the  traveling  preachers  who  were  in 
full  connection  at  the  time  of  holding  the  Conference,  and  had 
traveled  four  years  from  the  time  they  had  been  received  on  trial 
by  an  Annual  Conference. 

These  preachers  in  General  Conference  assembled  had  no  check 
upon  their  power  save  their  own  consideration  of  propriety 
right,  and  they  could  and  did  legislate  according  to  their  own 
pleasure. 

In  1808  they  decided  to  create  a  delegated  General  Conference. 
In  other  words,  it  was  agreed  that  instead  of  all  the  traveling 
preachers  assembling,  certain  selected  ones  should  be  empowered 
to  act  for  all. 

As  all  agreed  to  part  with  some  direct  power  by  confiding 
power  to  the  smaller  but  representative  number,  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  whole  body  of  preachers  would  expressly  state 
what  power  their  representatives  might  exert. 

So  the  General  Conference  of  1808  drew  up  a  formal  document 
declaring  who  should  compose  the  delegated  General  Conference, 
how  the  members  should  be  selected,  what  powers  they  might 
exert,  and  what  limitations  should  be  placed  upon  the  exercise  of 
this  delegated  power,  and  that  document  became  the  Constitution 
of  the  first  delegated  General  Conference,  which  met  in  1812.  In 
•  this  instrument  the  preachers  in  the  Annual  Conferences  reserved 
the  right  of  amendment  to  themselves. 

Since  that  time  various  modifications  have  been  made  in  this 
instrument,  by  far  the  most  important  in  its  bearings  on  the  Con- 
stitution being  the  introduction  of  lay  delegates  into  the  General 
Conference  as  a  constituent  part  of  the  supreme  law-making  body 
of  the  Church.  This  change  was  consummated  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1872,  after  preparatory  action  by  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1868,  a  submission  of  the  question  of  lay  delegation  to 
a  vote  of  the  laity,  and  also  by  the  requisite  vote  of  the  ministers 
in  the  Annual  Conferences  in  favor  of  an  amendment  to  the  Sec- 
ond Restrictive  Rule. 

A  constitution  is  an  instrument  containing  a  recital  of  prin- 
ciples of  organization  and  of  declarations  of  power,  permissions, 
and  limitations  which  cannot  be  taken  from,  added  to,  or  changed 
in  any  particular  without  the  consent  of  the  power  which  originally 
created  the  instrument,  or  by  the  legal  process  determined  by  the 
body  possessing  original  power. 

Therefore  the  present  Constitution  of  the  delegated  General 
Conference  is  the  document  drawn  up  and  adopted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1808,  but  modified  since  that  time  in  accord- 
ance with  the  specifications  and  restrictions  of  the  original  docu- 
ment, and  is  now  included  in  paragraphs  55  to  64,  inclusive,  in 
the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  1888, 
excepting  the  statement  as  to  the  definite  number  of  delegates 


1896.]  Report  of  Constitutional  Commission. 


339 


provided  for  in  paragraph  55,  which  is  an  act  solely  within  the 
power  of  the  General  Conference  under  the  permission  of  the 
Second  Restrictive  Rule. 

Second.  As  to  the  Organic  Law  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  we  beg  to  report  that  the  organic  law  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  includes  and  is  limited  to  the 
Articles  of  Religion,  the  General  Rules  of  the  United  Socie- 
ties, and  that  Avhich  we  have  already  defined  as  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  General  Conference,  while  the  rules  and  regulations 
enacted  by  the  General  Conference  are  statutory  and  form  no 
part  of  the  organic  law  of  our  Church. 

Third.  We  recommend  that  in  the  next  edition  of  the  Disci- 
pline its  arrangement  be  so  changed  that  after  the  introduction  on 
the  "  Origin  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  "  there  shall  fol- 
low a  general  heading,  with  the  words  : 

The  Organic  Law  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

That  under  this  shall  follow : 

PART  I. 
Articles  of  Religion. 

(Under  which  shall  be  placed  the  Articles  of  Religion.) 
Then  shall  follow: 

PART  II. 
The  General  Rules. 

(Under  which  shall  be  placed  that  part  which  is  known  as  the 
General  Rules.) 
Then  shall  follow: 

PART  III. 

Constitution  and  Powers  of  the  General  Conference. 

(Under  which  shall  be  placed  the  section  on  "The  General 
Conference,"  or,  in  other  words,  that  part  of  the  Discipline  of 
1888  which  is  found  in  paragraphs  55  to  64,  inclusive,  the  same 
matter  and  exact  words  to  be  arranged  in  the  same  order  in  arti- 
cles and  sections,  as  follows: ) 

Article  I. — Membership  of  General  Conference. 
The  General  Conference  shall  be  composed  of  ministerial  and  lay  delegates. 

Article  II. — Ministerial  Delegates. 

The  ministerial  delegates  shall  consist  of  one  delegate  for  every  fortj'-five 
members  of  each  Annual  Conference,  to  be  appointed  either  by  seniority  or  choice, 
at  the  discretion  of  such  Annual  Conference,  yet  so  that  such  representatives 
shall  have  traveled  at  least  four  full  calendar  years  from  the  time  that  they  were 
received  on  trial  by  an  Annual  Conference,  and  are  in  full  connection  at  the  time 
of  holding  the  Conference.* 


*  A  transferred  preacher  shall  not  be  counted  twice  In  the  same  year  in  the  basis  of  the 
♦•lection  of  delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  nor  vote  for  delegates  to  the  General  Con- 
ference In  any  Annual  Conference  where  he  is  not  counted  as  a  part  of  the  basis  of  repre- 
sentation, nor  vote  twice  the  same  year  on  any  constitutional  question.   (This  foot-note  is 
part  of  the  Constitution,  but  is  a  General  Conference  regulation.) 


340 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Article  III. — Lay  Delegates. 

§  1.  The  lay  delegates  shall  consist  of  two  laymen  for  each  Annual  Conference,, 
except  such  Conferences  as  have  but  one  ministerial  delegate,  which  Confer- 
ences shall  each  be  entitled  to  one  lay  delegate. 

§  2.  The  lay  delegates  shall  be  chosen  by  an  Electoral  Conference  of  laymen, 
which  shall  assemble  for  the  purpose  on  the  third  day  of  the  session  of  the  An- 
nual Conference,  at  the  place  of  its  meeting,  at  its  session  immediately  preceding 
that  of  the  General  Conference. 

§  3.  The  Electoral  Conference  shall  be  composed  of  one  layman  from  each  cir- 
cuit or  station  within  the  bounds  of  the  Annual  Conference,  such  laymen  to  be 
chosen  by  the  last  Quarterly  Conference  preceding  the  time  of  the  assembling  of 
such  Electoral  Conference;  and  on  assembling  the  Electoral  Conference  shall  or- 
ganize by  electing  a  chairman  and  secretary  of  its  own  number;  provided,  that  no 
layman  shall  be  chosen  a  delegate  either  to  the  Electoral  Conference  or  to  the 
General  Conference  who  shall  be  under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  or  who  shall 
not  have  been  a  member  of  the  Church  in  full  connection  for  the  five  consecutive 
years  preceding  the  election.* 

Article  IV. — Sessions. 

§  1.  The  General  Conference  shall  meet  on  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1812,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  thenceforward  on  the  first  day  of 
May  once  in  four  years  perpetually,  in  such  place  or  places  as  shall  be  fixed  on 
by  the  General  Conference  from  time  to  time. 

§  2.  But  the  General  Superintendents,  or  a  majority  of  them,  by  and  with  the 
advice  of  two  thirds  of  all. the  Annual  Conferences,  shall  have  power  to  call  an 
extra  session  of  the  General  Conference  at  any  time,  to  be  constituted  in  the  usual 
way.  But  if  there  shall  be  no  General  Superintendent,  then  two  thirds  of  all  the 
Annual  Conferences  shall  have  power  to  call  such  extra  session. 

Article  V. — Quorum. 

At  all  times  when  the  General  Conference  is  met  it  shall  take  two  thirds  of 
the  whole  number  of  ministerial  and  lay  delegates  to  form  a  quorum  for  transact- 
ing business. 

Article  VI. —  Voting. 

The  ministerial  and  lay  delegates  shall  deliberate  and  vote  together  as  one 
body,  but  they  shall  vote  separately  whenever  such  separate  vote  shall  be  de- 
manded by  one  third  of  either  order,  and  in  such  cases  the  concurrent  vote  of 
both  orders  shall  be  necessary  to  complete  an  action. 

Article  VII. — Presiding  Officers. 

One  of  the  General  Superintendents  shall  preside  in  the  General  Conference, 
but  in  case  no  General  Superintendent  be  present,  the  General  Conference  shall 
choose  a  president  pro  tempore. 

Article  VIII. — Powers  and  Restrictions. 

The  General  Conference  shall  have  full  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations 
for  our  Church  under  the  following  limitations  and  restrictions,  namely  : 

1.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  revoke,  alter,  nor  change  our  Articles  of 
Religion,  nor  establish  any  new  standards  or  rules  of  doctrine  contrary  to  our 
present  existing  and  established  standards  of  doctrine. 

2.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  of  more  than  one  ministerial  repre- 
sentative for  every  fourteen  members  of  any  Annual  Conference;  nor  of  a  less 


*The  Secretaries  of  the  several  Annual  and  Flectoral  Conferences  shall  send  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  last  General  Conference  a  certified  copy  of  the  election  of  delegates  and  reserves 
to  the  next  General  Conference,  in  the  order  of  their  election,  as  soon  after  the  election  as 
practicable,  so  that  a  roll  of  members  and  reserves  may  be  prepared  for  the  opening  of  the 
next  General  Conference.  (This  foot-note  is  not  a  part  of  the  Constitution,  but  is  a  General 
Conference  regulation.) 


1896.]  JZeport  of  Constitutional  Commission. 


341 


number  than  one  for  every  forty-five;  nor  of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  an 
Annual  Conference;  provided,  nevertheless,  that  when  there  shall  be  ill  any  An- 
nual Conference  a  fraction  of  two  thirds  the  number  which  shall  be  fixed  for  the 
ratio  of  representation,  such  Annual  Conference  shall  be  entitled  to  an  additional 
delegate  for  such  fraction ;  and,  provided,  also,  that  no  Conference  shall  be  denied 
the  privilege  of  one  ministerial  and  of  one  lay  delegate. 

3.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  change  nor  alter  any  part  or  rule  of  our 
government  so  as  to  do  away  episcopacy,  nor  destroy  the  plan  of  our  itiner- 
ant General  Superin tendency,  but  may  appoint  a  Missionary  Bishop  or  Super  in- 
tendent for  any  of  our  foreign  missions,  limiting  his  jurisdiction  to  the  same  re- 
spectively. 

4.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  revoke  nor  change  the  General  Rules  of 
the  United  Societies. 

5.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  do  away  the  privileges  of  our  ministers 
or  preachers  of  trial  by  a  committee  and  of  an  appeal ;  neither  shall  they  do 
away  the  privileges  of  our  members  of  trial  before  the  society  or  by  a  committee, 
and  of  an  appeal. 

6.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  appropriate  the  produce  of  the  Book  Con- 
cern, nor  of  the  Chartered  Fund,  to  any  purpose  other  than  for  the  benefit  of 
traveling,  supernumerary,  superannuated,  and  worn-out  preachers,  their  wives, 
widows,  and  children. 

Article  X. — Amendments. 

Provided,  nevertheless,  that  upon  the  concurrent  recommendation  of  three 
fourths  of  all  the  members  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences  who  shall  be  pres- 
ent and  vote  on  such  recommendation,  then  a  majority  of  two  thirds  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  succeeding  shall  suffice  to  alter  any  of  the  above  restrictions, 
excepting  the  first  article;  and  also,  whenever  such  alteration  or  alterations  shall 
have  been  first  recommended  by  two  thirds  of  the  General  Conference,  so  soon  as 
three  fourths  of  the  members  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences  shall  have  concurred 
as  aforesaid,  such  alteration  or  alterations  shall  take  effect. 

Fourth.  After  full  and  careful  consideration  of  the  points  in- 
volved, and  in  the  exercise  of  the  best  wisdom  it  could  command, 
the  Commission  agreed  to  report  a  form  of  constitution  to  take 
the  place  of  "  paragraphs  63  to  72,  inclusive,"  of  the  Discipline 
of  1884,  or  paragraphs  55  to  64,  inclusive,  of  the  Discipline  of 
1888.  The  Commission,  therefore,  respectfully  presents  the  fol- 
lowing form  of  Constitution  of  the  General  Conference  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  and,  if  adopted  by  the 
constitutional  vote,  according  to  paragraph  64  of  the  Discipline 
of  1888,  to  be  inserted  in  the  Discipline  in  lieu  of  the  present 
section  on  the  General  Conference  : 

PART  III. 

Constitution  and  Powers  of  the  General  Conference. 

Article  I. — The  General  Conference. 

The  government  of  the  Church  shall  be  vested  in  a  General  Conference  which 
shall  be  composed  of  ministerial  and  lay  delegates,  to  be  chosen  as  hereinafter 
provided. 

Article  II. — Ministerial  Delegates. 

§  L  Each  Annual  Conference  shall  be  entitled  to  at  least  one  ministerial  dele- 
gate. The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  more  than  one  ministerial  dele- 
gate for  every  forty-five  members  of  an  Annual  Conference,  nor  less  than  one  for 
every  ninety  members;  but  for  a  fraction  of  two  thirds  or  more  of  the  number 
fixed  by  the  General  Conference  as  the  ratio  of  representation  an  Annual  Con- 
ference shall  be  entitled  to  an  additional  delegate. 


342 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


§  2.  The  ministerial  delegates  shall  be  elected  by  ballot  by  the  members  of  the 
Annual  Conference,  at  iis  session  immediately  preceding  the  General  Conference. 
Such  delegates  shall  be  elders,  at  least  twenty-rive  years  old,  and  shall  have  been 
connected  with  an  Annual  Conference  four  successive  years,  and  at  the  time  of 
their  election,  and  at  the  time  of  the  session  of  the  General  Conference,  shall  be 
full  members  of  the  Annual  Conference  which  elected  them. 

An  Annual  Conference  may  elect  reserve  delegates,  not  exceeding  three  in 
number  and  not  exceeding  the  number  of  its  delegates. 

§  3.  No  minister  shall  be  counted  twice  in  the  same  year  in  the  basis  for  the 
election  of  delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  nor  vote  in  such  election  when 
he  is  not  so  counted,  nor  vote  in  two  Conferences  the  same  year  on  any  consti- 
tutional question. 

§  4.  The  members  of  Mission  Conferences  shall  have  electoral  membership  in 
Annual  Conferences  to  which  they  may  be  assigned  by  the  Bishops  having  charge 
of  such  Mission  Conferences,  and  in  said  Annual  Conferences  they  shall  be 
counted  in  the  basis  of  representation,  shall  have  the  right  of  voting  for  delegates 
and  upon  constitutional  changes,  and  shall  be  eligible  to  election  as  delegates 
to  the  General  Conference. 

Article  III. — Lay  Delegates. 

§  1.  A  Lay  Electoral  Conference  shall  be  constituted  quadrennially  within  the 
bounds  of  each  Annual  Conference  for  the  purpose  of  electing  lay  delegates  to 
the  General  Conference.  It  shall  be  composed  of  laymen,  one  from  each  pastoral 
charge  within  its  bounds,  chosen  by  the  lay  members  of  the  Quarterly  Conference 
in  its  session  immediately  preceding  the  session  of  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference. 
Laymen  not  less  than  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  holding  membership  in  the 
pastoral  charges  electing  them,  are  eligible  to  membership  in  the  Lay  Electoral 
Conference. 

§  2.  The  Lay  Electoral  Conference  shall  assemble  at  the  seat  of  the  Annual 
Conference,  at  10  o'clock  A.  m.,  on  the  second  day  of  the  session  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  General  Conference,  unless  the  General  Conference  shall  provide  other- 
wise. 

§  3.  The  Lay  Electoral  Conference  shall  organize  by  electing  a  chairman  and 
secretary,  shall  adopt  its  own  rules  of  order,  and  shall  determine  the  validity  of 
the  credentials  of  its  delegates. 

§  4.  Each  Lay  Electoral  Conference  shall  be  entitled  to  two  delegates  to  the 
General  Conference,  except  in  case  the  Annual  Conference  is  entitled  to  but 
one  delegate,  then  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  shall  have  but  one.  A  Lay 
Electoral  Conference  may  elect  as  many  reserve  delegates  as  it  has  delegates.  The 
elections  shall  be  by  ballot. 

§  5.  Any  layman  twenty-five  years  old,  holding  membership  in  a  pastoral  charge 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Lay  Electoral  Conference,  and  having  been  a  member 
of  the  Church  the  five  years  preceding,  shall  be  eligible  to  election  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference. 

Delegates-elect  who  cease  to  be  members  of  the  Church  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Lay  Electoral  Conference  shall  not  be  entitled  to  seats  in  the  General  Con- 
ference. 

Article  IV. —  Credentials. 

The  Secretaries  of  the  several  Annual  and  Lay  Electoral  Conferences  shall  fur- 
nish certificates  of  election  to  the  delegates  severally,  and  send  a  certificate  of 
such  elections  to  the  Secretary  of  the  preceding  General  Conference  before  the 
assembling  of  the  General  Conference. 

Article  V. — Sessions. 

§  1.  The  General  Conference  shall  meet  at  10  o'clock  -on  the  morning  of  the 
first  Wednesday  in  the  month  of  May,  in  every  fourth  year  from  the  date  of  the 
first  delegated  General  Conference,  namely,  the  year  of  our  Lord  Eighteen  Hun- 
dred and  Twelve,  and  at  such  place  in  the  United  States  of  America  as  shall  have 
been  determined  by  the  preceding  General  Conference,  or  by  a  commission  acting 
under  its  authority. 


1896.] 


Report  of  Constitutional  Commission, 


343 


8  2.  The  General  Conference  shall  create  quadrennially  a  commission  which 
shall  have  power  in  case  of  emergency  to  change  the  place  for  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Conference,  a  majority  of  the  General  Superintendents  concurring  in  such 
change. 

£  3.  The  General  Superintendents,  or  a  majority  of  them,  by  and  with  the  ad- 
vice of  two  thirds  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences,  shall  have  the  power  to  call  an 
extra  session  of  the  General  Conference  at  any  time.  In  case  of  an  emergency 
an  extra  session  of  the  General  Conference  maybe  called  by  the  concurrent  action 
of  two  thirds  of  the  General  Superintendents  and  two  thirds  of  the  Commission 
on  the  place  of  meeting;  such  session  to  be  held  at  such  time  and  place  as  a 
majority  of  the  General  Superintendents  and  also  of  the  above  Commission  shall 
designate. 

§  4.  The  General  Conference  convened  in  extra  session  shall  be  composed  of 
the  delegates  to  the  General  Conference  immediately  preceding,  reserves  being 
entitled  to  fill  vacancies,  and  shall  have  power  to  consider  only  such  questions  as 
are  mentioned  in  the  call. 

Article  VI. — Presiding  Officers. 

§  1.  The  General  Conference  shall  elect  by  ballot  from  among  the  traveling 
elders  as  many  General  Superintendents  as  it  may  deem  necessary. 

£  2.  The  General  Superintendents  shall  preside  in  the  General  Conference  in 
such  order  as  they  shall  determine,  but  if  no  General  Superintendent  be  present, 
the  General  Conference  shall  elect  a  president  pro  tempore  from  among  the  min- 
isterial delegates. 

§  3.  The  President  of  the  General  Conference  shall  decide  questions  of  order, 
subject  to  an  appeal  to  the  General  Conference,  but  questions  of  law  shall  be  de- 
cided by  the  General  Conference. 

Article  VII. —  Organization. 

When  the  time  for  opening  the  General  Conference  arrives  the  president  shall 
take  the  chair  and  direct  the  Secretary  of  the  preceding  General  Conference,  or  one 
of  his  assistants,  to  call  the  roll  of  the  delegates  elect.  Those  who  have  been 
duly  returned  shall  be  recognized  as  members,  their  certificates  of  election  being 
prima  facie  evidence  of  their  right  to  membership.  No  person  whose  right  is 
duly  challenged  shall  participate  in  the  proceedings  of  the  General  Conference, 
except  to  speak  on  his  own  case,  until  the  question  of  right  is  decided  by  the 
General  Conference. 

Article  VIII. — Quorum. 

"When  the  General  Conference  is  in  session  it  shall  require  the  presence  of  two 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  delegates  to  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction 
of  business,  but  a  less  number  may  take  a  recess  or  adjourn  from  day  to  day  in 
order  to  secure  a  quorum ;  and  at  the  final  session  may  approve  the  Journal,  order 
the  record  of  the  roll  call,  and  adjourn  sine  die. 

Article  IX. —  Voting. 

The  ministerial  and  lay  delegates  shall  deliberate  together  as  one  body.  They 
fhall  also  vote  together  as  one  body,  with  the  following  exceptions:  1.  On  every 
question  which  proposes  a  change  in  the  Discipline  they  shall  vote  separately. 
2.  A  separate  vote  shall  also  be  taken  on  any  other  question  when  requested  by 
one  third  of  either  order  of  delegates  present  and  voting.  In  all  cases  of  separate 
voting  it  shall  require  the  concurrence  of  the  two  orders  to  adopt  the  proposed 
measure. 

Article  X. — Powers  and  Restrictions. 

The  General  Conference  shall  possess  supreme  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
powers  for  the  government  of  the  Church,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Con- 
stitution and  under  the  following  limitations  and  restrictions,  namely: 

1.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  revoke,  alter,  nor  change  our  Articles  of 
Religion,  nor  establish  any  new  standards  or  rules  of  doctrine  contrary  to  our 
present  existing  and  established  standards  of  doctrine. 


I 


344 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


2.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  organize  nor  authorize  the  organization  of 
an  Annual  Conference  with  less  than  thirty  ministers  in  full  connection. 

3.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  change  nor  alter  any  part  or  rule  of  our 
government  so  as  to  do  away  episcopacy,  nor  destroy  the  plan  of  our  itinerant 
General  Superintendency ;  but  may  elect  a  Missionary  Bishop  or  Superintendent 
for  any  foreign  Mission,  whose  episcopal  jurisdiction  shall  be  limited  to  the  Mission 
for  which  he  is  chosen. 

4.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  revoke  nor  change  the  General  Rules  of 
our  Church. 

5.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  deprive  our  minsters  of  the  right  of  trial 
by  the  Annual  Conference,  or  by  a  select  number  thereof,  and  of  an  appeal ;  nor 
shall  it  deprive  any  of  our  members  of  the  right  of  trial  by  the  society  or  a  com- 
mittee thereof,  and  of  an  appeal. 

6.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  appropriate  the  produce  or  profits  of  the 
Book  Concern,  nor  of  the  Chartered  Fund,  to  any  purpose  other  than  for  the 
benefit  of  the  effective,  supernumerary,  or  superannuated  preachers,  their  wives, 
widows,  and  children. 

Article  XI. — Amendments. 

The  concurrent  recommendation  of  three  fourths  of  all  the  members  of  the 
several  Annual  Conferences  present  and  voting  shall  suffice  to  authorize  the  next 
ensuing  General  Conference,  by  a  two  thirds  vote,  to  alter  or  amend  any  of  the 
provisions  of  this  Constitution,  excepting  section  1  of  Article  X;  and,  also,  when- 
ever such  alteration  or  amendment  shall  have  been  first  recommended  by  the 
General  Conference  by  a  two  thirds  vote,  then  so  soon  as  three  fourths  of  all  the 
members  of  the  Annual  Conferences  present  and  voting  shall  have  concurred 
therein,  such  alteration  or  amendment  shall  take  effect,  the  result  of  the  vote  to 
be  announced  by  the  General  Superintendents. 

Respectfully  submitted  in  behalf  of  the  Constitutional  Com- 
mission. S.  M.  Merrill,  President, 

T.  B.  Neely,  Secretary. 

Minority  Report. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  to  meet  in  Omaha,  Neb.,  May,  1892: 

Nothing  could  give  greater  pleasure  than  to  agree  in  all  things 
with  the  excellent  brethren  composing  the  Constitutional  Com- 
mission. Yet,  as  their  labors  must  be  scrutinized,  discussed,  and 
pass  your  rigid  examination,  this  makes  an  apology  for  this  mi- 
nority report  to  some  portion  of  their  otherwise  excellent  action. 

While  cordially  agreeing  with  their  report,  except  as  herein 
set  forth,  we  suggest  the  following  amendments  : 

First.  Immediately  following  the  part  of  the  report  designated 
"  Part  III,"  strike  out  the  words  "  Constitution  and  Powers  of 
the  General  Conference,"  and  insert  the  following:  "  Government 
of  the  Church." 

§  1.  The  government  of  the  Church  is  vested  in  the  General  Conference,  ac- 
cording to  the  following  provisions: 

§  2.  All  legislative  power  belongs  to  the  General  Conference,  and  cannot  be  I 
delegated. 

§  3.  The  executive  power  belongs  to  the  General  Conference,  the  General  Su- 
perintendents, and  such  Annual,  District,  or  Quarterly  Conferences,  Boards  of 
Managers,  Book  Committees,  as  said  General  Conference  may  from  time  to  time 
constitute.  The  General  Conference  shall  define  the  duties  of  such  executive 
subordinates. 


t 


1896.]  Report  of  Constitutional  Commission. 


§  4.  The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  the  General  Conference.  This  power  may 
be  delegated  to  such  minor  tribunals  as  from  time  to  time  may  be  constituted,  re- 
serving, however,  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  General  Conference. 

Second.  After  Article  XII,  strike  out  so  much  of  the  report 
beginning  with  the  words,  "  The  powers  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence are  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive,"  and  closing  with  the 
sentence,  "  Subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution,"  not, 
however,  striking  out  "  the  following  limitations  and  restrictions, 
namely." 

Third.  In  paragraphs  1  and  5,  "Article  III,  Lay  Delegates," 
strike  out  the  words  "  laymen "  and  "  layman,"  and  insert  the 
words  "  members  "  and  "  member  "  in  each  place. 

Fourth.  In  view  of  the  unmethodistic  scramble  for  office  among 
so  many  preachers,  there  should  be  a  constitutional  provision  pro- 
hibiting all  elections  by  the  General  Conference,  except  those  of 
General  Superintendents,  and  requiring  all  other  elections — such 
as  editors,  book  agents,  secretaries,  etc. — to  be  remanded  to  the 
several  boards  of  managers,  committees,  etc.,  that  may  be  or- 
dained. 

Brief  reasons  for  the  above  may  be  given : 

As  to  the  first  and  second  items,  we  are  living  in  a  nation  where 
the  people  are  familiar  with  the  usual  forms  of  civil  government. 
A  Church  that  must  of  necessity  have  to  deal  with  the  same  peo- 
ple should  make  its  form  of  government,  as  far  as  possible,  con- 
form to  the  civil. 

As  to  the  third  item — the  Methodist  Church  should  never  be 
reduced  to  Conference  or  other  construction  when  it  has  to  deal 
with  the  rights  of  its  members.  We  should  be  consistent  with 
ourselves;  and  though  in  the  Discipline  we  say  how  "he,"  "his," 
or  "  him "  may  come  in  or  go  out,  yet  why  not  use  the  term 
"  members,"  especially  when  the  history  of  the  Church  shows  we 
cannot  exist  without  the  women  ? 

The  fourth  suggestion  is  painfully  manifest  to  every  member 
of  the  General  Conference  ;  if  not  at  the  beginning  of  your  ses- 
sion, it  will  not  need  argument  before  you  adjourn.  Elections  out 
of  the  way,  the  session  need  not  continue  two  weeks,  certainly 
not  three. 

May  our  good  Father  guide,  direct,  and  bless  your  session  to 
his  glory  and  the  welfare  of  our  loved  Methodism. 

Fraternally  yours, 

John  W.  Ray. 


3±6 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


ON  REVISION  OF  DISCIPLINE. 

Journal,  page  213. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  The  Commission  appointed  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1892  to  revise  the  Discipline,  under 
the  limitations  set  forth  in  the  action  recorded  on  page  505  of 
the  Journal,  respectfully  submits  the  following  report: 

Soon  after  the  appointment  of  the  Commission,  one  of  its  ablest 
members,  the  Rev.  James  W.  Mendenhall,  D.D.,  Editor  of  the 
Methodist  Review,  was  stricken  with  a  mortal  illness,  and  was 
unable  to  take  any  part  in  the  work  of  the  Commission.  Before 
its  work  was  completed  he  departed  from  this  life,  honored  and 
lamented  by  the  Church  which  he  had  served  with  signal  faith- 
fulness and  ability.  Within  a  few  months  past  two  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Commission,  who  contributed  much  time  and  most 
careful  thought  to  the  revision,  namely,  the  Rev.  John  Miley, 
D.D.,  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  Drew  Theological 
Seminary,  and  Rev.  Sandford  Hunt,  D.D.,  Senior  Publishing 
Agent  at  New  York,  have  also  passed,  as  we  trust,  to  the  perfect 
glory  of  the  Church  triumphant  which  is  before  the  throne. 

The  work  assigned  to  the  Commission  required  promptness  and 
diligence,  for  it  was  desirable  that  the  new  Discipline,  containing 
the  numerous  amendments  made  by  the  last  General  Conference 
in  some  part  of  our  law,  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  Annual 
Conferences  which  were  to  assemble  in  the  autumn  of  1892. 
Happily  this  was  effected.  But  the  shortness  of  the  time  allowed 
for  the  work  of  the  Commission  forbad  the  minute  inspection  and 
the  completeness  of  restatement  which  some  parts  of  the  Discipline 
demanded.  None  are  more  fully  aware  than  the  Commission  of 
the  defects  yet  remaining  in  the  form  of  our  law. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Commission  has  been  greatly  gratified 
by  the  reception  accorded  to  the  revised  Discipline.  The  testi- 
monies received  from  many  competent  judges  leave  no  room  for 
doubt  that  the  new  arrangement  and  the  new  statements  of  our 
Church  law  have  contributed  greatly  to  its  clearness  and  to 
facility  of  administration. 

The  Commission  continuously,  and  with  strong  conviction, 
held  itself  under  obligation  to  avoid  the  least  alteration  in  the 
substance  of  the  law.  It  aimed,  as  directed  by  the  General  Con- 
*  ference,  only  to  effect  a  more  orderly  and  lucid  arrangement  of 
already  existing  law.  To  the  present  time  the  Commission  has 
been  informed  of  only  two  instances  in  which  its  success  in  this 
respect  has  been  questioned.  It  states  these  instances  frankly, 
that  the  General  Conference  may  take  such  action  as  may  seem 
to  it  necessary  in  the  premises. 

(1)  A  minister  of  the  California  Conference  calls  attention  to 
the  fact  that  though  the  revised  Discipline  retains  the  provision 


1S96.] 


On  Revision  of  Discipline. 


347 


that  the  Pastor  shall  report  to  the  Quarterly  Conference  all 
changes  in  the  membership  during  the  preceding  quarter,  it  omits 
the  requirement  of  a  like  report  to  the  quarterly  love  feast.  The 
omission  was  purely  through  inadvertence,  and  the  General  Con- 
ference will  determine  whether  the  requirement  shall  be  restored 
to  its  place. 

(2)  A  minister  of  the  Michigan  Conference  calls  attention  to 
the  fact  that  in  the  revised  Discipline  it  is  no  longer  made  the 
duty  of  the  Bishop  and  of  the  Presiding  Elder  "  to  receive  and 
suspend  preachers."  This  clause  was  omitted  by  the  Commission 
from  the  chapters  on  Bishops  and  on  Presiding  Elders  after  full 
deliberation,  and  upon  conviction  that  the  omission  did  not 
change  the  law,  and  that  it  removed  a  possible  misinterpretation 
of  a  serious  character  as  to  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  above- 
named  officers.  As  the  clause  "  to  receive  and  suspend  preach- 
ers "  was  limited  and  defined  by  the  additional  words,  "  as  the 
Discipline  directs,"  it  was  obvious  that  the  clause  conveyed  no 
authority  beyond  that  which  existed  elsewhere  in  the  Discipline, 
and  that  therefore  the  omission  of  it  could  not  change  the  law. 
Meantime  it  seemed  to  convey  power  to  the  Bishop  which  he  did 
aot  in  any  degree  whatever  possess,  and  it  was,  moreover,  liable 
to  be  misinterpreted  both  by  critics  of  the  Church  and  by  the 
administrators  of  its  law. 

But  the  Commission  is  content  to  thus  call  the  attention  of  the 
General  Conference  to  this  item,  being  ready  also  at  any  time  to 
make  further  explanations  of  the  ground  of  its  procedure.  It 
recommends,  however,  that  in  paragraph  216  an  explicit  state- 
ment be  made  as  to  the  authority  by  which  an  accused  minister 
may  be  suspended  in  the  interval  of  the  Annual  Conference. 

The  studies  of  the  Commission  have  led  it  to  note  many  minor 
defects  in  our  law,  and  it  was  at  one  time  in  the  thought  of  the 
Commission  to  suggest  needful  amendments.  But  having  been 
advised  that  the  Bishops  have  the  same  subject  under  consider- 
ation, and  will  probably  submit  the  result  of  their  deliberations 
to  the  General  Conference,  the  Commission  closes  its  report 
without  further  recommendations.    Very  respectfully  submitted, 

E.  G.  Andrews, 
C.  D.  Foss, 
J.  M.  Buckley, 
Homer  Eaton. 

New  York,  April  15,  1896. 


c. 


BOUNDARIES. 


Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  278. 

We  recommend  that  Chapter  I  be  amended  by  transposing  the 
paragraphs  so  that  they  will  appear  in  their  natural  order  : 

1  423  becomes  f  421. 

i  422  retains  the  same  number,  but  commences  with  the  words  now  found  in 
the  sixth  line,  "  Any  two  or  more  Conferences." 

Tf  421  becomes  ^  423,  and  is  rewritten,  striking  out  the  words  in  the  last  line, 
"  And  to  the  Quarterly  Conferences  within  the  territory  so  affected,"  and  adding 
the  words,  "provided,  however,  that  after  a  petition  of  the  majority  of  the  dele- 
gates representing  any  specified  Conference  or  Conferences  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries  may  adjust  the  matters  involved  in  said  petition  at  their  session  suc- 
ceeding the  General  Conference." 

In  the  fifth  line  of  H  421  substitute  for  the  words  "  General  Conference  "  the 
words  "Committee  on  Boundaries." 

The  entire  chapter  will  then  read: 

Chapter  I.    Mode  of  Determining  Boundaries. 

1  421.  The  General  Conference  shall  appoint  a  Committee  on  Boundaries,  con- 
sisting of  one  member  from  each  Annual  Conference,  to  be  nominated  by  the 
delegations  severally,  over  which  one  of  the  Bishops  shall  preside,  of  which  one  of 
the  General  Conference  Secretaries  shall  be  the  secretary,  and  of  which  committee 
twenty-five  shall  be  a  quorum.  All  matters  pertaining  to  Conference  lines  shall 
be  referred  to  this  Committee ;  and  when  the  Committee  shall  have  fixed  the 
boundaries  of  all  the  Conferences  it  shall  submit  its  report  to  the  General  Con- 
ference, which  shall  immediately  act  upon  the  same  as  a  whole,  without  amend- 
ment and  without  debate ;  provided,  however,  that  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  H  86,  a  Central  Mission  Conference  may  fix  the  boundaries  of  the 
Annual  Conferences  within  its  bounds,  the  General  Conference  first  having  de- 
termined the  number  of  Annual  Conferences  that  may  be  allowed  in  that  field. 

H  422.  Any  two  or  more  Conferences  which  may  be  mutually  interested  in  the 
readjustment  of  their  common  boundaries  may  at  any  time  raise  a  Joint  Commis- 
sion, consisting  of  five  members  from  each  Conference  directly  interested,  and 
the  decision  of  such  Joint  Commission— in  which  it  shall  be  necessary  for  a 
majority  of  the  five  members  representing  each  of  said  Conferences  to  concur — 
when  it  shall  be  approved  by  the  Bishop  or  Bishops  who  may  preside  at  these 
Conferences  at  their  sessions  next  ensuing,  shall  be  final.  But  if  the  commission 
so  appointed  shall  fail  to  agree,  or  the  presiding  Bishop  shall  not  concur,  then  the 
case,  with  a  statement  of  the  facts,  together  with  the  records  of  the  commission, 
shall  come  to  the  General  Conference  for  final  adjudication. 

U  423.  No  petition,  resolution,  or  memorial  involving  change  of  Conference 
boundaries,  or  the  division  or  absorption  of  Conferences,  or  the  organization  of 
new  Conferences  out  of  the  territory  already  occupied  by  organized  Conferences, 
shall  be  entertained  by  the  Committee  on  Boundaries  until  notice  shall  have  been 
given  by  the  Conference  or  Conferences  desiring  such  change,  or  by  a  majority  of 
the  presiding  elders  thereof,  to  all  of  the  Conferences  to  be  affected  thereby ; 
provided,  however,  that  upon  a  petition  of  a  majority  of  the  delegates  repre- 
senting any  Conference  or  Conferences  to  be  affected  thereby,  the  Committee  on 
Boundaries  may  adjust  the  matters  involved  in  said  petition,  subject  to  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Conferences  named  in  such  petition,  at  their  session  succeeding  the 
General  Conference. 


1896.] 


On  Boundaries. 


349 


Report  No.  III.    Part  I. 

This  part  of  the  report  related  to  and  defined  the  boundaries 
of  the  Annual  Conferences  and  of  Missions  in  the  United  States, 
Territories,  and  in  foreign  countries. 

[For  convenience  see  Boundaries  of  Annual  Conferences  on 
page  770.] 

Report  No.  III.    Part  II. 
Chapter  IV.    Enabling  Acts. 

The  Black  Hills  Mission  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of 
two  thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop 
presiding,  be  organized  into  an  Annual  Conference. 

The  Blv£  Ridge  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  majority  vote 
of  the  members  of  the  Conference  present  and  voting,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Bishop  presiding,  set  apart  the  eastern  section  of  its  territory  as  a  Mission  Con- 
ference, the  boundaries  to  be  determined  by  the  Conference  and  approved  by  the 
Bishop  presiding. 

The  California  and  Southern  California  Conferences  may,  during  the  next  four 
years,  by  a  joint  commission  duly  raised  in  accordance  with  H  422  of  the  Dis- 
cipline, and  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop  presiding,  divide  their  territory  into 
three  or  more  Annual  Conferences. 

The  California  and  Southern  California  Conferences  may,  at  their  sessions  succeed- 
in  £r  this  General  Conference,  change  their  intervening  boundary  by  striking  out 
from  r\  421,  §  8,  Discipline  of  1892,  all  after  the  word  "  line,"  in  the  third  line,  up 
to  and  including  the  words  "  Mariposa  County,"  and  inserting  in  their  stead  the 
words,  "  beginning  at  the  northwest  corner  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  and  run- 
ning east  along  the  northern  boundary  of  said  county  to  the  west  line  of  Kings 
County,  thence  north  to  the  northwest  boundary  of  Fresno  County,  thence  east 
along  the  northern  boundary  of  Fresno  County." 

The  Delaioare  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds 
of  the  members  present  and  voting,  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop  presiding, 
divide  into  two  Conferences,  the  new  Conference  to  be  named  the  Delaware 
River  or  the  North  New  Jersey  Conference. 

The  presiding  Bishop  or  Bishops  of  New  England,  New  England  Southern,  New 
York,  New  York  East,  and  Wilmington  Conferences  may,  during  the  next  four 
years,  at  any  session  of  these  respective  Conferences,  organize  the  Swedish  mem- 
bers thereof  as  an  Annual  Conference,  to  be  known  as  the  Eastern  Swedish  Con- 
ference, to  which  shall  belong  all  the  Swedish  missions  and  societies  now  organ- 
ized, or  that  hereafter  may  be  organized,  in  the  six  New  England  States,  the 
States  of  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  and  the  territory  included  in  the  New  York, 
New  York  East,  and  Philadelphia  Conferences. 

The  German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  Madison,  Ind.,  may, .at  any  time 
during  the  next  four  years,  be  transferred  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Central 
German  Conference  to  that  of  the  Indiana  Conference,  the  presiding  elder  of  the 
Louisville  District  and  the  presiding  Bishop  of  the  Central  German  Conference 
concurring. 

The  Japan  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  majority  vote  of  its 
members  present  and  voting,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop  presiding,  set 
apart  the  islands  belonging  to  the  Empire  of  Japan  south  and  west  of  the  main 
island  and  Nagasaki  Districts,  the  new  organization  to  be  called  the  South  Japan 
Mission  Conference. 

The  Lexington  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of  two 
thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop 
presiding,  divide  into  two  Conferences,  with  such  names  and  boundaries  as  they 
may  adopt. 

The  Louisiana  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of  two 
thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop 
presiding,  divide  into  two  Conferences,  with  such  names  and  boundaries  as  they 
may  adopt. 

The  Malaysia  Mission  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of 
two  thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop 
pr<  aiding,  be  organized  into  an  Annual  Conference. 

The  Michigan  and  Detroit  Conferences  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a 
majority  of  the  members  of  each  Conference  present  and  voting,  with  the  ap- 


350 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


proval  of  the  Bishop  or  Bishops  presiding,  divide  their  territory,  upon  such  lines 
as  may  be  agreed  upon,  into  not  more  than  four  Annual  Conferences. 

In  case  the  Michigan  and  Detroit  Conferences  should  not  divide  in  accordance 
with  the  foregoing  Enabling  Act,  then  the  Michigan  Conference  may,  within  the 
next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  with 
the  approval  of  the  Bishop  presiding,  divide  into  two  Annual  Conferences  wholly 
within  the  present  bounds  of  the  Conference. 

The  North  Germany  and  South  Germany  Conferences  may,  during  the  next  four 
years,  by  a  two  thirds  vote  of  the  members  of  each  Conference  present  and 
Voting,  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop  presiding,  divide  their  territory,  upon 
such  lines  as  may  be  agreed  upon,  into  three  Annual  Conferences. 

The  North  Montana  Mission  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of  two 
thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop  pre- 
siding, be  organized  into  an  Annual  Conference,  under  such  name  as  may  be 
adopted;  or  it  may  return  to  the  Montana  Conference,  from  which  it  was  set  off, 
on  like  conditions  ;  provided  that  the  Montana  Conference  shall,  by  a  majority 
vote,  decide  to  receive  it. 

The  NortJi  Nebraska  Conference  may,  at  any  time  during  the  next  four  years,  if 
the  territory  of  the  Black  Hills  Mission  Conference  and  that  of  the  Northwest 
Nebraska  Conference  shall  be  consolidated  into  one  Conference,  so  extend  its 
boundary  lines  as  to  include  that  portion  of  the  Northwest  Nebraska  Conference 
territory  lying  east  of,  and  including,  Valentine. 

The  Norwegian  and  Danish  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a 
vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Bishop  presiding,  divide  into  two  Conferences,  with  such  names  and  boundaries 
as  they  may  adopt. 

The  Northwest  Nebraska  Conference  and  Black  Hills  Mission  Conference  are  author- 
ized to  lift  the  boundary  between  them  whenever,  during  the  next  four  years, 
both  Conferences  shall  vote  so  to  do,  the  presiding  Bishop  or  Bishops  concurring. 

The  South  America  Conference  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  two  thirds 
vote  of  the  members  present  and  voting,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop 
presiding,  divide  into  one  Annual  Conference  and  one  Mission  Conference,  with 
such  boundaries  as  the  Conference  may  determine.  The  Mission  Conference 
provided  for  above  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  under  the  same  conditions, 
be  organized  into  an  Annual  Conference. 

The  Utah  Mission  may,  during  the  next  four  years,  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of 
the  members  present  and  voting,  with  the  approval  of  the  Bishop  presiding,  be 
organized  into  an  Annual  Conference. 

The  Utah  District  of  the  Western  Norwegian  and  Danish  Conference  may  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  Utah  Mission,  during  the  next  four  years,  with  the  consent  of  the 
above-named  Conference  ;  provided  that  the  Conference  is  not  thereby  reduced 
in  numbers  below  the  requirements  of  the  Discipline. 


D. 

PROPOSITIONS  FOR  CONSTITUTIONAL 
CHANGES 

Submitted  to  the  Annual  Conferences  in  1894, 1895,  and  1896. 


Journal,  page  91. 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  : 

Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  undersigned  respectfully  report 
herewith  the  various  propositions  for  amendment  of  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  General  Conference  which  have  been  submitted  to 
the  several  Annual  Conferences  during  the  past  Quadrennium, 
together  with  a  statement  of  the  aggregate  vote  of  the- Annual 
Conferences  upon  each  of  said  propositions  (Statement  A).  We 
also  submit  herewith  a  statement  in  detail  of  the  votes  in  the 
several  Annual  Conferences  from  which  the  statement  of  the 
aggregate  vote  is  made  up  (Statement  B). 

STATEMENT  "A." 

ON  EQUAL  MINISTERIAL  AND  LAY  REPRESENTATION. 

L  (Submitted  by  the  General  Conference  of  1892:) 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  hereby  recommends  the  following  propo- 
sition to  the  Annual  Conferences  to  be  held  in  1894,  to  wit :  To  amend  Section  2, 
Paragraph  67,  of  the  Discipline,  so  that  the  section  shall  read  as  follows :  "  The  Gen- 
eral Conference  shall  not  allow  of  more  than  one  Ministerial  Representative  for  every 
fourteen  members  of  an  Annual  Conference  ;  nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  every 
forty-five ;  provided,  nevertheless,  that  when  there  shall  be  in  any  Annual  Conference 
a  fraction  of  two  thirds  the  number  which  shall  be  fixed  for  the  ratio  of  representa- 
tion, that  such  Annual  Conference  shall  be  entitled  to  an  additional  Delegate  for  such 
fraction  ;  and  provided,  also,  that  there  shall  be  from  each  Annual  Conference  Lay 
Delegates  equal  in  number  to  the  Ministerial  Delegates,  who  shall  deliberate  and 
vote  with  the  Ministers  as  one  body  ;  and  provided,  further,  that  no  Conference 
shall  be  denied  the  privilege  of  one  Ministerial  and  one  Lay  Delegate." 

In  favor  of  the  Amendment,  2,894 

Against       "  "   6,138 

ON  THE  RATIO  OF  MINISTERIAL  REPRESENTATION. 

0.  (a)  (Submitted  by  the  General  Conference  of  1892  :) 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  submits  the  following  proposition  to 
the  Annual  Conferences  of  1894,  to  wit :  To  amend  line  4,  Section  2,  Paragraph  67, 
of  the  Discipline,  so  as  to  read  :  "Not  more  than  one  for  every  forty-five  nor  less 
than  one  for  every  ninety." 

In  favor  of  the  Amendment,  3,053 

Against       "  "   4,599 

23 


352 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


III.  (b)  (Submitted  by  the  South  Carolina  Annual  Conference  :) 

Alternative  Proposition.  The  South  Carolina  Annual  Conference,  regarding  the 
above  proposition  as  defective  in  form,  duly  submits  the  following  alternative  prop- 
osition, to  wit :  To  amend  the  first  two  clauses  of  Section  2,  Paragraph  67,  so  that 
they  shall  read  as  follows :  "  The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  of  more  than 
one  Ministerial  Representative  for  every  forty-fiv*  members  of  an  Annual  Confer- 
ence, nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  every  ninety." 

In  favor  of  the  Amendment,    -  4,174 

Against  "  3,904 

IV.  (c)  (Submitted  by  the  Colorado  Annual  Conference  :) 

Strike  out  the  words  "  forty-five  "  in  the  fourth  line  of  Section  2,  Paragraph  67, 
of  the  Discipline,  and  insert  instead  the  words  "  sixty-five,"  so  that  the  clause  as 
amended  shall  read  as  follows  :  "  The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  of  more 
than  one  ministerial  representative  for  every  fourteen  members  of  an  Annual  Con- 
ference, nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  every  sixty-five." 

In  favor  of  the  Amendment,  6,964 

Against        "  "  2,733 


ON  TIME  OF  MEETING  OF  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE. 

V.  (Submitted  by  the  West  Wisconsin  Annual  Conference :) 
Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  presiding  in  the  several  Annual  Conferences  during  the 

year  1894  are  hereby  respectfully  requested  to  submit  to  all  the  Annual  Conferences 
the  following  proposition,  namely  :  To  amend  Paragraph  63  of  the  Discipline  of  1892 
so  that  it  shall  read  as  follows,  to  wit :  "  %  63.  The  General  Conference  shall  meet 
on  the  first  Wednesday  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1900,  and  thenceforward  on 
the  first  Wednesday  in  May  once  in  four  years  perpetually,  at  such  hour  and  in  such 
place  in  the  United  States  as  the  General  Conference  may  from  time  to  time  direct ; 
but  the  General  Superintendents,  or  a  majority  of  them,  by  and  with  the  advice  of 
two  thirds  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences,  shall  have  power  to  call  an  extra  session 
of  the  General  Conference,  to  be  constituted  in  the  usual  way.  But  if  there  shall 
be  no  General  Superintendent,  then  two  thirds  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences  shall 
have  power  to  call  such  extra  session." 

In  favor  of  the  Amendment,  8,663 

Against       "  "   -  167 

ON  QUALIFICATION  OF  LAY  DELEGATES. 

VI.  (a)  (Submitted  by  the  General  Conference  of  1892  :) 
Resolved,  That  we  submit  to  the  Annual  Conferences  the  proposition  to  amend 

the  second  Restrictive  Rule  by  adding  the  words  "  and  said  delegates  must  be  male 
members  "  after  the  words  "  two  lay  delegates  for  an  Annual  Conference,"  so  that 
it  will  read  :  "  Nor  of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  an  Annual  Conference,  and 
said  delegates  must  be  male  members."  - 

In  favor  of  the  Amendment,   474 

Against       "  "   3,648 


IS 96.]        Propositions  for  Constitutional  Changes.  353 

VII.  (b)  (Submitted  by  the  Baltimore  and  Colorado  Annual  Con- 
ference.) 

Amend  the  second  Restrictive  Rule  by  adding  the  words  "  and  said  delegates  may 
be  men  or  women  "  after  the  words  "  two  lay  delegates  for  an  Annual  Conference," 
so  that  the  entire  clause  will  read :  "  Nor  of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  an 
Annual  Conference,  and  said  delegates  may  be  men  or  women." 

In  favor  of  the  Amendment,  7,354 

Against       "  "   2,608 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Edward  G.  Andrews, 
David  S.  Monroe. 

Cleveland,  O.,  May  1,  1896. 


X 

a 
ii 

i 


t 

a 
1 


1 


ii  i  mi  hi  mnmm  i 

IS !  ill  1 II 


I 


sill 

m 


-  :»gS8«S8§S§S«8g3  — 8-2Sg«g-8S 


ii 


111 

HI! 


lilliiiiiSiflil 


If 


=  g  ; 

p.  5 

>  a  > 

-  s  ~ 


•-S3 


P- o  £ 

as  * 

isr  § 

&  bo  bo 

©■£  o 

§1  > 
«  o 

X  &  o 

HCU  Z 


-35 


2  2* 
a  -  ® 

O  O  ° 
>  >T3 

Q  o'S 


-  -  c 

©  0  C 


—  - 


.  ft: 

-a  a,  cs  i—i 
05  o    _j  » 

Ph3 


u  fl  O 
Pi  o*3  . 


30 

•  §  ©    "S  2 


O  c  fl 
^  — ^  H 

2©g£c 
=  r  r  — 

= B 


S  S-  05  —  " 

S^f^B 
a  S  05  o 

§S?§8 

i-H    in    Tf<  ecr 


>cop< 


t-t>  05 

B  o  ^ 

°ft"  0 

Id? 

S  o  a 


cog 

K  05  o 


(M 


*** 
22g 

flag 


00-5 

!>  >  0 


IS* 


=3  =3  a 

05  05  05 


P  I 

§"  2 

^£  1 
a  ^-2 
©£3 

a)'*  05 


05  O  05 

©  «  © 

B-c  3 

©  S  © 

©2  © 

o  ©  o 


©  S 


icSao»©  o*  oo  «e»»«-i  00 1-1  c 


!  C  "*  CO 1 0  fc-  1^  1-1  CO  < 


iSOtOOHOOOCSCOOTiif^O    •  O  O  O    CO   O  .OOOiOOriOOOOOriOOt-OOORn 


O^HO    -i-iO  -OOOOOOOCOOOOOOJO^ 


:  S£3  :§So  :g8g«^SI:SS8Sf  S9S 

1!  — 

CJ  C^Orfl-OCOTt<50COOOOl0500Tt<i--iOi-H«OCgC£ 

•  — 

0  a^ssgfcssgisa&sfcgsss^gssjs 

•  COTf  O 

•  1— IrH-tt* 

thh         1  li  1 

: 

:wco  :^§S00SS000 

:  ti.Tt 


^  ^ 


©  ©  ©  ©  © 


2  5; 
a  a 


2 


3  cs  ce 
cs  ce  2  £ 


fl  o, 


■—  — 

z  z 


zzzz; 


zz 


2?  g?  I  ^  >,-5c  :  .  c 
c     e  g  c  $ !  5  S'S 

ooooooaSCfl 
ZZZZZZCCOP- 


o 

2  dddd 
73  a  a  a  a 

£OOOo 

*3  o  o  o  o 
i_  >  >  >  > 


O  O  O  c 


C  S3  O  S3  O 
O  03  03  03  03 
OOflflfl 


,  <"  C  S 

o  -2  -2  es 

>  O  O  S3 

«  >  >  c 

°OOS 

S3    .  S3  S3  O 
Q-SS  S3 


23  8$ 


03 

Ho 

t-  Jr  "i 
-  9* 

O  a  S3  £ 

o  O  Ph 

03  33  c 

—  O  O  O 

W  >  >  05 

>-(73^3  > 
►  ggg 

qo'sS'O 
C  03  03  ce 


^2 


^  O 
2  03 

II 


c  o 

Is 


7373      Cu  C 


03  03 
03  03 

a  a 

o  o 

DO 


^S£S 

9  03  a;  = 

.  °£Sso 


J  opHpt;  gpn 

ag33g3«  .3 

°  a  7373  ^73  b  B?d 

_03O3a3O3^03^C0/ 

f  Jj-S-S  |£3&.S 

C  S3  O  O  h  S3 
0003030303^003 


i  OF 

3 
> 

1  Noes. 

2fi08 

ATI0NS 

legat: 

[Prop. 

Ayes. 

■ 

1 

g« 
3* 

> 

|Noes. 

O^OOgOGOOOOO    ^OgOMggO    .00*~ggO    ;  O  O  O  O  gg  O  O  O  g  |  SO 

36481 

Prop. 

Ayes. 

onooooBooo  -oohmowoo  •  o  tjj  ©  *n  »r:  o  •ooooooooi'Offi 
. 

H  S5  H  W 

> 

Noes. 

©  ©  W  ©  ©  ©  iH  ©  ©  rH  ©  ©  ©  C4  ©  ©  ©  r-1  ©  ©  ©  ©  ©  ©  ©  r-t  ©  -iH  >C900000HO8 

: 

Tim 

Meeti 
Gen 

C0NF1 

Pro 

Ayes. 

* 

86631 

IV  (c). 

1  Noes. 

s 

fc 

ITERIAJ 
>N. 

Prop. 

Ayes. 

iO 
1 

Minis 
ntatic 

(Q)  III 

|  Noes . 

3n  Ratio  of 
Represe 

Prop. 

Ayes. 

4174 

§ 

Noes. 

— 

Prop. 

Ayes. 

"5     «,  . 
w    *  z 

_5  «      ?  © 

el 

Noes. 

i.iC!«C-*OMi.'!HS5CiacaHHi<i-i-i.o     10  re  —  x  —  ;  -  x    •  jo  i©e*  rtt  i  fxc^K 

£H-*^«    wt-t-T-iooeS                   MTfOco    i.^oooso«i-Hso  •    so  m«o:<co!0 

s 

Pro 

( 

5? 

* 

3 
1 

1*5 

3  03  - 


03  C 


!  3  c  c 

1  u  t.  u. 

'  93  ffi  V 

j=  — 


—  . 

~  03 


Eh  Ph  PS     x  x  x.  x  x  x  v:  x,  x  x  co  x  a.  cc 


—  ~  —  —  —  65  —  i:^C3  53  SS»HiCt*SHS*j*a*a*J*a  S 


/ 


APPENDIX  II. 


A.— COMMITTEES. 
B—  REPORTS  OF  COMMITTEES. 
C— MANAGERS  OF  SOCIETIES. 
D.— BALLOTS. 


COMMITTEES. 


1.  STANDING.    Journal,  page  85. 

Episcopacy.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 

J.  M.  Buckley,  Chairman;  A.  J.  Nast,  Secretary ; 
Robert  Forbes,  Assistant  Secretary. 


CONFERENCES. 


NAMES,  conferences. 


Alabama  G.  E.  Ackerman 

Arkansas  A.  J.  Taylor 

Austin  O.  L.  Fisher 

Baltimore  J.  F.  Goucher 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  H.  F.  Ketron 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  A.  T.  Needham 

California  German  George  Guth 

Central  Alabama  E.  M.  Jones 

Central  German  A.  J.  Nast 

Central  Illinois  H.  D.  Clark 

Central  Missouri  R.  E.  Gillum 

Central  New  York  C.  C.  Wilbor 

Central  Ohio  E.  D.  Whitlock 

Central  Pennsylvania.  W.  W.  Evans 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  J.  M.  Carter 

Chicago  Ger.  .Bartholomew  Lampert 

Cincinnati  A.  B.  Leonard 

Colorado    Earl  Cranston 

Columbia  River  G.  M.  Booth 

Delaware  H.  A.  Monroe 

Des  Moines  Emory  Miller 

Detroit  J.  F.  Berry 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  J.  F.  Haley 

East  Ohio  D.  H.  Muller 

East  Tennessee  J.  S.  Hill 

Erie  J.  N.  Fradenburgh 

Florida  S.  A.  Hugar 

Poo-Chow  M.  C.  Wilcox 

Genesee  J.  E.  Williams 

Georgia  J.  L.  Fowler 

Holston  R.  J.  Cooke 

Idaho  C.  R.  Kellerman 

Illinois  W.  N.  McElroy 

Indiana  W.  R.  Halstead 

Iowa  T.  J.  Myers 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan  Yoitsu  Honda 


NAMES. 


Kansas  J.  A.  Motter 

Kentucky  Daniel  Stevenson 

Lexington  E.  W.  S.  Hammond 

Liberia  W.  T.  Hagan 

Little  Rock  W.  O.  Emory 

Louisiana  J.  C.  Hartzell 

Maine  .  ...G.  D.  Lindsay 

Mexico  J.  W.  Butler 

Michigan  A.  M.  Gould 

Minnesota   H.  C.  Jennings 

Mississippi  J.  M.  Shumpert 

Missouri  J.  H.  Poland 

Montana  Fred  Gamer 

Nebraska  C.  C.  Lasby 

New  England  J.  W.  Hamilton 

New  England  Southern.  S.  O.  Benton 

New  Hampshire  S.  E.  Quimby 

New  Jersey  J.  B.  Graw 

New  York  J.  R.  Day 

New  York  East  J.  M.  Buckley 

Newark  H.  A.  Buttz 

North  Carolina  E.  M.  Collett 

North  China  H.  H.  Lowry 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany  Carl  Schell 

North  India  T.  J.  Scott 

North  Indiana  H.  N.  Herrick 

North  Nebraska  J.  B.  Maxfield 

North  Ohio  N.  S.  Albright 

Northern  German  F.  L.  Nagler 

Northern  Minnesota. .  Robert  Forbes 
Northern  New  York..H.  E.  Waugh 
Northwest  German. .  .E.  W.  Henke 

Northwest  India  J.  E.  Scott 

Northwest  Indiana.  .W.H.Hickman 

Northwest  Iowa  J.  W.  Walker 

Northwest  Kansas..  .  .W.  H.  Sweet 
Northwest  Nebraska.. A.  R.  Julian 

Norway  Andres  Olesen 

Norwegian  and  Dan. .  N.  E.  Simonsen 
Ohio  D.  H.  Moore 


360 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896, 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  John  Parsons 

Philadelphia  T.  B.  Neely 

Pittsburg  C.  W.  Smith 

Puget  Sound  T.  B.  Ford 

Rock  River   F.  M.  Bristol 

St.  John's  River  L.  S.  Rader 

St.  Louis   J.  B.  Young 

St.  Louis  Ger.  .  .John  Schlagenhaui' 

Savannah  M.  C.  B.  Mason 

South  America  C.  W.  Drees 

South  Carolina. .  .B.  F.Witherspoon 

South  Dakota  C.  B.  Clark 

South  Germany  A.  G.  Bruns 

South  India  A.  H.  Baker 

South  Kansas  J.  W.  Stewart 

Southern  California.  W.  S.  Matthew 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois.  ..J.  W.  Van  Cleve 
Southwest  Kansas . .  W.  J.  Martindale 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Sweden  J.  M.  Erikson 

Switzerland  Johannes  Wuhrman 

Tennessee  H.  W.  Key 

Texas  I.  B.  Scott 

Troy  J.  H.  Coleman 

Upper  Iowa  A.  J.  Kynett 

Upper  Mississippi. .  .Richard  Sewell 

Vermont   A.  J.  Hough 

Virginia  S.  P.  Shipman 

Washington  J.  W.  E.  Bowen 

West  German  Charles  Harms 

West  Nebraska  Erastus  Smith 

West  Texas  Harry  Swann 

West  Virginia  D.  L.  Ash 

West  Wisconsin  W.  J.  McKay 

Western  Norweg-Dan  ..C.J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  O.  J.  Swan 

Wilmington  Merritt  Hulburd 

Wisconsin   M.  S.  Terry 

Wyoming  J.  G.  Eckman 


Itinerancy.    Journal,  pages  95,  9V. 


S.  F.  Upham,  Chairman;   W.  H.  W.  Rees,  Secretary ; 
W.  H.  Wilder,  Assistant  Secretary. 


Alabama  , .  .G.  E.  Ackerman 

Arkansas  J.  H.  Clendenning 

Austin   E.  B.  Ailing 

Baltimore   John  Lanahan 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  Augustus  Graybeal 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California   M.  D.  Buck 

California  German  George  Guth 

Central  Alabama  P.  P.  Wright 

Central  German. . .  Jacob  Rothweiler 

Central  Illinois  J.  G.  Evans 

Central  Missouri  J.  H.  Diggs 

Central  New  York ....  J.  C.  Nichols 

Central  Ohio  J.  L.  Albritton 

Central  Pennsylvania. . .  .E.  J.  Gray 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  J.  M.  Carter 

Chicago  German ....  Henry  Lemcke 

Cincinnati  J.  W.  Bashford 

Colorado  D.  L.  Rader 

Columbia  River  H.  C.  Clark 

Delaware  J.  H.  Scott 

Des  Moines  W.  H.  W.  Rees 

Detroit  C.  M.  Cobern 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  A.  W.  Harris 

East  Ohio  J.  I.  Wilson 

East  Tennessee  J.  R.  Johnson 


Erie  S.  H.  Prather 

Florida  S.  A.  Hugar 

Foo-Chow  M.  C.  Wilcox 

Genesee  J.  E.  Bills 

Georgia  J.  L.  Fowler 

Holston  J.  A.  Ruble 

Idaho  J.  D.  McCullv 

Illinois  W.  H.  Wilder 

Indiana  H.  J.  Talbott 

Iowa  Morris  Bamf ord 

Italy  Luigi  Mando 

Japan  Yoitsu  Honda 

Kansas  J.  W.  Alderman 

Kentucky  R.  T.  Miller 

Lexington  Joseph  Courtney 

Liberia  W.  T.  Hagan 

Little  Rock  W.  O.  Emory 

Louisiana  J.  F.  Marshall 

Maine  D.  B.  Holt 

Mexico  J.  W.  Butler 

Michigan  J.  I.  Buell 

Minnesota.  John  Stafford 

Mississippi  S.  A.  Cowan 

Missouri  I.  S.  Ware 

Montana  Fred  Gamer 

Nebraska  J.  H.  Mickey 

New  England  S.  F.  Upham 

New  Eng.  Southern  G.  H.  Bates 

New  Hampshire  C.  D.  Hills 


1896.] 


Standing  Committees. 


361 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

New  Jersey  G.  B.  Wight 

New  York  E.  S.  Osbon 

New  York  East  W.  V.  Kelley 

Newark.  .Sandford  Van  Benschoten 

North  Carolina  E.  M.  Collett 

North  China  J.  F.  Scott 

North  Dakota  J.  D.  Wallace 

North  Germany  Carl  Schell 

North  India  E.  W.  Parker 

North  Indiana  F.  G.  Browne 

North  Nebraska. .  .Alfred  Hodgetts 

North  Ohio  William  Kepler 

Northern  German .  .  Henry  Bendixen 
Northern  Minnesota. .  .  J.  F.  Chaffee 
Northern  New  York.  .W.  D.  Marsh 
Northwest  German. . .  .H.  A.  Salzer 

Northwest  India  J.  E.  Scott 

Northwest  Indiana  H.  A.  Gobin 

Northwest  Iowa  Robert  Smylie 

Northwest  Kansas  E.  W.  Allen 

Northwest  Nebraska.  .G.  E.  Gorton 

Norway  Andres  Olsen 

Norwegian  and  Dan.N.  E.  Simonsen 

Ohio  D.  Y.  Murdoch 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  J.  F.  Caples 

Philadelphia  S.  W.  Gehrett 

Pittsburg  R.  T.  Miller 

Puget  Sound  T.  J.  Massey 

Rock  River.  H.  G.  Jackson 

St,  John's  River  L.  S.  Rader 

St.  Louis  J.  B.  Young 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

St.  Louis  German .  William  Koeneke 

Savannah  M.  M.  Alston 

South  America  Justo  Cubilo 

South  Carolina  T.  J.  Clark 

South  Dakota  R.  N.  Kratz 

South  Germany  A.  G.  Brims 

South  India  A.  H.  Baker 

South  Kansas  J.  E.  Brant 

Southern  California. S.  A.Thompson 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois. . .  .William  Wallis 
Southwest  Kan. .  .Granville  Lowther 

Sweden  J.  M.  Erikson 

Switzerland  Johannes  Wuhrman 

Tennessee  H.  W.  Key 

Texas  Frank  Gary 

Troy  Homer  Eaton 

Upper  Iowa  J.  B.  Albrook 

Upper  Mississippi  ...P.O.  Jamison 

Vermont  A.  J.  Hough 

Virginia  C.  C.  Gaver 

Washington  W.  H.  Brooks 

West  German  Jacob  Tanner 

West  Nebraska  C.  A.  Hale 

West  Texas  G.  R.  Townsend 

West  Virginia  J.  H.  Hess 

West  Wisconsin  John  Holt 

Western  Norweg.-Dan.  C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  C.  O.  Lobeck 

Wilmington  L.  E.  Barrett 

Wisconsin  G.  H.  Trever 

Wyoming  M.  S.  Hard 


Boundaries.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 


Bishop  D.  A.  Goodsell  and  Bishop  J.  M.  Walden,  Chairmen. 
F.  G.  Mitchell,  Secretary ;   J.  B.  Hingeley,  Assistant  Secretary. 


Alabama  H.  W.  Perrin 

Arkansas  A.  J.  Taylor 

Austin  O.  L.  Fisher 

Baltimore  Alexander  Ashley 

Bengal -Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  A.  Graybeal 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  E.  R.  Willis 

California  German  John  Furer 

Central  Alabama  P.  P.  Wright 

Central  German  John  Haensler 

Central  Illinois.  .  .M.  V.  Crumbaker 

Central  Missouri  H.  L.  Billups 

Central  New  York  ....F.J.  Cheney 

Central  Ohio  W.  G.  Waters 

Central  Pennsylv'a.  W.  M.  Frysinger 
Central  Swedish  J.  F.  Wigren 


Central  Tennessee . . 
Chicago  German . . . 

Cincinnati  

Colorado  

Columbia  River.  .W 

Delaware  

Des  Moines  

Detroit  

East  German  

East  Maine  

East  Ohio  

East  Tennessee  

Erie  

Florida  

Foo-Chow  

Genesee  

Georgia  


. .  .  J.  M.  Carter 
. .  .Louis  Appel 
.F.  G.  Mitchell 
. .  .D.  L.  Rader 
.  H.  Van  Duesen 
.  .H.  A.  Monroe 
.D.  C.  Franklin 
R.  S.  Copeland 
. . . .  C.  E.  Zoller 
....E.  W.  Lord 
. .  L.  H.  Stewart 

 J.  S.  Hill 

.J.  C.  Scofield 
. . .  S.  A.  Hugar 
.L.  A.  Trimble 
.E.  H.  Latimer 
. .  J.  L.  Fowler 


362 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


CONFERENCES. 


NAMES. 


Holston  J.  A.  Fowler 

Idaho  C.  R.  Kellerman 

Illinois  J.  B.  Wolfe 

Indiana  T.  H.  Willis 

Iowa  I.  P.  Teter 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan  Eiji  Asada 

Kansas  W.  H.  Underwood 

Kentucky  Daniel  Stevenson 

Lexington  Joseph  Courtney 

Liberia   W.  T.  Hagan 

Little  Rock  J.  M.  Cox 

Louisiana  J.  F.  Marshall 

Maine  W.  W.  Merrill 

Mexico  G.  A.  Manning 

Michigan  Levi  Master 

Minnesota  H.  R.  Brill 

Mississippi  G-.  W.  Stith 

Missouri  C.  D.  Morris 

Montana  Jacob  Mills 

Nebraska  Isaac  Crook 

New  Eng.  South.  .J.  E.  C.  Farnham 

New  Hampshire  C.  E.  Foote 

New  Jersey   J.  L.  Roe 

New  York  Andrew  Schriver 

New  York  East  J.  S.  Chadwick 

New  England  W.  N.  Brodbeck 

Newark.  .Sandford  Van  Benschoten 

North  Carolina  W.  H.  Thomas 

North  China  H.  H.  Lowry 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany. .  .Heinrich  During 

North  India  T.  J.  Scott 

North  Indiana   A.  E.  Mahin 

North  Nebraska  J.  D.  King 

North  Ohio  W.  F.  Whitlock 

Northern  German  F.  L.  Nagler 

Northern  Minnesota.  .J.  B.  Hingeley 
Northern  New  York..D.  F.  Pierce 
Northwest  German. .  .  .H.  A.  Salzer 

Northwest  India  W.  H.  Daniels 

Northwest  Indiana  Allen  Lewis 

Northwest  Iowa  O.  P.  Miller 

Northwest  Kansas . .  .  J.  B.  Morrison 


CONFERENCES. 


NAMES. 


Northwest  Nebraska . . .  A.  R.  Julian 

Norway   Andres  Olsen 

Norwegian  and  Dan.N.  E.  Simonsen 

Ohio  D.  Y.  Murdoch 

Oklahoma  '. . .  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  R.  A.  Booth 

Philadelphia  W.  M.  Ridgway 

Pittsburg  T.  B.  Noss 

Puget  Sound  C.  S.  Barlow 

Rock  River  M.  E.  Cady 

St.  John's  River  A.  W.  Biddle 

St.  Louis  E.  J.  Hunt 

St.  Louis  German  F.  H.  A.  Koch 

Savannah  M.  M.  Alston 

South  America  C.  W.  Drees 

South  Carolina  .  . . .  J.  E.  Wilson 

South  Dakota  . . .  W.  F.  T.  Bushnell 
South  Germ'y .  .Frederich  Gutekunst 

South  India  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  S.  S.  Murphy 

Southern  California.  W.  A.  Knighten 
Southern  German. . .  C.  F.  Blumberg 

Southern  Illinois  H.  H.  Crozier 

Southwest  Kansas  W.  H.  Rose 

Sweden   .J.  A.  Anderson 

Switzerland  Gideon  Gisler 

Tennessee  H.  W.  Key 

Texas  W.  H.  Logan 

Troy  Daniel  Havs 

Upper  Iowa  T.  B.  Taylor 

Upper  Mississippi. . .  .P.  O.  Jamison 

Vermont  J.  O.  Sherburn 

Virginia  S.  P.  Shipman 

Washington  I.  L.  Thomas 

West  German  J.  A.  Kost 

West  Nebraska  W.  J.  Cruzen 

West  Texas  Moses  Smith 

West  Virginia  D.  S.  Hammond 

West  Wisconsin  John  Holt 

Western  Norweg.-Dan..C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  O.  J.  Swan 

Wilmington  W.  L.  Gooding 

Wisconsin  M.  S.  Terry 

Wyoming  Austin  Griffin 


Revisals.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 
J.  M.  King,  Chairman;  O.  H.  Clark,  Secretary;  S.  L.  Baldwin, 

Assistant  Secretary. 


Alabama  G.  E.  Ackerman 

Arkansas  J.  H.  Clendenning 

Austin  E.  B.  Ailing 

Baltimore  L.  B.  Wilson 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  H.  F.  Ketron 


Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  John  Coyle 

California  German  George  Guth 

Central  Alabama  E.  M.  Jones 

Central  German  Joseph  Kern 

Central  Illinois  J.  W.  Haney 


1896.] 


Standi?ig  Committees. 


363 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Central  Missouri  J.  W.  Jackson 

Central  New  York .  . . .  R.  D.  Hunger 

Central  Ohio  L.  A.  Belt 

Central  Pennsylvania.. T.  H.  Murray 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  J.  M.  Carter 

Chicago  German  C.  E.  Mueller 

Cincinnati  J.  W.  Bashford 

Colorado  Z.  X.  Snyder 

Columbia  River  J.  C.  Libby 

Delaware  J.  H.  Scott 

Des  Moines  D.  C.  Franklin 

Detroit  C.  T.  Allen 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  J.  F.  Haley 

East  Ohio  E.  P.  Edmonds 

East  Tennessee  J.  S.  Hill 

Erie  A.  J.  Merchant 

Florida  Robert  Ayers 

Foo-Chow  L.  A.  Trimble 

Geuesee  S.  A.  Morse 

Georgia  J.  L.  Fowler 

Holston  R.  J.  Cook 

Id  aho  C.  R.  Kellerman 

Illinois  J.  T.  McFarland 

Indiana  J.  A.  Sargent 

Iowa  C.  L.  Stafford 

Italy  Luigi  Mando 

Japan  Yoitsu  Honda 

Kansas   J.  M.  Miller 

Kentucky  Vincent  Boreing 

Lexington  I.  N.  McCullough 

Liberia  W.  T.  Hagan 

Little  Rock  J.  M.  Cox 

Louisiana  A.  E.  P.  Albert 

Maine  A.  W.  Waterhouse 

Mexico  J.  W.  Butler 

Michigan  P.  J.  Maveety 

Minnesota  G.  A.  Merrill 

Mississippi  T.  J.  Keys 

Missouri  W.  J.  Gibson 

Montana  Jacob  Mills 

Nebraska  J.  H.  Mickey 

New  England  E.  R.  Thorndike 

New  Eng.  Southern. .  .M.  J.  Talbot 

New  Hampshire  O.  S.  Baketel 

New  Jersey  J.  R.  Mace 

New  York  J.  M.  King 

New  York  East  G.  P.  Mains 

Newark  S.  L.Baldwin 

North  Carolina  W.  H.  Thomas 

North  China   J.  F.  Scott 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany  Carl  Schell 

North  India  E.  W.  Parker 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

North  Indiana  W.  D.  Parr 

North  Nebraska .  .  .  Alfred  Hodgetts 

North  Ohio  John  Mitchell 

Northern  German . .  Henry  Bendixen 
Northern  Minnesota.  .J.  B.  Hingeley 
Northern  New  York.  .  .S.  M.  Coon 
Northwest  German. .  .E.  "W.  Henke 

Northwest  India  J.  E.  Scott 

Northwest  Indiana. ..  .Allen  Lewis 

Northwest  Iowa  J.  W.  Lothian 

Northwest  Kansas. .  . .  W.  H.  Sweet 
Northwest  Nebraska.. A.  R.  Julian 

Norway  Toger  Pedersen 

Norwegian  and  Danish. .  .M.  J.  Pihl 

Ohio  W.  H.  Lewis 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  G.  W.  Gue 

Philadelphia  .. . .  .S.  W.  Thomas 

Pittsburg  J.  F.  Core 

Puget  Sound  T.  J. 'Massey 

Rock  River  J.  W.  Richards 

St.  John's  River  L.  S.  Rader 

St.  Louis.  E.  J.  Hunt 

St.  Louis  German.  .William  Schutz 

Savannah  G.  H.  Bowen 

South  America  Justo  Cubilo 

South  Carolina  E.  J.  Sawyer 

South  Dakota  W.  H.  Jordan 

South  Germany  A.  G.  Bruns 

South  India  A.  H.  Baker 

South  Kansas  J.  E.  Hair 

Southern  California.  .W.  T.  Randall 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois  O.  H.  Clark 

Southwest  Kansas ....  James  Allison 

Sweden    J.  M.  Erikson 

Switzerland ....  Johannes  Wuhrman 

Tennessee.  H.  W.  Key 

Texas  T.  A.  Fortson 

Troy  J.  H.  Brown 

Upper  Iowa  S.  N.  Fellows 

Upper  Mississippi ....  J.  H.  Phillips 

Vermont  C.  M.  Mansur 

Virginia  C.  L.  Gaver 

"Washington  C.  F.  Vodery 

West  German  Jacob  Tanner 

West  Nebraska  Erastus  Smith 

West  Texas  J.  G.  Starnes 

West  Virginia  T.  P.  Jacobs 

West  Wisconsin . .  .  S.  W.  Trousdale 
Western  Norweg.-Dan. .  C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  O.  J.  Swan 

Wilmington  W.  F.  Corkran 

Wisconsin  E.  L.  Eaton 

Wyoming  A.  J.  Van  Cleft 


364 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Temporal  Economy.  Journal,  pages  95,  97. 
H.  R.  Brill,  Chairman  ;  H.  C.  Weakley,  Secretary. 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Alabama  H.  W.  Perrin 

Arkansas  J.  H.  Clendenning 

Austin  E.  B.  Ailing 

Baltimore  W.  S.  Edwards 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  H.  F.  Ketron 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  John  Kirby 

California  German  John  Furer 

Central  Alabama  P.  P.  Wright 

Central  German  Victor  Wilker 

Central  Illinois  W.  H.  Logan 

Central  Missiouri  R.  E.  Gillum 

Cen.  New  York.. Edwin  Nottingham 

Central  Ohio  F.  H.  Tanner 

Central  Pennsylvania.  .John  Patton 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  P.  D.  Carr 

Chicago  Ger..  Bartholomew  Lain  pert 

Cincinnati  H.  C.  Weakley 

Colorado  J.  W.  Gilluly 

Columbia  River  G.  M.  Booth 

Delaware  B.  O.  Bird 

Des  Moines  L.  M.  Shaw 

Detroit  John  Sweet 

East  German  C.  E.  Zoller 

East  Maine  E.  W.  Lord 

East  Ohio  D.  C.  Osborne 

East  Tennessee  J.  R.  Johnson 

Erie  H.  J.  Gidley 


Florida  Robert  Ayres 

Foo-Chow  M.  C.  Wilcox 

Genesee  A.M.  Holden 

Georgia  W.  T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  W.  Adams 

Idaho  J.  D.  McCully 

Illinois  J.  O.  Cunningham 

Indiana  William  Newkirk 

Iowa  James  Harlan 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan  Eiji  Asada 

Kansas  William  Fry  holler 

Kentucky  Vincent  Boreing 

Lexington  R.  F.  Broaddus 

Liberia  W.  T.  Hagan 

Little  Rock  W.  O.  Emory 

Louisiana  G.  F.  Huntley 

Maine  G.  D.  Lindsay 

Mexico   G.  A.  Manning 

Michigan  James  Hamilton 

Minnesota    H.  R.  Brill 

Mississippi  J.  M.  Shumpert 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Missouri  J.  J.  Bent  ley 

Montana  Fred  Gamer 

Nebraska  J.  H.  Mickey 

New  England  A.  B.  F.  Kinney 

New  England  South.. David  Gordon 

New  Hampshire  E.  F.  Childs 

New  Jersey  J.  F.  Rusling 

New  York  A.  D.  Peake 

New  York  East  John  French 

Newark  Henry  Spellmeyer 

North  Carolina  E.  M.  Collett 

North  China  H.  H.  Lowry 

North  Dakota  J.  D.  Wallace 

North  Germany. .  .Heinrich  During 

North  India  T.  J.  Scott 

North  Indiana  G.  H.  Hill 

North  Nebraska  J.  B.  Maxfield 

North  Ohio   L.  C.  Laylin 

Northern  German  F.  L.  Nagler 

Northern  Minnesota .  .A.  W.  Bradley 

Northern  New  York  C.  J.  Little 

Northwest  German. . . .  E.  W.  Henke 

Northwest  India  W.  H.  Daniels 

Northwest  Indiana. . .  .H.  A.  Gobin 

Northwest  Iowa  CP.  Kilborne 

Northwest  Kansas .  E.  S.  Chenoweth 
Northwest  Nebraska . .  G.  E.  Gorton 

Norway  Toger  Pedersen 

Norwegian  and  Danish  . .  M.  J.  Pihl 

Ohio  J.  C.  Arbuckle 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  J.  F.  Caples 

Philadelphia  J.  E.  James 

Pittsburg  T.  H.  Woodring 

Puget  Sound  Rufus  Willard 

Rock  River  J.  B.  Hobbs 

St.  John's  River  A.  W.  Bicldle 

St.  Louis  T.  J.  Langston 

St.  Louis  German. . . .  .H.  C.  Grawe 

Savannah  M.  C.  B.  Mason 

South  America  G.  W.  Drees 

South  Carolina.. B.  F.  Witherspoon 

South  Dakota  R.  N.  Kratz 

South  Germany  . .  .Fred.  Gutekunst 

South  India  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  J.  E.  Hair 

Southern  California. .  W.  T.  Randal 
Southern  German. . .  C.  F.  Blumberg 
Southern  Illinois .  M.  H.  Chamberlin 

Southwest  Kansas  T.  M.  Hutto 

Sweden  J.  A.  Anderson 

Switzerland  Gideon  Gisle 


1896.] 


Standing  Committees. 


365 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Tennessee  D.  W.  Byrd 

Texas  T.  A.  Fortson 

Troy  C.  D.  Hammond 

Upper  Iowa  W.  F.  King 

Upper  Mississippi..  E.  H.  McKissack 

Vermont  Z.  M.  Mansur 

Virginia  S.  P.  Shipman 

"Washington  W.  H.  Brooks 

West  German .  .W.  F.  Muenzenmayer 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

West  Nebraska  C.  A.  Hale 

West  Texas  Harry  Swann 

West  Virginia  D.  S.  Hammond 

West  Wisconsin  H.  P.  Magili 

Western  Norweg.-Dan.  .C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  C.  O.  Lobeck 

Wilmington  W.  H.  Jackson 

Wisconsin  W.  H.  Stevens 

Wyoming  A.  I.  Decker 


State  of  the  Church.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 
A.  J.  Palmer,  Chairman;  W.  A.  Leitch,  Secretary. 


Alabama  H.  "W.  Perrin 

Arkansas  A.  J.  Taylor 

Austin   O.  L.  Fisher 

Baltimore  W.  A.  Leitch 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  Augustus  Graybeal 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  Henry  French 

California  German  ....  George  Guth 

Central  Alabama  E.  M.  Jones 

Central  German  Jacob  Haensler 

Central  Illinois  C.  H.  Long 

Central  Missouri  J.  W.  Jackson 

Central  New  York  T.  R.  Green 

Central  Ohio  E.  T.  Nelson 

Central  Pennsylvania.  .E.  H.  Yocum 

Central  Swedish  J.  R.  Lindgren 

Central  Tennessee  P.  D.  Carr 

Chicago  German  H.  J.  Lemcke 

Cincinnati  C.  W.  Bennett 

Colorado  D.  L.  Rader 

Columbia  River  H.  C.  Clark 

Delaware  J.  H.  Scott 

Des  Moines  L.  M.  Shaw 

Detroit  E.  W.  Ryan 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  J.  F.  Haley 

East  Ohio  E.  D.  Holtz 

East  Tennessee  J.  R.  Johnson 

Erie   H.  P.  Sullivan 

Florida  Robert  Ayres 

Foo-Chow  L.  A.  Trimble 

Genesee  C.  W.  Winchester 

Georgia  W.  T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  A.  Fowler 

Idaho  J.  D.  McCully 

Illinois  J.  A.  Kumler 

Indiana  B.  F.  Adams 

low  a  Christopher  Haw 

Italy  Luigi  Mando 

Japan  Eiji  Asada 


Kansas  J.  W.  Alderman 

Kentucky  J.  D.  Walsh 

Lexington  E.  W.  S.  Hammond 

Liberia  W.  E.  Dennis 

Little  Rock  J.  M.  Cox 

Louisiana  A.  E.  P.  Albert 

Maine  W.  W.  Merrill 

Mexico  G.  A.  Manning- 
Michigan  M.  M.  Callen 

Minnesota  John  Stafford 

Mississippi  T.  J.  Keys 

Missouri  W.  J.  Gibson 

Montana   Jacob  Mills 

Nebraska  C.  C.  Lasby 

New  England  E.  M.  Taylor 

New  Eng.  Southern  T.  J.  Everett 

New  Hampshire  C.  E.  Foote 

New  Jersey  J.  L.  Roe 

New  York  A.  J.  Palmer 

New  York  East  C.  S.  Wing 

Newark  G.  W.  Smith 

North  Carolina  W.  H.  Thomas 

North  China  J.  F.  Scott 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany  Carl  Schell 

North  Indiana  C.  B.  Stemen 

North  India  A.  C.  Butcher 

North  Nebraska  T.  L.  Matthews 

North  Ohio  J.  M.  Naylor 

Northern  German.. Henry  Bendixen 
Northern  Minnesota.. A.  W.  Bradley 
Northern  New  York.  .J.  C.  Darling 
Northwest  German  . .  .  H.  A.  Salzer 

Northwest  India  W.  H.  Daniels 

Northwest  Indiana.  W.  H.  Hickman 

Northwest  Iowa  J.  B.  Trimble 

Northwest  Kansas  E.  W.  Allen 

Northwest  Nebraska. . .  A.  R.  Julian 

Norway  Toger  Pedersen 

Norwegian  and  Danish. .  .M.  J.  Pihl 
Ohio  W.  H.  Lewis 


366 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  G.  W.  Gue 

Philadelphia  J.  S.  Hughes 

Pittsburg  J.  E.  Rigg 

Puget  Sound.  ...   C.  S.  Barlow 

Rock  River  P.  H.  Swift 

St.  John's  River  A.  W.  Biddle 

St.  Louis  W.  A.  Quayle 

St.  Louis  German.  .  ..F.  H.  A.  Koch 

Savannah  L.  J.  Price 

South  America  Justo  Cubilo 

South  Carolina . .  B.  F.  Witherspoon 

South  Dakota  C.  B.  Clark 

South  Germany  A.  G.  Bruns 

South  India  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  G.  W.  Bovven 

Southern  California .  W.  A.  Knighten 
Southern  German  .  .  C.  F.  Blum  berg 

Southern  Illinois  L.  W.  Thrall 

Southwest  Kans .  Granville  Lowther 


CONFERENCES.  .  NAMES. 

Sweden  J.  E.  Edman 

Switzerland  Gideon  Gisler 

Tennessee  H.  W.  Key 

Texas  H.  W.  Logan 

Troy  W.  H.  Hughes 

Upper  Iowa  J.  B.  Albrook 

Upper  Mississippi.  . . .  J.  H.  Phillips 

Vermont  M.  P.  Perley 

Virginia  S.  P.  Shipman 

Washington  J.  W.  E.  Bowen 

West  German  Charles  Harms 

West  Nebraska . .  J.  L.  McBrien 

West  Texas  Moses  Smith 

West  Virginia  D.  L.  Ash 

West  Wisconsin  . . .  W.  T.  Jennings 
Western  Norweg.-Dan.  .C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  O.  J.  Swan 

Wilmington  Alfred  Smith 

Wisconsin  Leander  Ferguson 

Wyoming  G.  S.  Bennett 


Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 
Journal,  pages  95,  97. 

C.  H.  Payne,  Chairman;  Samuel  Dickie,  Secretary. 


Alabama  G.  E.  Ackerman 

Arkansas  J.  H.  Clendenning 

Austin  O.  L.  Fisher 

Baltimore  John  Lanahan 

Bengal- Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  H.  F.  Ketron 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  Henry  French 

California  German  ....  George  Guth 

Central  Alabama  P.  P.  Wright 

Central  Illinois  J.  G.  Evans 

Central  Missouri  H.  L.  Billups 

Central  New  York  E.  M.  Mills 

Central  Ohio  J.  L.  Albritton 

Central  Pennsylvania. S.  C.  Swallow 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  P.  D.  Carr 

Chicago  Ger .  Bartholomew  Lampert 

Cincinnati  C.  H.  Payne 

Colorado  Earl  Cranston 

Columbia  River  H.  C.  Clark 

Delaware  B.  O.  Bird 

Des  Moines  W.  E.  Hamilton 

Detroit  John  Sweet 

East  German  C.  E.  Zoller 

East  Maine  A.  W.  Harris 

East  Ohio  J.I.  Wilson 

East  Tennessee  J.  R.  Johnson 

Erie  R.  S.  Borland 


Florida  S.  A.  Hugar 

Foo-Chow  M.  C.  Wilcox 

Genesee  S.  A.  Morse 

Georgia  W.  T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  A.  Ruble 

Idaho   C.  R.  Kellerman 

Illinois  J.  T.  McFarland 

Indiana  T.  H.  Willi's 

Iowa  J.  P.  Teter 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan  Yoitsu  Honda 

Kansas  William  Fryhofer 

Kentucky  Daniel  Stevenson 

Lexington  I.  N.  McCullough 

Liberia  W.  E.  Deunis 

Little  Rock  W.  O.  Emory 

Louisiana  J.  F.  Marshall 

Maine  W.  W.  Merrill 

Mexico  J.  W.  Butler 

Michigan  Samuel  Dickie 

Minnesota  G.  A.  Merrill 

Mississippi  G.  W.  Stith 

Missouri  J.  J.  Bentley 

Montana  Jacob  Mills 

Nebraska  L.  O.  Jones 

New  England  E.  R.  Thorndike 

New  Eng.  Southern. .  .T.  J.  Everett 

New  Hampshire  C.  D.  Hills 

New  Jersey  J.  R.  Mace 


1896.] 


Standing  Committees. 


867 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

New  York  A.  D.  Peake 

New  York  East  G.  E.  Reed 

Newark  H.  K.  Carroll 

North  Carolina  W.  H.  Thomas 

North  China  J.  F.  Scott 

North  Dakota  J.  D.  Wallace 

North  Germany  Carl  Schell 

North  India  L.  S.  Parker 

North  Indiana  C.  B.  Stemen 

North  Nebraska  T.  L.  Matthews 

North  Ohio  W.  F.  Whitlock 

Northern  German. ...  F.  L.  Nagler 
Northern  Minnesota .  .A.  W.  Bradley 
Northern  New  York.  .J.  C.  Darling 

Northwest  German  E.  W.  Henke 

Northwest  India  W.  H.  Daniels 

Northwest  Indiana  Allen  Lewis 

Northwest  Iowa  Robert  Smylie 

Northwest  Kansas.. E.  S.  Chenoweth 
Northwest  Nebraska. . .  A.  R.  Julian 

Norway  Andres  Olsen 

Norweg.  and  Dan....N.  E.  Simonsen 

Ohio  Morris  Sharp 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  G.  W.  Gue 

Philadelphia  W.  M.  Swindells 

Pittsburg  T.  B.  Noss 

Puget  Sound  C.  S.  Barlow 

Rock  River  J.  B.  Hobbs 

St.  John\s  River  A.  W.  Biddle 

St.  Louis  W.  A.  Quayle 

St.  Louis  German. . .  .F.  H.  A.  Koch 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Savannah  M.  C.  B.  Mason 

South  America  G.  W.  Drees 

South  Carolina  .  .T.  J.  Clark 

South  Dakota. . . .  W.  F.  T.  Bushnell 
South  Germany.FrederickGutekunst 

South  India  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  J.  E.  Hair 

Southern  California.  .J.  A.  Williams 
Southern  German.  .C.  F.  Blumberg 
Southern  Illinois. .  .J.  W.  Van  Cleve 
Southwest  Kans.  .Granville  Lowther 
Sweden ....        ...  .J.  A.  Anderson 

Switzerland  Gideon  Gisler 

Tennessee  H.  W.  Key 

Texas  Frank  Gary 

Troy  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer 

Upper  Iowa  S.  N.  Fellows 

Upper  Mississippi. . . .  J.  O.  Jamison 

Vermont  J.  O.  Sherburn 

Virginia   .C.  C.  Gaver 

Washington  W.  H.  Brooks 

West  German. W.  F.  Muenzenmayer 

West  Nebraska  J.  L.  McBrien 

West  Texas  G.  R.  Townsend 

West  Virginia   .G.  C.  Sturgiss 

West  Wisconsin  John  Holt 

Western  Norweg. -Dan.  .C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  O.  J.  Swan 

Wilmington  Alfred  Smith 

Wisconsin  E.  L.  Eaton 

Wyoming  J.  G.  Eckman 


Book  Concern.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 
G.  C.  Sturgiss,  Chairman;   E.  W.  S.  Hammond,  Secretary. 


Alabama  H.  W.  Perrin 

Arkansas  J.  H.  Clendenning 

Austin  E.  B.  Ailing 

Baltimore  W.  S.  Edwards 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  Augustus  Graybeal 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  J.  W.  Whiting 

California-German  John  Furer 

Central  Alabama  E.  M.  Jones 

Central  German  A.  J.  Nast 

Central  Illinois  C.  H.  Long 

Central  Missouri  H.  L.  Billups 

Central  N.  Y . . . .  Edwin  Nottingham 

Central  Ohio  L.  A.  Belt 

Central  Pennsyl . . .  W.  M.  Frysinger 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  J.  M.  Carter 

24 


Chicago  German  Lewis  Appel 

Cincinnati  G.  B.  Johnson 

Colorado   J.  W.  Gilluly 

Columbia  River   I.  C.  Libby 

Delaware  J.  H.  Scott 

Des  Moines  J.  M.  Kittleman 

Detroit  G.  O.  Robinson 

East  German   C.  E.  Zoller 

East  Maine  A.  W.  Harris 

East  Ohio  W.  F.  Walworth 

East  Tennessee  J.  S.  Hill 

Erie  J.  C.  Scofield 

Florida  Robert  Ayres 

Foo-Chow  L.  A.  Trimble 

Genesee  J.  L.  Romer 

Georgia  ,  . . .  J.  L.  Fowler 

Holston  R.  J.  Cook 

Idaho  C.  R.  Kellerman 


368 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


CONFERENCES. 


NAMES.  CONFERENCES. 


Illinois  W.  H.  Reed 

Indiana  M.  S.  Heavenridge 

Iowa  James  Harlan 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan  Eiji  Asada 

Kansas  J.  M.  Miller 

Kentucky  R.  T.  Miller 

Lexington  E.  W.  S.  Hammond 

Liberia  W.  T.  Hagan 

Little  Rock  W.  O.  Emory 

Louisiana  C.  C.  Morse 

Maine  G.  D.  Lindsay 

Mexico  J.  W.  Butler 

Michigan  J.  H.  Potts 

Minnesota  H.  R.  Brill 

Mississippi  S.  A.  Cowan 

Missouri  CD.  Morris 

Montana  Fred  Gamer 

Nebraska  D.  W.  C.  Huntington 

New  England  C.  R.  Magee 

New  Eng.  Southern. .  .M.  J.  Talbot 

New  Hampshire  E.  F.  Childs 

New  Jersey  C.  W.  Shoemaker 

New  York  J.  E.  Andrus 

New  York  East  J.  H.  Sessions 

Newark  R.  R.  Doherty 

North  Carolina  E.  M.  Collett 

North  China  J.  F.  Scott 

North  Dakota  J.  D.  Wallace 

North  Germany . . .  Heinrich  During 

North  India  T.  J.  Scott 

North  Indiana ......  J.  S.  Patterson 

North  Nebraska . . . .  T.  L.  Matthews 

North  Ohio  W.  F.  Whitlock 

Northern  German  F.  L.  Nagler 

Northern  Minnesota.  .Robert  Forbes 
Northern  New  York.H.  E.  Dingley 
Northwest  German. . .  .H.  A.  Salzer 

Northwest  India  W.  H.  Daniels 

Northwest  Indiana. .  .R.  S.  Tennant 

Northwest  Iowa  O.  P.  Miller 

Northwest  Kansas. E.  S.  Chenoweth 
Northwest  Nebraska . .  G.  E.  Gorton 


NAMES. 


Norway  Andres  Olsen 

Norwegian  and  Dan.N.  E.  Simonsen 

Ohio   Morris  Sharp 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  G.  W.  Gue 

Philadelphia  W.  H.  Maxwell 

Pittsburg  R.  T.  Miller 

Puget  Sound  T.  B.  Ford 

Rock  River  Lewis  Curts 

St.  John's  River  L.  S.  Rader 

St.  Louis  T.  J.  Laugstou 

St.  Louis  German ..  William  Schutz 

Savannah  M.  M.  Alston 

South  America  Justo  Cubilo 

South  Carolina  J.  E.  Wilson 

South  Dakota... W.  F.  T.  Bushnell 
South  Germany. .  .Fred.  Gutekunst 

South  India.  ..  ..  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  J.  E.  Brant 

Southern  California.  W.  A.  Knighteu 
Southern  German.. C.  F.  Blumberg 
Southern  Illinois. . .  .William  Wall  is 
Southwest  Kansas.  W.  J.  Martindale 

Sweden  J.  M.  Eriksou 

Switzerland.  . .  .Johannes  Wuhrmau 

Tennessee  D.  W.  Byrd 

Texas  LB.  Scott 

Troy   C.  D.  Hammond 

Upper  Iown   T.  B.  Taylor 

Upper  Mississippi  J.  H.  Phillips 

Vermont  M.  P.  Perley 

Virginia  C.  C.  Gaver 

Washington  I.  G.  Penn 

West  German  Charles  Harms 

West  Nebraska  W.  J.  Cruzen 

West  Texas  G.  R.  Townsend 

West  Virginia  G.  C.  Sturgiss 

West  Wisconsin. . . .  W.  T.  Jennings 
Western  Norweg.-Dan.  .C.J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  O.  J.  Swan 

Wilmington  W.  H.  Jackson 

Wisconsin  E.  S.  McChesney 

Wyoming  G.  S.  Bennett 


Missions.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 

W.  N.  Brodbeck,  Chairman ;  William  Burt,  Secretary ; 
C.  W.  Drees,  Assistant  Secretary. 


Alabama  G.  E.  Ackerman 

Arkansas  A.  J.  Taylor 

Austin  E.  B.  Ailing 

Baltimore  John  Lanahan 

Ben<?al-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 


Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  John  Coyle 

California  German  John  Furer 

Central  Alabama  P.  P.  Wright 

Central  German. .  .Jacob  Rothweiler 


Blue  Ridge  Augustus  Graybeal I  Central  Illinois 


H.  D.  Clark 


1896.] 


Standing  Committees. 


369 


CONEERENCES.  NAMES. 

Central  Missouri  J.  H.  Diggs 

Central  New  York  T.  R.  Green 

Central  Ohio  E.  T.  Nelson 

Central  Pennsylvania. T.  H.  Murray 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  J.  M.  Carter 

Chicago  Ger .  Bartholomew  Lampert 

Cincinnati  A.  B.  Leonard 

Colorado  Earl  Cranston 

Columbia  River. .  W.  W.  Van  Duesen 

Delaware  H.  A.  Monroe 

Des  Moines  W.  T.  Smith 

Detroit  W.  H.  Shier 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  W.  L.  Brown 

East  Ohio  L.  H.  Stewart 

East  Tennessee  J.  S.  Hill 

Erie  R.  S.  Borland 

Florida  S.  A.  Hugar 

Foo-Chow   M.  C.  Wilcox 

Genesee  H.  C.  Woods 

Georgia  J.  L.  Fowler 

Holston  J.  A.  Ruble 

Idaho  J.  D.  McCully 

Illinois  J.  B.  Wolfe 

Indiana  H.  A.  Buchtel 

Iowa  T.  J.  Myers 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan  Yoitsu  Honda 

Kansas  W.  H.  Underwood 

Kentucky  Vincent  Boreing 

Lexington  E.  W.  S.  Hammond 

Liberia   W.  E.  Dennis 

Little  Rock  W.  O.  Emory 

Louisiana  J.  C.  Hartzell 

Maine  D.  B.  Holt 

Mexico  J.  W.  Butler 

Michigan  Levi  Master 

Minnesota  G.  H.  Bridgman 

Mississippi  G,  W.  Stith 

Missouri  J.  H.  Poland 

Montana  Fred  Gamer 

Nebraska  D.  W.  E.  Huntington 

New  England         W.  N.  Brodbeck 

New  England  South. David  Gordon 

New  Hampshire  C.  D.  Hills 

New  Jersey . . . ,  George  Reed 

New  York  C.  C.  McCabe 

New  York  East  J.  S.  Chadwiclo 

Newark  S.  L.  Baldwin 

North  Carolina  E.  M.  Collett 

North  China  H.  H.  Lowry 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany:.  .Heinrich  During 
North  India  E.  W.  Parker 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

North  Indiana  H.  N.  Herrick 

North  Nebraska. .  .Alfred  Hodgetts 

North  Ohio  J.  M.  Naylor 

Northern  German.  .Henry  Bendixen 
Northern  Minnesota ....  J.  T.  Force 
Northern  New  York.  .H.  E.  Waugh 

Northwest  German  E.  W.  Henke 

Northwest  India  J.  E.  Scott 

Northwest  Indiana. ..A.  R.  Colbern 

Northwest  Iowa  J.  B.  Trimble 

Northwest  Kansas  E.  W.  Allen 

Northwest  Nebraska. . .  A.  R.  Julian 

Norway  Andres  Olsen 

Norwegian  and  Dan.N.  E.  Simonsen 

Ohio   W.  D.  Cherington 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  J.  F.  Caples 

Philadelphia  J.  E.  James 

Pittsburg  T.  H.  Woodring 

Puget  Sound  T.  J.  Massey 

Rock  River  M.  E.  Cady 

St.  John's  River   L.  S.  Rader 

St,  Louis  E.  J.  Hunt 

St.  Louis  Ger. .  .John  Schlagenhauf 

Savannah  G.  H.  Bowen 

South  America  C.  W.  Drees 

South  Carolina  W.  L.  Bulkley 

South  Dakota  W.  H.  Jordan 

South  Germany  A.  G.  Bruns 

South  India  A.  H.  Baker 

South  Kansas  S.  S.  Murphy 

Southern  Cal  S.  A.  Thompson 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois  O.  H.  Clark 

Southwest  Kansas  W.  H.  Rose 

Sweden  J.  M.  Erikson 

Switzerland  Johannes  Wnhrman 

Tennessee   H.  W.  Key 

Texas  I.  B.  Scott 

Troy  G.  A.  Barrett 

Upper  Iowa  W.  F.  Barclay 

Upper  Mississippi  P.  O.  Jamison 

Vermont  J.  O.  Sherburn 

Virginia  S.  P.  Shipman 

Washington  J.  L.  Thomas 

West  German  Jacob  Tanner 

West  Nebraska  C.  A.  Hale 

West  Texas  J.  G.  Starnes 

West  Virginia  G.  C.  Sturgiss 

West  Wisconsin  . .  S.  W.  Trousdale 
Western  Norweg.-Dan . .  C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  C.  O.  Lobeck 

Wilmington  W.  F.  Corkran 

Wisconsin  W.  H.  Stevens 

Wyoming  Austin  Griffin 


370 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Education.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 


W.  F.  King,  Chairman;  Z.  X.  Snyder,  Secretary. 


CONFERENCES. 


NAMES. 


Alabama  G.  E.  Ackerman 

Arkansas  J.  H.  Clendenning 

Austin  O.  L.  Fisher 

Baltimore  J.  F.  Goucher 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  H.  F.  Ketron 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  E.  R.  Willis 

California  German  George  Guth 

Central  Alabama  P.  P.  Wright 

Central  German  Victor  Wilker 

Central  Illinois  Samuel  Van  Pelt 

Central  Missouri  J.  W.  Jackson 

Central  New  York  F.  J.  Cheney 

Central  Ohio  W.  G.  Waters 

Central  Pennsylvania. .  .  .E.  J.  Gray 

Central  Swedish  J.  R.  Lindgren 

Central  Tennessee  P.  D.  Carr 

Chicago  German  C.  E.  Miller 

Cincinnati  C.  H.  Payne 

Colorado  Z.  X.  Snyder 

Columbia  River  I.  C.  Libby 

Delaware  B.  O.  Bird 

Des  Moines  W.  E.  Hamilton 

Detroit  L.  R.  Fiske 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  A.  W.  Harris 

East  Ohio  E.  D.  Holtz 

East  Tennessee  J.  S.  Hill 

Erie  J.  N.  Fradenburgh 

Florida  Robert  Ayres 

Foo-Chow  L.  A.  Trimble 

Genesee  J.  E.  Bills 

Georgia  W.  T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  A.  Fowler 

Idaho  J.  D.  McCully 

Illinois  W.  H.  Wilder 

Indiana  J.  H.  Martin 

Iowa  C.  L.  Stafford 

Italy  Luigi  Mando 

Japan  :  Eiji  Asada 

Kansas  J.  A.  Motter 

Kentucky  Daniel  Stevenson 

Lexington  R.  F.  Broaddus 

Liberia  W.  E.  Dennis 

Little  Rock  W.  O.  Emory 

Louisiana  A.  E.  P.  Albert 

Maine  G.  D.  Lindsay 

Mexico  G.  H.  Manning 

Michigan  Samuel  Dickie 

Minnesota  G.  H.  Bridgman 


CONFERENCES. 


NAMES. 


Mississippi  T.  J.  Keys 

Missouri  W.  J.  Gibson 

Montana  Jacob  Mills 

Nebraska  Isaac  Crook 

New  England  W.  F.  Warren 

New  England  South... T.  J.  Everett 

New  Hampshire  O.  S.  Baketel 

New  Jersey  J.  F.  Rusling 

New  York  J.  R.  Day 

New  York  East  G.  E.  Reed 

Newark  H.  A.  Buttz 

North  Carolina.  W.  H.  Thomas 

North  China  J.  F.  Scott 

North  Dakota  J.  D.  Wallace 

North  Germany  Carl  Schell 

North  India  L.  S.  Parker 

North  Indiana  F.  G.  Browne 

North  Nebraska  J.  D.  King 

North  Ohio  L.  C.  Laylin 

Northern  Germany  F.  L.  Nagler 

Northern  Minnesota.  J.  B.  Hingeley 

Northern  New  York  C.  J.  Little 

Northwest  German. . .  .H.  A.  Salzer 

Northwest  India  J.  E.  Scott 

Northwest  Indiana. . .  .H.  A.  Gobin 

Northwest  Iowa  Robert  Smylie 

Northwest  Kansas  W.  H.  Sweet 

Northwest  Nebraska.  .G.  E.  Gorton 

Norway  Andres  Olsen 

Norweg.  and  Dan.  .N.  E.  Simonsen 

Ohio  J.  W.  McCormick 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  John  Parsons 

Philadelphia  T.  B.  Neely 

Pittsburg  T.  B.  Noss 

Puget  Sound  C.  S.  Barlow 

Rock  River  P.  H.  Swift 

St.  John's  River  A.  W.  Biddle 

St.  Louis  W.  A.  Quayle 

St.  Louis  German.. William  Koeneke 

Savannah  G.  H.  Bowen 

South  America  Justo  Cubilo 

South  Carolina  E.  J.  Sawyer 

South  Dakota  ,  W.  H.  Jordan 

South  Germany  . .  .Fred.  Gutekunst 

South  India  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  J.  W.  Stewart 

Southern  California. .  W.  T.  Randall 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois. M.  II.  Chamberlin 
Southwest  Kansas  T.  M.  Hutto 


1896.] 


Standing  Committees. 


371 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Sweden  J.  E.  Edman 

Switzerland  Gideon  Gisler 

Tennessee  D.  W.  Byrd 

Texas..   J.  W.  Jamison 

Troy  J.  E.  C.  Sawyer 

Upper  Iowa  W.  F.  King 

Upper  Mississippi .  E.  M.  McKissack 

Vermont  M.  P.  Perley 

Virginia  C.  C.  Gaver 

Washington  J.  W.  E.  Bowen 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

West  German  J.  A.  Kost 

West  Nebraska  J.  L.  McBrien 

West  Texas  G.  R.  Townsend 

West  Virginia  Asbury  Mick 

West  Wisconsin..  .  . S.  W.  Trousdale 
Western  Norweg.-Dan..C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  C.  O.  Lobeck 

Wilmington  W.  L.  Goo'ding 

Wisconsin  G.  H.  Trever 

Wyoming  L.  I.  Sprague 


Sunday  School  and  Tracts.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 

J.  B.  Young,  Chairman  ;  A.  I.  Decker,  Secretary. 

Alabama  H.  W.  Perrin 

Arkansas  A.  J.  Taylor 

Austin  E.  B.  Ailing 

Baltimore  Alexander  Ashley 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  H.  F.  Ketron 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  J.  W.  Whiting 

California  German  John  Furer 

Central  Alabama  P.  P.  Wright 

Central  German  Joseph  Kern 

Central  Illinois  W.  C.  Logan 

Central  Missouri  J.  H.  Diggs 

Central  New  York. .  .  .C.  C.  Wilbor 

Central  Ohio  J.  L.  Albritton 

Central  Pennsylvania. .D.  S.  Monroe 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  P.  D.  Carr 

Chicago  German  Lewis  Appel 

Cincinnati  H.  C.  Weakley 

Colorado  J.  W.  Gilluly 

Columbia  River  H.  C.  Clark 

Delaware  S.  L.  Parker 

Des  Moines  Emory  Miller 

Detroit  E.  W.  Ryan 

East  German  C.  C.  Zoller 

East  Maine  W.  L.  Brown 

East  Ohio  D.  C.  Osborne 

East  Tennessee  J.  R.  Johnson 

Erie  A.  J.  Merchant 

Florida  Robert  Ay  res 

Foo-Chow  L.  A.  Trimble 

Genesee  A.  M.  Holden 

Georgia  W.  T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  W.  Adams 

Idaho  J.  D.  McCully 

Illinois  H.  G.  Whitlock 

Indiana  B.  F.  Adams 

Iowa  Christopher  Haw 

Italy  Luigi  Mando 


,n  Eiji  Asada 

Kansas  William  Fryhof er 

Kentucky  R.  T.  Miller 

Lexington  I.  N.  McCullough 

Liberia  W.  E.  Dennis 

Little  Rock   J.  M.  Cox 

Louisiana  G.  F.  Huntley 

Maine  A.  W.  Waterhouse 

Mexico  J.  W.  Butler 

Michigan  Elvin  Swarthout 

Minnesota  John  Stafford 

Mississippi  G.  W.  Stith 

Missouri  C.  D.  Morris 

Montana  Jacob  Mills 

Nebraska  Isaac  Crook 

New  England  S.  F.  Upham 

New  Eng.  South.. J.  E.  C.  Farnham 

New  Hampshire  E.  F.  Childs 

New  Jersev  J.  B.  Graw 

New  York*.  E.  S.  Osbon 

New  York  East  John  French 

Newark  G.  W.  Smith 

North  Carolina  W.  H.  Thomas 

North  China  H.  H.  Lowry 

North  Dakota  J.  D.  Wallace 

North  Germany. .  ..Heinrich  During 

North  India  A.  C.  Butcher 

North  Indiana  W.  D.  Parr 

North  Nebraska  T.  L.  Matthews 

North  Ohio  N.  S.  Albright 

Northern  German  F.  L.  Nagler 

Northern  Minnesota. .  Robert  Forbes 
Northern  New  York  .  .  W.  D.  Marsh 
Northwest  Germany . .  .  H.  A.  Salzer 

Northwest  India  W.  H.  Daniels 

Northwest  Indiana. . .  A.  R.  Colburn 

Northwest  Iowa  J.  W.  Walker 

Northwest  Kansas . . .  J.  B.  Morrison 
Northwest  Nebraska. . .  A.  R.  Julian 
Norway  Toger  Pederson 


372 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Norwegian  and  Danish..  .M.  J.  Pihl 

Ohio  J.  W.  McCormick 

Oklahoma. .  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon..  R.  A.  Booth 

Philadelphia  J.  S.  Hughes 

Pittsburg  C.  W.  Smith 

Puget  Sound  Rufus  Willard 

Rock  River  J.  YV.  Richards 

St.  John's  River  A.  W.  Biddle 

St.  Louis  J.  B.  Young 

St.  Louis  German  H.  C.  Grawe 

Savannah  L.  J.  Price 

South  America  Justo  Cubilo 

South  Carolina  E.  J.  Sawyer 

South  Dakota   R.  N.  Kratz 

South  Germany. .  ..Fred.  Gutekunst 

South  India  A.  H.  Baker 

South  Kansas  G.  W.  Bowen 

Southern  California.. J.  A.  Williams 
Southern  German  .  .C.  F.  Blumberg 
Southern  Illinois  H.  H.  Crozier 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Southwest  Kansas.  . .  .James  Allison 

Sweden  Hjalmar  Soderberg 

Switzerland  Gideon  Gisler 

Tennessee  D  .W.  Byrd 

Texas  J.  W.  Jamison 

Troy  Daniel  Hays 

Upper  Iowa  A.  C.  Ross 

Upper  Mississippi.. E.  H.  McKissack 

Vermont  „.  .Z.  M.  Mansur 

Virginia  C.  C.  Gaver 

Washington  I.  G.  Penn 

West  German  Charles  Harms 

West  Nebraska  W.  J.  Cruzen 

West  Texas  J.  G.  Starnes 

West  Virginia  F.  P.  Jacobs 

West  Wisconsin  H.  C.  Magill 

Western  Norweg.-Dan..C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  C.  O.  Lobeck 

Wilmington   Alfred  Smith 

Wisconsin  E.  S.  McChesney 

Wyoming  A.  I.  Decker 


Church  Extension.    Journal,  pages  95,  97. 


W.  M.  Swindells,  Chairman;  L. 

Assistant 

Alabama  H.  W.  Perrin 

Arkansas  A.  J.  Taylor 

Austin  A.  L.  Fisher 

Baltimore  L.  B.  Wilson 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  H.  F.  Ketron 

Bombay  D.  O.  Fox 

California  John  Kirby 

California  German  George  Guth 

Central  Alabama  E.  M.  Jones 

Central  German  Joseph  Kern 

Central  Illinois  J.  W.  Haney 

Central  Missouri  R.  E.  Gillum 

Central  New  York. . .  .R.  D.  Munger 

Central  Ohio  F.  H.  Tanner 

Central  Pennsylvania.  S.  C.  Swallow 

Central  Swedish  J.  T.  Wigren 

Central  Tennessee  P.  D.  Carr 

Chicago  German  H.  J.  Lemcke 

Cincinnati  C.  W.  Bennett 

Colorado..*  D.  L.  Rader 

Columbia  River  G.  M.  Booth 

Delaware  S.  L.  Parker 

Des  Moines  J.  M.  Kittleman 

Detroit  R.  S.  Copeland 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  E.  W.  Lord 

East  Ohio  J.  A.  Mansfield 


O.  Jones,  Secretary ;  C.  J.  North, 

Secretary. 

East  Tennessee  J.  R.  Johnson 

Erie  S.  H.  Prather 

Florida  S.  A.  Hugar 

Foo-Chow  M.  C.  Wilcox 

Genesee  E.  H.  Latimer 

Georgia  W.  T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  A.  Ruble 

Idaho  C.  R.  Kellerman 

Illinois  Christie  Galeener 

Indiana  M.  S.  Heavenridge 

Iowa  Morris  Bamford 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan  Eiji  Asada 

Kansas  J.  W.  Alderman 

Kentucky  J.  D.  Walsh 

Lexington   R.  F.  Broaddus 

Liberia  W.  E.  Dennis 

Little  Rock  J.  M.  Cox 

Louisiana  C.  C.  Morse 

Maine  D.  B.  Holt 

Mexico  G.  A.  Manning 

Michigan  J.  I.  Buell 

Minnesota  G.  A.  Merrill 

Mississippi  S.  A.  Cowan 

Missouri  I.  S.  Ware 

Montana  Fred  Gamer 

Nebraska  L.  O.  Jones 

New  England  A.  B.  F.  Kinney 


1896.] 


Standing  Committees. 


373 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

New  Eng.  Southern. . . S.  O.  Benton 

New  Hampshire  C.  E.  Foote 

New  Jersey  C.  W.  Shoemaker 

New  York  Andrew  Schriver 

New  York  East  -.0.  J.  North 

Newark  Henry  Spellmeyer 

North  Carolina  W.  H.  Thomas 

North  China  J.  F.  Scott 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany  Carl  Schell 

North  India  E.  J.  Parker 

North  Indiana  A.  E.  Mahin 

North  Nebraska  J.  D.  King 

North  Ohio  William  Kepler 

Northern  German.  .Henry  Bendixen 
Northern  Minnesota. .  .  J.  F.  Chaffee 
Northern  New  York.  .H.  E.  Dingley 
Northwest  German. .  .E.  W.  Henke 
Northwest  India.  . .  W.  H.  Daniels 
Northwest  Indiana. .  .R.  S.  Tennant 

Northwest  Iowa  J.  W.  Lothian 

Northwest  Kansas.  .E.  S.  Chenoweth 
Northwest  Nebraska.. G.  E.  Gorton 

Norway  Toger  Pedersen 

Norwegian  and  Danish.  .M.  G.  Pihl 

Ohio  J.  C.  Arbuckle 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  R.  A.  Booth 

Philadelphia  W.  M.  Swindells 

Pittsburg  J.  E.  Riggs 

Puget  Sound  RufusWillard 

Rock  River  W.  A.  Spencer 

St.  John's  River  I.  S.  Rader 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

St.  Louis  W.  W.  Kendall 

St.  Louis  German ..  William  Schutz 

Savannah  L.  J.  Price 

South  America  C.  W.  Drees 

South  Carolina  T.  J.  Clark 

South  Dakota  C.  B.  Clark 

South  Germany   A.  G.  Bruns 

South  India  J.  W.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  G.  W.  Bowen 

Southern  California. W.  S.  Matthew 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois  L.  W.  Thrall 

Southwest  Kansas  W.  H.  Rose 

Sweden  Hjalmar  Sod erberg 

Switzerland ....  Johannes  Wuhrman 

Tennessee  D.  W.  Byrd 

Texas   Frank  Gary 

Troy  W.  H.  Hughes 

Upper  Iowa  A.  J.  Kynett 

Upper  Mississippi  J.  M.  Phillips 

Vermont  J.  O.  Sherburn 

Virginia  S.  P.  Shipman 

Washington  C.  F.  Vodery 

West  German. .  W.  F.  Muenzenmayer 

West  Nebraska  Erastus  Smith 

West  Texas  Moses  Smith 

West  Virginia  Asbury  Mick 

West  Wisconsin  H.  P.  Magill 

Western  Norweg.-Dan . .  C.  J.  Larson 

Western  Swedish  O.  J.  Swan 

Wilmington  Merritt  Hulburd 

Wisconsin  E.  L.  Eaton 

Wyoming  M.  S.  Hard 


Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society. 
Journal,  pages  95,  97. 


D.  H.  Moore,  Chairman; 

Alabama  G.  E.  Ackerman 

Arkansas  J.  H.  Clendenning 

Austin  O.  L.  Fisher 

Baltimore  W.  A.  Leitch 

Bengal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  Augustus  Graybeal 

Bombay   .D.  O.  Fox 

California  A.  T.  Needham 

California  German  John  Finer 

Central  Alabama  E.  M.  Jones 

Central  German.  .Jacob  Rothweiler 
Central  Illinois.  .  .M.  V.  Crumbaker 

Central  Missouri  J.  W.  Jackson 

Central  New  York. . . .  J.  C.  Nichols 

Central  Ohio   E.  D.  Whitlock 

Central  Pennsylvania.  .E.  H.  Yocum 


M.  C.  B.  Mason,  Secretary. 

Central  Swedish  J.  R.  Lindgren 

Central  Tennessee  J.  M.  Carter 

Chicago  German  C.  E.Mueller 

Cincinnati  G.  B.  Johnson 

Colorado  Z.  X.  Snyder 

Columbia  River. .  W.  W.  Van  Dusen 

Delaware  H.  A.  Monroe 

Des  Moines  W.  H.  W.  Rees 

Detroit  C.  T.  Allen 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  W.  L.  Brown 

East  Ohio  D.  H.  Muller 

East  Tennessee  J.  S.  Hill 

Erie  H.  J.  Gidley 

Florida  S.  A.  Hugar 

Foo-Chow  M.  C.  Wilcox 


374 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


CONFERENCES. 


NAMES. 


Genesee  J.  E.  Williams 

Georgia  W.T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  W.  Adams 

Idaho  J.  D.  McCully 

Illinois  J.  H.  Kumler 

Indiana  ,  . . . .  J.  A.  Sargent 

Iowa  I.  P.  Teter 

Italy  William  Burt 

Japan.   Yoitsu  Honda 

Kansas  J.  A.  Motter 

Kentucky  J.  D.  Walsh 

Lexington  Joseph  Courtney 

Liberia    W.  T.  Hagan 

Little  Rock  J.  M.  Cox 

Louisiana  J.  C.  Hartzell 

Maine  W.  W.  Merrill 

Mexico  G.  A.  Manning 

Michigan  M.  M.  Callen 

Minnesota  H.  C.  Jennings 

Mississippi  J.  M.  Shumpert 

Missouri  J.  J.  Bentley 

Montana  Fred  Gamer 

Nebraska  C.  C.  Lasby 

New  England   J.  W.  Hamilton 

New  England  Southern .  .  G.  H.  Bates 

New  Hampshire  S.  E.  Quimby 

New  Jersey  George  Reed 

New  York  J.  M.  King 

New  York  East  C.  S.  Wing 

Newark  H.  K.  Carroll 

North  Carolina  E.  M.  Collett 

North  China  H.  H.  Lowry 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany . .  .  Heinrich  During 

North  India   T.  J.  Scott 

North  Indiana  G.  H.  Hill 

North  Nebraska  J.  B.  Maxfield 

North  Ohio  John  Mitchell 

Northern  German .  .  Henry  Bendixen 

Northern  Minnesota  J.  F.  Force 

Northern  New  York  S.  M.  Coon 

Northwest  German... E.  W.  Henke 

Northwest  India  J.  E.  Scott 

Northwest  Indiana.  W.  H.  Hickman 
Northwest  Iowa  C.  P.  Kilborne  I 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Northwest  Kansas. . .  J.  B.  Morrison 
Northwest  Nebraska.  .G.  E.  Gorton 

Norway  Toger  Pedersen 

Norwegian  and  Danish.  .M.  J.  Pihl 

Ohio  m  D.  H.  Moore 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  John  Parsons 

Philadelphia  S.  W.  Thomas 

Pittsburg  J.  F.  Core 

Puget  Sound   T.  B.  Ford 

Rock  River  N.  G.  Van  Sant 

St.  John's  River  A.  W.  Biddle 

St.  Louis  W.  W.  Kendall 

St.  Louis  Ger. .  .John  Schlagenhauf 

Savannah  M.  C.  B.  Mason 

South  America  C.  W.  Drees 

South  Carolina  W.  L.  Bulkley 

South  Dakota  C.  B.  Clark 

South  Germany  A.  G.  Bruns 

South  India  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  S.  S.  Murphy 

Southern  California.  J.  A.  Williams 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois.  .J.  W.  Van  Cleve 

Southwest  Kansas  T.  M.  Hutto 

Sweden  J.  E.  Edman 

Switzerland  Gideon  Gisler 

Tennessee  .  D.  W.  Byrd 

Texas  W.  H.  Logan 

Troy  J.  H.  Brown 

Upper  Iowa  A.  C.  Rose 

Upper  Mississippi . . .  Richard  Sewell 

Vermont  A.  J.  Hough 

Virginia  S.  P.  Shipman 

Washington  J.  L.  Thomas 

West  German  ....J.  A.  Kost 

West  Nebraska  Erastus  Smith 

West  Texas  Harry  Swann 

West  Virginia  J.  H.  Hess 

West  Wisconsin  W.  J.  McKay 

Western  Norweg.-Dan.  .C.  J.  Larsen 

Western  Swedish  C.  O.  Lobeck 

Wilmington  L.  E.  Barrett 

Wisconsin  Leander  Ferguson 

Wyoming  A.  J.  Van  Cleft 


1896.] 


Special  Committees, 


375 


2.  SPECIAL. 

On  Epworth  League.    Journal,  page  86. 

E.  M.  Mills,  Chairman ;  G.  R.  Townsend,  Secretary  ;  H.  R.  Billups,  Assistant 

Secretary. 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Alabama  H.  W.  Perrin 

Arkansas  A.  J.  Taylor 

Austin  E.  B.  Ailing 

Baltimore  W.  S,  Edwai'ds 

Beugal-Burmah  F.  W.  Warne 

Blue  Ridge  Augustus  Graybeal 

Boinbav  D.  0.  Fox 

California  E.  R.  Willis 

California  German  John  Furer 

Central  Alabama  E.  M.  Jones 

Central  German  Joseph  Kern 

Central  Illinois  Samuel  Van  Felt 

Central  Missouri  H.  L.  Billups 

Central  New  York  E.  M.  Mills 

Central  Ohio  E.  D.  Whitlock 

Central  Pennsylvania  W.  W.  Evans 

Central  Swedish  J.  R.  Lindgren 

Central  Tennessee  J.  M.  Carter 

Chicago  German  C.  E.  Mueller 

Cincinnati  F.  G.  Mitchell 

Colorado  Z.  X.  Snyder 

Columbia  River  G.  M.  Booth 

Delaware  S.  L.  Parker 

Des  Moines  J.  M.  Kittleman 

Detroit  J.  F.  Berry 

East  German  J.  C.  Deininger 

East  Maine  , .  J.  F.  Haley 

East  Ohio  E.  P.  Edmonds 

East  Tennessee  J.  R.  Johnson 

Erie  H.  P.  Sullivan 

Florida  S.  A.  Hugar 

Foo-Chow  M.  C.  Wilcox 

Genesee   H.  C.  Woods 

Georgia  W.  T.  Morris 

Holston  J.  W.  Adams 

daho  C.  R.  Kellerman 

llinois  Christie  Galeener 

ndiana  H.  J.  Talbott 

owa  Christopher  Haw 

taly  Luigi  Mando 

apan  Eiji  Asada 

ansas  J.  W.  Alderman 

entucky  J.  D.  Walsh 

xirigton  Joseph  Courtney 

iberia  W.  E.  Dennis 

ittle  Rock  J.  M.  Cox 

uisiana  J.  F.  Marshall 

ne  E.  B.  Holt 

exico  G.  A.  Manning 

ichigan. . . .'  Elvin  Swarthout 

innesota  H.  C.  Jennings 

ississippi  T.  J.  Keys 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Missouri  I.  S.  Ware 

Montana  Jacob  Mills 

Nebraska  L.  0.  Jones 

New  England  E.  M.  Taylor 

New  England' Southern.  .J.  E.  C.  Farnham 

New  Hampshire  0.  S.  Baketel 

New  Jersey  C.  W.  Shoemaker 

New  York  A.  D.  Peake 

New  York  East  C.  J.  North 

Newark  R.  R.  Doherty 

North  Carolina  CM.  Collett 

North  China  H.  H.  Lowry 

North  Dakota  D.  C.  Plannette 

North  Germany  Heinrich  During 

North  India  E.  W.  Parker 

North  Indiana  J.  S.  Patterson 

North  Nebraska  Alfred  Hodgetts 

North  Ohio  John  Mitchell 

Northern  German  F.  L.  Nagler 

Northern  Minnesota  J.  F.  Force 

Northern  New  York  D.  F.  Pierce 

Northwest  German  E.  W.  Henke 

Northwest  India  J.  E  Scott 

Northwest  Indiana  A.  R.  Colburn 

Northwest  Iowa  J.  W.  Walker 

Northwest  Kansas  W.  H.  Sweet 

Northwest  Nebraska  G.  E.  Gorton 

Norway  Andres  Olsen 

Norwegian  and  Danish  M.  J.  Pihl 

Ohio  W.  D.  Cherington 

Oklahoma  J.  F.  Palmer 

Oregon  John  Parsons 

Philadelphia  S.  W.  Gehrett 

Pittsburg  J.  E.  Rigg 

Puget  Sound  T.  J.  Massev 

Rock  River  P.  H.  Swift 

St.  John's  River  L.  S.  Rader 

St.  Louis  J.  B.  Young 

St.  Louis  German  William  Koeneke 

Savannah  M.  C.  B.  Mason 

South  America  Justo  Cubilo 

South  Carolina  T.  J.  Clark 

South  Dakota  W.  H.  Jordan 

South  Germany.  A.  G.  Bruns 

South  India  J.  H.  Stephens 

South  Kansas  J.  E.  Hair 

Southern  California  W.  T.  Randall 

Southern  German  Henry  Dietz 

Southern  Illinois  J.  W.  Van  Cleve 

Southwest  Kansas  W.  J.  Martindale 

Sweden  Hjalmar  Soderberg 

Switzerland  Gideon  Giesler 


376 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

Tennessee  D.  0.  Byrd 

Texas  T.  A.  Fortson 

Troy  J.  H.  Coleman 

Upper  Iowa  J.  B.  Albrook 

Upper  Mississippi  Richard  Sewell 

Vermont.  A.  J.  Hough 

Virginia   S.  P.  Shipman 

Washington  I.  G.  Penn 

West  German  J.  A.  Kost 


CONFERENCES.  NAMES. 

West  Nebraska  L.  J.  McBrien 

West  Texas  G.  R.  Townsend 

West  Virginia  D.  L.  Ash 

West  Wisconsin  W.  T.  Jennings 

Western  Norwegian-Danish .  .(J.  J.  Larson 

Western  Swedish  C.  0.  Lobeck 

Wilmington  L.  E.  Barrett 

Wisconsin  Leander  Ferguson 

Wyoming  L.  L.  Sprague 


On  Eligibility.    Journal,  page  89. 

A.  J.  Kynett,  Chairman  ;  T.  B.  Neely,  Secretary. 


DIST.  NAMES. 

1.  J.  W.  Hamilton,  A.  W.  Harris. 

2.  J.  M.  Buckley,  H.  K.  Carroll. 

3.  C.  J.  Little,  S.  M.  Coon. 

4.  T.  B.  Neely,  T.  H.  Murray. 

5.  A.  B.  Leonard,  E.  T.  Nelson. 

6.  J.  S.  Hill,  L.  J.  Price. 

7.  H.  A.  Gobin,  Samuel  Dickie. 

8.  A.  J.  Kynett,  L.  M.  Shaw. 


DIST.  NAMES. 

9.  J.  F.  Chaffee,  W.  F.  T.  Bushnell. 

10.  Earl  Cranston,  L.  0.  Jones. 

11.  J.  W.  Stewart,  T.  J.  Langston. 

12.  W.  0.  Emory,  G.  R.  Townsend. 

13.  Jacob  Rothweiler,  H.  A.  Salzer. 

14.  W.  A.  Knighten,  J.  F.  Caples. 

At  Large :  J.  B.  Graw,  D.  H.  Moore,  H. 
R.  Brill. 


On  Lay  Representation.    Journal,  pages  96,  179.  ' 

Alexander  Ashley,  Chairman  ;  D.  C.  Plannette,  Secretary. 


1.  A.  J.  Hough,  E.  F.  Childs. 


H.  A.  Monroe,  W.  L.  Gooding. 

3.  E.  W.  Parker,  H.  E.  Dingley. 

4.  D.  S.  Hammond,  Alexander  Ashley. 

5.  W.  D.  Cherington,  J.  M.  Naylor. 

6.  J.  M.  Carter,  G.  H.  Bowen. 

7.  W.  D.  Parr,  I.  N.  McCullough. 

8.  J.  B.  Albrook,  C.  H.  Long. 


9.  D.  C.  Plannette,  H.  P.  Magill. 

10.  D.  W.  C.  Huntington,  Z.  X.  Snyder. 

11.  W.  H.  Sweet,  J.  M.  Miller. 

12.  Richard  Sewell,  E.  B.  Ailing. 

13.  Bartholomew  Lampert,  G.  W.  Grawe. 

14.  T.  J.  Massey,  I.  C.  Libby. 

At  Large :  J.  E.  James,  W.  F.  King, 
Edwin  Nottingham. 


On  Consolidation  of  Benevolences.    Journal,  page  126. 

L.  A.  Belt,  Chairman;  C.  R.  Magee,  Secretary. 


G.  D.  Lindsay,  C.  R.  Magee. 
W.  H.  Hughes,  J.  E.  Andrus. 
E.  H.  Latimer,  F.  J.  Cheney. 
W.  S.  Edwards,  T.  B.  Noss. 
L.  A.  Belt,  C.  W.  Bennett. 

M.  C.  B.  Mason,  H.  F.  Ketron. 
J.  I.  Buell,  William  Newkirk. 

H.  D.  Clark,  J.  B.  Hobbs. 


9.  S.  W.  Trousdale,  J.  R.  Lindgren. 

10.  Erastus  Smith,  Eiji  Asada. 

11.  William  Wallis,  W.  J.  Gibson. 

12.  J.  C.  Hartzell,  E.  H.  McKissack. 

13.  William  Koeneke,  Louis  Appel. 

14.  C.  R.  Kellerman,  Fred  Gamer. 

At  Large  :  E.  M.  Taylor. 


On  Constitution.    Journal,  page  126. 
Bishop  S.  M.  Merrill,  Chairman  ;  T.«  B.  Neely,  Secretary. 
W.  F.  Warren,  David  Gordon. 


1. 

2.  J.  M.  King,  J.  F.  Rusling. 

3.  R.  D.  Munger,  J.  L.  Romer. 

4.  E.  J.  Gray,  J.  E.  James. 

5.  F.  G.  Mitchell,  R.  T.  Miller. 

6.  R.  J.  Cooke,  E.  J.  Sawyer. 

7.  W.  H.  Shier,  R.  S.  Tennant. 

8.  F.  M.  Bristol,  L.  M.  Shaw. 

9.  Robert  Forbes,  Leander  Ferguson 


10.  J.  B.  Maxfield,  J.  H.  Mickey.  ' 

11.  J.  T.  McFarland,  James  Allison. 

12.  J.  W.  Jackson,  A.  L.  Billups. 

13.  Jacob  Rothweiler,  Henry  Bendixen. 

14.  G.  M.  Booth,  Henry  French. 

At  Large :  J.  M.  Buckley,  T.  B.  Neely, 
J.  F.  Goucher,  Bishop  S.  M.  Merrill, 
Bishop  C.  D.  Foss,  Bishop  W.  X. 
Ninde. 


186.9.] 


Special  Committees. 


377 


On  Judiciary.    Journal,  page  153. 
C.  W.  Smith  and  J.  A.  Mansfield,  Chairmen  ;  L.  L.  Sprague,  Secretary. 


1.  E.  R.  Thorndike. 

2.  Homer  Eaton. 

3.  L.  L.  Sprague. 

4.  0.  W.  Smith. 

5.  J.  A.  Mansfield. 

6.  R.  S.  Rader. 

7.  A.  E.  Mahin. 

8.  Emory  Miller. 


DIST.  NAMES. 

9.  H.  R.  Brill. 

10.  J.  B.  Maxfield. 

11.  H.  G.  Whitlock. 

12.  J.  H.  Clendenning. 

13.  William  Schultz. 

14.  John  Parsons. 

At  Large  :  H.  G.  Jackson,  S.  W.  Gehrett, 
L.  C.  Laylin. 


On  General  Conference  Districts.    Journal,  page  126. 
J.  W.  Butler,  Chairman  ;  S.  0.  Benton,  Secretary. 


1.  S.  0.  Benton. 

2.  S.  L.  Baldwin. 

3.  J.  E.  Bills. 

4.  W.  W.  Evans. 

5.  J.  L.  Albritton. 

6.  J.  C.  Ruble. 

7.  H.  A.  Gobin. 

8.  W.  T.  Smith. 


9.  W.  H.  Jordan. 

10.  D.  L.  Rader. 

11.  J.  W.  Alderman. 

12.  J.  M.  Shumpert. 

13.  George  Guth. 

14.  G.  W.  Gue. 

At  Large :  J.  W.  Butler. 


On  Deaconess  Work.    Journal,  page  134. 

W.  X.  Brodbeck,  Chairman ;  G.  0.  Robinson,  J.  B.  Hobbs,  J.  0.  Cunningham, 
J.  M.  King,  H.  C.  Weakley,  L.  B.  Wilson,  R.  T.  Miller,  A.  J.  Nast,  F.  W. 
Warne,  Elvin  Swarthout. 

On  Fraternal  Delegates.    Journal,  page  95. 

C.  H.  Payne,  Chairman  ;  J.  T.  McFarland,  Secretary  ;  W.  V.  Kelley,  J.  B.  Hobbs, 

J.  W.  Jackson,  N.  E.  Simonsen,  W.  S.  Matthew. 

On  Rules  of  Order.    Journal,  page  100. 

F.  M.  Bristol,  Chairman  ;  John  Lanahan,  J.  H.  Clendenning,  0.  L.  Fisher,  Henrv 
French,  G.  P.  Mains,  W.  R.  Halstead. 

On  American  Bible  Society.    Journal,  page  100. 

H.  K.  Carroll,  Chairman ;  H.  H.  Lowry,  Secretary  ;  C.  W.  Drees,  Daniel  Stevenson, 
G.  A.  Merrill,  B.  F.  Witherspoon,  Johannes  Wuhrman,  S.  W.  Thomas,  G.  M.  Booth. 

On  Location  of  Next  General  Conference.  Journal, 

page  179. 

T.  H.  Woodring,  C.  D.  Hammond,  J.  G.  Evans,  G.  S.  Bennett,  E.  L.  Eaton,  T.  L. 
Matthews,  E.  B.  Holtz. 

On  Memoirs.    Journal,  page  100. 
W.  F.  Whitlock,  Chairman  ;  G.  E.  Reed,  A.  J.  Nast,  John  Coyle,  Homer  Eaton. 

On  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Journal,  page  273. 

D.  W.  C.  Huntington,  Chairman  ;  W.  N.  McElroy,  C.  W.  Bennett,  L.  A.  Belt, 

William  Newkirk. 


378  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

On  John  Street  Church.    Journal,  page  133. 
Henry  Spellmeyer,  Chairman  ;  A.  W.  Harris,  E.  F.  Childs,  G.  B.  Wight,  John  French. 

On  Complimentary  Resolutions.    Journal,  page  284. 
G.  P.  Mains,  Chairman  ;  W.  S.  Matthew,  F.  J.  Cheney,  Z.  X.  Snyder,  W.  H.  Hughes. 

On  Death  op  Dr.  J.  M.  Reid.    Journal,  page  242. 
A.  B.  Leonard,  Chairman  ;  C.  C.  McCabe,  S.  F.  Upham. 

On  Resolutions  of  Acknowledgment.    Journal,  page  100. 
G.  E.  Ackerman,  Chairman  ;  Elvin  Swarthout,  J.  J.  Bentley. 

On  National  Arbitration    Journal,  page  158. 
Z.  M.  Mansur,  Chairman  ;  J.  E.  Andrus,  Merritt  Hulburd. 


B 


REPORTS  OF  COMMITTEES. 


I.  STANDING. 

ON  EPISCOPACY. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  225. 

The  Discipline,  paragraph  277,  states  that  "the  General  Confer- 
ence shall  determine  which  of  the  Bishops  are  effective  and  which 
noneffective."  The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  respectfully  reports 
that,  in  its  judgment,  the  following  General  Superintendents  are 
effective,  namely:  S.  M.  Merrill,  E.  G.  Andrews,  H.  W.  Warren, 
C.  D.  Foss,  J.  F.  Hurst,  W.  X.  Ninde,  J.  M.  Walden,  W.  F. 
Mallalieu,  C.  H.  Fowler,  J.  H.  Vincent,  J.  N.  FitzGerald,  I.  W. 
Joyce,  J.  P.  Newman,  and  D.  A.  Goodsell. 

The  Committee  begs  leave  to  report  that,  after  the  most 
careful  and  sympathetic  consideration,  in  its  judgment,  the 
senior  Bishop,  Thomas  Bowman,  and  Bishop  Randolph  S.  Foster 
are  unable  longer  to  endure  the  protracted  strain,  continuous  re- 
sponsibility, and  almost  constant  travel  imposed  by  the  office  of 
Bishop,  and  therefore  regretfully  recommends  that  at  the  close  of 
the  present  General  Conference  they  be  returned  on  the  list  as 
noneffective. 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  record  our  gratitude  to  God  for  the  ex- 
traordinary services  rendered  by  these  venerated  and  beloved 
servants  of  the  Church  in  the  various  capacities  which  they  filled- 
prior  to  their  election  to  the  episcopacy,  and  particularly  for  the 
distinguished  ability  with  which  they  have  filled  the  office  of 
General  Superintendent  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century;  for  the 
purity  of  their  characters  and  lives,  the  sweetness  of  their  spirit, 
and  the  fidelity  to  the  interests  of  the  Church  which  has  uniformly 
characterized  their  official  life  and  administration. 

2.  That  they  be  at  liberty  to  select  their  residences  in  accord- 
ance with  their  convenience  and  wishes,  without  regard  to  the 
places  designated  as  episcopal  residences. 

3.  That  we  will  not  cease  to  pray  for  them,  nor  will  we  abate 
our  affection  and  regard,  but  shall  always  welcome  them  with  un- 
feigned pleasure  in  the  General  and  Annual  Conferences,  in  our 
churches  and  homes,  and  in  the  performance  of  any  episcopal 
function  to  which  they  may  be  assigned. 

4.  That  we  commend  to  the  Book  Committee  the  most  generous 
appropriation  for  their  support. 


380 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference,  [1896. 


Supplementary  Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  276. 

(Supplementary  report  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  on  the 
effectiveness  of  Bishops.) 
We  respectfully  report: 

1.  That  J.  M.  Thoburn,  Missionary  Bishop  of  India,  is  effective. 

2.  After  protracted  consideration,  we  find  ourselves  compelled 
to  report  that  William  Taylor,  Missionary  Bishop  of  Africa,  is 
noneffective. 

3.  With  a  deep  sense  of  the  intrepid  heroism  which  has  charac- 
terized his  career  as  a  pioneer  missionary  in  California,  in  Aus- 
tralasia, India,  and  South  America,  in  Africa  prior  to  his  appoint- 
ment as  Missionary  Bishop  when  past  sixty  years  of  age,  and  for 
twelve  years  since  that  appointment;  his  fervor  and  power  as  a 
preacher,  his  astonishing  success  as  an  evangelist,  and  the  per- 
manency of  the  fruits  of  his  labors,  and  also  with  an  affection  for 
him  which  has  increased  with  every  hardship  he  has  endured,  we 
profoundly  regret  that  a  similar  fidelity  to  conviction  to  that 
which  has  always  characterized  him,  compels  us  to  this  conclusion. 

4.  We  recommend  to  the  Missionary  Society  to  make  adequate 
and  generous  provision  for  his  comfortable  support;  and  com- 
mend him  to  the  loving  favor  of  the  whole  Church,  that  his  long 
life  of  ceaseless  toil  may  culminate  in  a  sweet  association  with 
his  brethren  prior  to  his  entrance  upon  the  blessedness  of  those 
who  rest  from  their  labors  and  whose  works  do  follow  them. 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  226. 

In  the  election  of  Bishops  there  should  be  no  discrimination  on 
account  of  race  or  color,  but  men  should  be  chosen  because  of 
their  worth  and  fitness  for  the  position. 

In  the  presence  of  this  statement,  often  reiterated  by  various 
bodies  of  our  Church,  we  believe  the  time  has  come  when  the 
General  Conference  may  safely  and  wisely  choose  a  Bishop  from 
among  our  seventeen  hundred  ministers  of  African  descent. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  pages  226,  272. 
PART  I. 

Your  Committee  recommends  that  the  Board  of  Bishops  be 
strengthened  by  the  election  of  two  General  Superintendents. 

PART  II. 

The  Committee  who  were  instructed  to  consider  and  report 
upon  principles  and  methods  of  fixing  the  episcopal  residences 
recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  rules  and  regulations  : 

1.  Episcopal  residences  shall  be  designated  quadrennially  by 
the  General  Conference. 

2.  The  number  of  places  so  designated  shall  not  exceed  the 
number  of  effective  Bishops. 

3.  The  Bishops  shall  select  their  residences  according  to 
seniority  of  their  election,  but  no  place  shall  be  open  to  selection 
which  is  already  occupied  by  an  effective  Bishop. 


1896.] 


On  Episcopacy. 


381 


4.  When  a  place  has  been  designated  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence as  an  episcopal  residence,  and  has  been  chosen  by  an  effective 
Bishop,  such  Bishop  shall  be  required  to  reside  at  that  place. 

Report  No.  IV.    Journal,  page  272. 

The  following  places  have  been  designated  as  episcopal  resi- 
dences : 

1.  Boston  or  vicinity.  2.  New  York  or  vicinity.  3.  Buffalo. 
4.  Philadelphia  or  vicinity.  5.  Washington,  D.  C.  6.  Chatta- 
nooga. 7.  New  Orleans  or  Fort  Worth.  8.  Cincinnati  or  vicinity. 
9.  Detroit  or  vicinity.  10.  Chicago  or  vicinity.  11.  St.  Louis 
or  vicinity.  12.  Topeka  or  vicinity,  or  Omaha.  13.  Minneapolis. 
14.  Denver.  15.  San  Francisco  or  Los  Angeles.  16.  Portland, 
Ore. 

Report  No.  V.    Journal,  page  276. 

1.  The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  reports  in  regard  to  a  com- 
plaint from  A.  C.  Bowdish  against  the  administration  of  Bishops 
Fowler,  FitzGerald,  and  Warren  in  the  matter  of  a  transfer,  that 
they  find  no  grounds  for  action. 

2.  The  Committee  begs  leave  further  to  report  that  they  ap- 
prove the  character  and  administration  of  the  General  Superin- 
tendents. 

3.  Further,  that  they  approve  the  character  and  administration 
of  the  Missionary  Bishops. 

Report  IX.    Journal,  page  277. 

It  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that  we  deem  it  in- 
expedient at  this  time  to  elect  any  more  Missionary  Bishops,  in 
addition  to  those  existing,  save  a  successor  to  Bishop  Taylor  for 
Africa. 

Report  No.  X.    Journal,  page  300. 

Your  Committee  to  which  was  referred  the  meaning  of  the 
word  "  coordinate,"  and  to  suggest  a  practicable  method  of 
recognizing  such  coordination,  respectfully  recommends  that  the 
following  be  inserted  in  paragraph  178  of  the  Discipline,  so  that 
the  whole  will  then  read  : 

"A  Missionary  Bishop  is  not  subordinate  to  the  General  Super- 
intendents, but  is  coordinate  with  them  in  authority  in  the  field 
to  which  he  is  appointed.  In  the  practical  application  of  this 
coordinate  authority,  when  the  General  Superintendents  are 
making  their  assignments  to  the  Conferences,  any  Missionary 
Bishop  who  may  be  in  the  United  States  shall  sit  with  them  when 
his  field  is  under  consideration;  and  arrangements  shall  be  made 
so  that  once  in  every  quadrennium,  and  not  oftener,  unless  a 
serious  emergency  arises,  every  mission  over  which  a  Missionary 
Bishop  has  jurisdiction  shall  be  administered  conjointly  by  the 
Genera]  Superintendent  and  the  Missionary  Bishop.  In  case  of  a 
difference  of  judgment  the  existing  status  shall  continue,  unless 


382 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.. 


[1896. 


overruled  by  the  General  Superintendents,  who  shall  have  power 
to  decide  finally. 

"  A  Missionary  Bishop  is  amenable  for  his  conduct  to  the 
General  Conference,  as  is  a  General  Superintendent." 


ON  ITINERANCY. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  246. 

We  have  carefully  considered  suggestions  presented  to  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy  by  the  Board  of  Bishops,  and  recom- 
mend for  adoption  by  the  General  Conference  the  following: 

1"  69.  "  There  are  now  one  hundred  and  fifteen  Annual  Con- 
ferences," etc. 

1"  69.  After  this  paragraph  insert  a  new  one,  to  read  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  For  the  purpose  of  representation  on  the  Book  Committee, 
and  on  the  General  Committees  for  Missions,  for  Church  Exten- 
sion, and  for  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education,  the  An- 
nual Conferences  shall  be  grouped  into  as  many  General  Confer- 
ence Districts  as  the  General  Conference  may  from  time  to  time 
direct." 

T  76.  Question  2.  Under  this  question  enter,  in  small  type,  as 
under  Question  21,  the  following: 

Note. — Enter  date  of  location  and  Conference  granting  it. 

1"  76.  Question  26.  "  What  is  the  aggregate  of  the  benevo- 
lent collections  ordered  by  the  General  Conference,  as  reported 
by  the  Conference  Treasurer  ?  " 

1"  85,  §  1.  "Any  Mission  established  under  the  provisions  of 
the  Discipline,  340,  341,  may  be  constituted  a  Mission  Con- 
ference by  the  General  Conference." 

85,  §  3.  "  The  Bishop  having  episcopal  supervision  of  a  Mis- 
sion Conference  may  appoint  a  superintendent,  who  may  also  be 
the  presiding  elder  of  a  district,  where  there  are  two  or  more 
districts.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  superintendent  to  take  the 
general  supervision  of  the  Conference,  yet  not  so  as  to  interfere 
with  the  duties  of  the  presiding  elders,  and  to  represent,"  etc. 

1"  86.  " .  .  .  Central  Conferences  to  be  composed  either  .  .  . 
or  of  delegates  from  the  same." 

T  86,  §  3.  "The  Conference  may  take  under  its  supervision 
the  educational,  publishing,  and  such  other  connectional  interests 
and  work  as  may  be  committed  to  it  by  the  Annual  Conferences 
and  Missions,  but  never  in  contravention  of  the  Book  of  Disci- 
pline of  the  Church  or  the  orders  of  the  General  Conference,"  etc. 

1"  86,  §  4.  "  In  the  Central  Conference  the  right  shall  be  re- 
served to  vote  by  Conferences  or  Missions  whenever  one  third  of 


4 


1896.]  On  Itinerancy.  383 

the  delegates  of  either  Conference  or  Mission  who  are  present 
shall  so  demand.  In  such  cases  the  concurrent  vote  of  all  the 
Conferences  and  Missions  present  and  voting  shall  be  necessary 
to  complete  an  action." 

%  86,  §  6.  "When  a  Central  Conference  has  been  duly  organ- 
ized, the  organization  shall  not  be  discontinued  except  by  order 
or  consent  of  the  General  Conference." 

*~  146.  Add  to  the  paragraph  a  new  clause,  as  follows:  "  And 
(3)  shall  previously  have  deposited  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Con- 
ference, or  with  the  Committee  on  Conference  Relations,  written 
answers  to  the  following  questions: 

"  1.  Are  you  in  debt  so  as  to  embarrass  you  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry  ? 

"  2.  Will  you  wholly  abstain  from  the  use  of  tobacco  ? 

"  Like  answers  shall  also  be  required  of  ministers  proposing  to 
come  to  us  from  other  Churches. 

"(All  preachers  now  [1896]  on  trial  shall  also  be  called  upon  to 
give  written  answer  to  the  questions  at  the  next  session  of  their 
respective  Conferences.)" 

•[[151.  Question  5.  "Are  you  resolved  to  devote  yourself 
wholly  to  God  and  his  work  ? 

"  Question  7.  Will  you  keep  them? 

"  Question  8.  Have  you  considered  the  Rules  for  a  Preacher, 
especially  those  relating  to  diligence,  to  punctuality,  and  to  doing 
the  work  to  which  you  are  assigned?  " 

The  candidates  for  admission  into  full  connection  must  again 
deposit  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Conference,  or  with  the  Com- 
mittee on  Conference  Relations,  written  answers  to  questions  20 
and  21  set  forth  in  this  paragraph. 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  247. 

We  have  carefully  considered  the  suggestions  of  the  Bishops 
touching  changes  in  the  Discipline,  and  recommend  for  your 
adoption  the  following: 

%  151.  Arrange  questions  as  follows: 
(1-7)  Personal  Piety. 
(14-16)  Doctrinal  Faithfulness. 
(17-19)  Ecclesiastical  Faithfulness. 
(8,  9,  1 1,  12,  13,  10)  Faithfulness  as  a  Minister. 
%  152.  "A  missionary  employed  in  a  Mission  may  be  admitted 
into  full  membership,"  etc. 

%  152.  Following  this  paragraph  should  be  inserted  a  new 
paragraph,  as  follows: 

"  •[ — .  A  minister  who  has  been  located  at  his  own  request  may 
be  readmitted  by  an  Annual  Conference,  at  its  discretion,  upon 
his  Certificate  of  Location." 

1  153,  §  3.  Following  this  paragraph  should  be  inserted  a  new 
section,  as  follows: 
25 


384  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

"§  — .  The  Annual  Conference  may  also  admit  to  equal  grade 
preachers  who  are  on  trial  in  the  ministry  of  another  Methodist 
Church,  using,  however,  special  care  that  before  they  are  ad- 
mitted to  full  membership  their  examinations  be  entirely  satisfac- 
tory." 

1"  154.  After  this  paragraph  insert  a  new  paragraph,  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  — .  When  the  orders  of  a  minister  of  another  Church  shall 
have  been  duly  recognized,  his  credentials  from  said  Church  shall 
be  returned  to  him  with  this  inscription  written  plainly  across  the 
face  of  them: 

"  '  Accredited  by  the  Annual  Conference  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  this  day  of   ,  18..,  as  the 

basis  of  new  credentials.   ,  President. 

"<  ,  Secretary."' 

1"  158,  §  1.  "  Any  member  of  an  Annual  Conference  in  good 
standing  who  may  desire  to  surrender  his  ministerial  office  and  to 
withdraw  from  the  Conference  may  be  allowed  to  do  so  by  the 
Conference  at  its  session,  in  which  case,"  etc. 

After     158,  §  1,  insert  new  §§  2  and  3,  as  follows: 

"  §  2.  When  a  minister  in  good  standing  withdraws  to  join  the 
ministry  of  another  Church,  his  credentials  should  be  surrendered 
to  the  Conference,  and,  if  he  shall  desire  it,  may  be  returned  to 
him  with  the  following  inscription  written  plainly  across  the  face 
of  them,  namely: 

"  *  A.  B.  has  this  day  been  honorably  dismissed  by  the  

Annual  Conference  from  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  C.  D.,  President. 

"  '  [Date.]  E.  F.,  Secretary.'  " 

"  §  3.  When  in  the  interval  of  an  Annual  Conference  a  mem- 
ber thereof  shall  deposit  with  a  Bishop  or  with  his  presiding 
elder  a  letter  of  withdrawal  from  our  ministry,  or  his  credentials, 
or  both,  the  same  shall  be  presented  to  the  Annual  Conference  at 
its  next  session  for  its  action  thereon." 

^[159.  No  member  of  an  Annual  Conference  who  declines  or 
ceases  to  do  the  work  to  which  he  was  duly  appointed,  except  in 
case  of  sickness,  serious  disability,  or  other  unavoidable  circum- 
stances," etc. 

Report  No.  VII.    Journal,  page  305. 

Your  Committee  have  examined  the  Annual  Conference 
Journals,  and  respectfully  submit  the  following  report: 

The  Journals  which  have  met  all  the  requirements  of  the  Dis- 
cipline belong  to  the  following  Conferences: 

Central  Pennsylvania,  Cincinnati,  California,  Central  Tennes- 
see, Central  Illinois,  Alabama,  Blue  Ridge,  Central  Ohio,  Detroit, 
Des  Moines,  Colorado,  East  Maine,  Louisiana,  North  Swedish, 
Nevada  Mission,  South  Carolina,  North  Indiana,  Northwest 


1896.] 


Reports  of  Committees  on  Revisals. 


385 


Indiana,  Norwegian  and  Danish,  Northwest  Norwegian  and 
Danish,  Pittsburg,  Puget  Sound,  Rock  River,  St.  Louis  German, 
Upper  Iowa,  West  Nebraska,  Northwest  Nebraska,  Genesee, 
North  India,  Nebraska,  Norway,  Maine,  Northern  Minnesota, 
Holston,  Switzerland,  Sweden,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  Wyoming, 
North  Ohio,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Oregon,  Southwest  Kansas,  Troy, 
Northern  German,  New  York,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  South  India, 
South  Germany,  North  Germany,  Wilmington,  New  Jersey. 

The  following  are  defective  in  points  named  (Appendix,  pages 
315  and  316): 

Northwest  Iowa,  No.  3  ;  North  China,  No.  3  ;  South  America, 
Nos.  8,  9 ;  Central  German,  No.  8 ;  Central  New  York,  Nos.  8, 
9;  Central  Conference  of  India  and  Malaysia,  No.  8;  Northern 
New  York,  No.  8;  Georgia,  Nos.  2,  4,  5,  6,  7,  9,  12;  Delaware, 
absence  of  the  Journal  of  1896  in  the  bound  volume  ;  Malaysia 
Mission,  Nos.  8,  9,  12;  Southern  California,  No.  8;  Southern 
Illinois,  No.  8;  South  Kansas,  Nos.  8,  12;  South  Dakota,  Nos.  3, 
8;  Texas,  No.  2,  statistics  of  1893-95  defective;  Virginia,  No. 
8;  East  Tennessee,  No.  8;  Washington,  Nos.  8,  12;  West  Vir- 
ginia, No.  2;  Idaho,  Nos.  2,  9;  Oklahoma,  Nos.  2,  8;  Columbia 
River,  No.  2;  Missouri,  No.  8;  Bulgaria,  No.  8;  Southeast 
Indiana,  No.  9  ;  New  England,  No.  8;  West  Swedish,  Nos.  8,  9, 
12;  Northwest  Nebraska,  No.  9;  East  Ohio,  No.  9;  California 
German,  No.  8 ;  Central  Alabama,  Minutes  incomplete ;  North- 
west Kansas,  No.  2;  Savannah,  Nos.  8,9;  Iowa,  No.  2;  North 
Dakota,  Nos.  2,  12;  St.  John's  River,  No.  8;  New  England 
Southern,  No.  9;  Florida,  Nos.  2,  9;  West  Texas,  Nos.  2,  6,  8,  9; 
Baltimore,  No.  12;  Lexington,  No.  8;  Liberia,  No.  8;  Mexico, 
No.  11;  Michigan,  marginal  references  omitted;  Foo-Chow, 
Journal  not  complete;  Newark,  No.  12,  the  names  of  makers 
of  motions  do  not  appear ;  New  York  East,  Nos.  2,  6 ;  Italy, 
Nos.  6,  8,  12;  Indiana,  No.  6;  New  Hampshire,  Nos.  2,  9, 
volume  marred  by  pastings;  Northwest  Indiana,  No.  8;  North- 
west Swedish,  volume  incomplete;  Vermont,  Nos.  3,  9;  Tennes- 
see, Nos.  2,  4,  9,  11. 


ON  REVISALS. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  213. 

Your  Committee,  having  carefully  considered  the  amendments 
to  the  Discipline  proposed  by  the  Bishops,  recommend  the  adop- 
tion of  the  following: 

Amend  last  four  lines  on  page  13,  namely,  "  .  .  .  now  the 
John  Street  Church;  and  another  local  preacher,  Thomas  Webb, 
captain  in  the  British  army,  preached  in  a  hired  room  near  the 
barracks,"  so  as  to  read  as  follows:  ".  .  .  now  the  John 
Street  Church.  Another  local  preacher,  Thomas  Webb,  captain 
in  the  British  army,  soon  joined  him,  and  also  preached  elsewhere 
in  the  city  and  its  vicinity." 


386 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


1"  41.    Add  to  paragraph  41  a  new  section,  as  follows: 

"  §  3.  Probationers  are  expected  to  conform  carefully  to  all 
the  rules  and  usages  of  the  Church;  they  are  entitled  to  all  its 
spiritual  privileges  and  aids,  but  they  may  not  be  members  of 
the  Quarterly  Conferences  nor  take  part  in  judicial  proceedings, 
except  as  witnesses." 

1"  46.  "  The  pastor  shall  organize  the  baptized  children  of  the 
Church  when  they  have  reached  the  age  of  ten  years,  or  at  an 
earlier  age,  when  it  is  deemed  advisable,"  etc. 

If  '98.  9.  [-1-]  u  What  amounts  have  been  estimated  for  and 
apportioned  to  this  charge  this  year  for  the  support  of  the 
ministry  ?  " 

1  189,  §  26,  II.  "  2.  Enrolled  by  certificate.  3.  Granted  cer- 
tificates." 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  252. 

Your  Committee,  having  carefully  considered  the  matters 
recommitted  to  them  by  the  General  Conference,  recommends  the 
following  chancres  in  the  Discipline: 

1.  That  the  footnote  to  paragraph  47  be  stricken  out. 

2.  Amend  paragraph  95,  so  that  it  will  read: 

T  95.  The  Quarterly  Conference  shall  be  composed  of  all  the 
traveling  and  local  preachers,  exhorters,  stewards,  and  class 
leaders,  together  with  the  trustees  of  the  churches,  the  first 
superintendents  of  the  Sunday  schools,  and  the  presidents  of  the 
Ep worth  League  chapters  within  the  charge;  provided,  said  trus- 
tees, superintendents,  and  presidents  are  members  of  our  Church 
in  the  charge,  and  are  approved  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  for 
membership  therein. 

3.  Amend  paragraph  101,  so  that  it  will  read: 

1"  101.  The  Quarterly  Conference  of  any  charge  may  organize 
and  continue  during  its  pleasure  an  Official  Board,  to  be  com- 
posed of  all  the  members  of  the  Quarterly  Conference.  In  the 
case  of  circuits  the  Quarterly  Conference  may  organize  and  con- 
tinue during  its  pleasure  Official  Boards  for  the  several  appoint- 
ments of  the  charge,  such  Official  Boards  to  be  composed  of  the 
members  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  attached  to  the  respective 
appointments.  The  Official  Board  may  hold  its  meetings  at  such 
times  as  it  may  determine,  and  shall  be  presided  over  by  the 
pastor,  or,  in  his  absence,  by  a  chairman  elected  by  the  meeting. 
When  so  organized  the  Official  Board  may  discharge  such  duties 
as  the  Quarterly  Conference  may  from  time  to  time  direct,  in- 
cluding those  of  the  Leaders  and  Stewards'  Meeting.  The  board 
shall  keep  a  record  of  its  proceedings,  and  send  the  same  to  the 
fourth  Quarterly  Conference  for  approval. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  page  253. 

Your  Committee,  having  considered  various  memorials,  recom- 
mends the  following  changes  in  the  Discipline: 


1896.] 


On  Revisals. 


387 


In  paragraph  198  strike  out  the  words,  "who  may  give  him 
what  relief  is  judged  proper,"  and  insert  the  words,  "  which  may 
give  him  such  relief  as  is  judged  proper."  In  sixth  line  strike  out 
the  word  "discharged,"  and  insert  the  word  "paid." 

In  paragraph  200,  first  line,  strike  out  the  word  "  exhorters," 
and  insert  the  words  "  an  exhorter." 

In  paragraph  193,  section  1,  in  sixth  line,  omit  the  word  "also." 
In  the  eighth  line,  following  the  word  "  Discipline,"  insert  "  and 
shall  also  have  satisfactorily  answered  the  question,  Will  you 
wholly  abstain  from  the  use  of  tobacco  ?  " 

In  section  2  omit  the  words,  "  to  inquire  if  they  will  wholly 
abstain  from  the  use  of  tobacco." 

Report  No.  IV.    Journal,  page  253. 

Your  Committee,  having  considered  various  memorials  asking 
for  some  form  which  will  secure  uniformity  in  the  reception  of 
persons  on  probation  in  the  Church,  and  believing  that  such  a 
form  is  desirable,  recommends  that  the  Bishops  be  requested  to 
prepare  for  the  Discipline  a  brief  and  simple  form  which  may  be 
used  for  the  reception  of  persons  on  probation. 

[The  Bishops  are  requested  to  place  the  form  in  the  Discipline.] 

Report  No.  V.    Journal,  page  253. 

Your  Committee  recommends  that  the  changes  proposed  by  the 
Bishops  in  paragraph  49  be  made,  and  that  said  paragraph  be  so 
altered  as  to  read  as  follows: 

%  49,  §  1.  An  acceptable  member  of  the  Church  desiring  to 
remove  his  membership  from  one  pastoral  church  to  another  is 
entitled  to  a  certificate  from  the  pastor,  or,  if  there  is  no  pastor, 
from  the  presiding  elder,  in  the  following  form: 

"  This  certifies  that  A.  B.,  the  bearer,  is  an  acceptable  member 
of  the  ....  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  ....,and  is  affec- 
tionately commended  to  the  fellowship  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  in  ,  or  in  any  other  place  where  he  may  take  up 

his  residence.  When  admitted  to  another  church  his  relation  to 
this  church  will  cease." 

[Footnote  to  be  added  to  certificate: 

"  This  is  not  a  letter  of  dismissal,  and  does  not  terminate  the 
connection  of  the  member  with  the  church  which  gives  it."] 

§  2.  When  a  pastor  shall  have  received  a  member  on  said 
certificate,  he  shall  notify  the  pastor  of  the  church  from  which  it 
was  issued  in  the  following  form:  "You  are  hereby  notified  that 
A.  B.  has  been  duly  enrolled  as  a  member  of  this  church  upon  a 
certificate  issued  from  the  church  of  which  you  are  pastor,  and 

signed  by  " 

3.  This  Certificate  of  Church  Membership  shall  not  be  valid 
for  a  longer  period  than  one  year;  but  if  for  any  cause  it  has  been 
impracticable  to  present  it  to  another  church  within  that  time,  it 


888 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


should  be  renewed  by  the  pastor  of  the  church  from  which  it  was 

issued. 

§  4.  During  the  time  in  which  a  member  shall  hold  a  certifi- 
cate his  membership  shall  be  in  the  church  which  issued  said 
certificate;  and  if  charges  are  presented  against  him  during  this 
time,  he  cannot  avoid  trial  thereon  before  said  church  by  present- 
ing the  certificate  to  another  church.  But  when  a  member  shall 
have  been  duly  received  on  certificate  by  any  church,  he  shall 
be  responsible  to  such  church  for  his  previous  conduct. 

§  5.  The  pastor  shall  inform  members  about  to  change  their 
residence  that  without  a  Certificate  of  Membership  they  will  not 
be  received  as  members  of  the  Church  in  another  place;  and 
shall  also  inform  them  of  the  period  during  which  such  certificate 
will  be  valid,  and  of  the  conditions  under  which,  if  it  has  become 
invalid,  it  may  be  renewed. 

§  6.  The  pastor  who  gives  a  certificate  shall,  if  practicable, 
give  notice  of  the  fact  to  the  pastor  of  the  charge  to  which  the 
member  receiving  the  certificate  shall  have  removed.  If  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  shall  remove  from  a  charge  without  applying 
for  a  Certificate  of  Membership,  the  pastor  of  such  charge  shall,, 
if  practicable,  inform  the  pastor  of  the  charge  within  whose 
bounds  said  member  has  taken  up  his  residence. 

§  7.  If  the  residence  of  the  member  who  has  thus  removed 
cannot  be  ascertained  for  one  year,  the  words  "  Removed  without 
certificate"  shall  be  written  against  his  name  in  the  Record  of 
Church  Membership;  and  such  name  shall  not  be  counted  in  the 
returns  of  statistics.  But  membership  in  the  church  can  be 
terminated  only  by  the  withdrawal,  expulsion,  or  death  of  the 
member. 

§  8.  A  Certificate  of  Membership  may  not  be  refused,  if  de- 
manded by  a  member  removing  his  residence,  except  for  reasons 
that  justify  and  require  judicial  proceedings  against  such  member. 

§  9.  A  Certificate  of  Membership  shall  not  be  given  unless  a 
change  of  the  place  of  holding  membership  is  actually  intended. 

§  10.  A  pastor  may  give  a  note  of  recommendation  to  any 
member  who  wishes  to  unite  with  any  other  evangelical  denomi- 
nation. 

§11.  When  any  member  in  good  standing  proposes  to  with- 
draw from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  he  shall  communicate 
his  purpose  in  writing  to  the  pastor  of  the  church.  On  receiving 
such  notice  of  withdrawal,  the  pastor  shall  enter  the  fact  of  with- 
drawal upon  the  Record  of  Church  Membership;  and  such  with- 
drawal cannot  be  retracted  except  by  consent  of  the  pastor  and 
the  Quarterly  Conference. 

REPOET  NO.   VI.      JoUENAL,   PAGE  253. 

Your  Committee  recommends: 

1.  That  paragraph  45  be  amended  by  adding  thereto:  "And 
shall  give  a  certificate  of  such  registration  to  the  parents  of  all 


1896.]      Reports  of  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy.  389 


such  children  removing  from  his  charge,  which  certificate  shall 
transfer  the  relation  of  said  children  to  the  charge  to  which  they 
are  removed." 

2.  That  paragraph  49  be  amended  by  adding  thereto:  "§  11. 
Whenever  a  pastor  is  appointed  to  another  charge  he  may  com- 
plete the  record  of  his  pastorate  by  entering  in  the  Church  Record 
opposite  the  names  of  the  members  of  his  family  who  are  church 
members:  '  Member  of  pastor's  family,  transferred  to  ....  and 
enter  their  names  on  the  record  of  his  new  charge  with  the  note, 
'  Member  of  pastor's  family,  transferred  from  '  " 

Report  No.  X.    Journal,  page  302. 

Your  Committee  recommends  the  following  change  in  the  Dis- 
cipline : 

Change  paragraph  56,  section  1,  to  read  as  follows: 
§  1.    We  earnestly  recommend  the  following  Order  of  Morn- 
ing service: 

N.  B. — Parts  inclosed  in  brackets  may  be  omitted. 

1.  [Voluntary.] 

2.  Singing  from  the  Hymnal,  the  people  standing. 

3.  [The  Apostles'  Creed.] 

4.  Prayer,  concluding  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  repeated  audibly 
by  all,  both  minister  and  people  kneeling. 

5.  [Anthem.] 

6.  Lesson  from  the  Old  Testament,  which,  if  from  the  Psalms, 
mav  be  read  responsively. 

7.  [The  Gloria  Patria.] 

8.  Lesson  from  the  New  Testament. 

9.  Collection  and  notices. 

10.  Singing  from  the  Hymnal,  the  people  standing. 

11.  Sermon. 

12.  Short  prayer  for  a  blessing  on  the  word. 

13.  Singing,  the  people  standing;  closing  with  the  Doxology. 

14.  The  apostolic  benediction. 

Resolved,  That  the  Publishing  Agents  be  and  are  hereby  in- 
structed to  publish  the  Order  of  Public  Worship  in  every  edition 
of  the  Hymnal,  and  also  in  such  form  that  churches  already 
supplied  with  Hymnals  may  procure  the  Order  of  Worship 
separately. 

ON  TEMPORAL  ECONOMY. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  303. 

In  place  of  paragraphs  284  and  285  of  the  Discipline  (Part  VI, 
Chapter  II,  Aid  of  Superannuated  Members  and  other  Confer- 
ence Claimants),  which  read  as  follows: 

K  284.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  of 
each  charge  within  whose  bounds  a  superannuated  minister,  or 


390 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


the  widow  or  child  of  a  deceased  minister,  may  reside,  to  appoint 
a  committee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  make  an  estimate  of  the 
amount  necessary  to  assist  such  minister,  widow,  or  child,  in  ob- 
taining a  comfortable  support,  and  such  estimate  shall  be  sent 
up  to  the  Annual  Conference  with  which  the  claimant  may  be 
connected,  and  be  subject  to  the  action  of  said  Annual  Confer- 
ence. But  the  Conference  Board  may  consider  and  report  upon 
the  case  of  any  claimant  that  the  Quarterly  Conference  has 
failed  to  report. 

285.  To  provide  to  meet  the  claims  that  may  be  presented 
and  determined  at  the  Annual  Conference,  every  pastor  shall 
make  an  annual  collection  in  every  congregation  of  his  charge, 
and  the  money  so  collected  shall  be  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the 
steward  or  stewards,  and  brought  or  sent  to  the  ensuing  Annual 
Conference. 

Insert  the  following: 

%  284.  Superannuated  preachers,  the  widows  of  deceased 
preachers,  and  their  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  shall  be 
Conference  claimants,  unless  the  claim  be  voluntarily  relinquished, 
or  disallowed  in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  Conference. 

We  recommend  that  each  Annual  Conference  devote  one 
service  at  each  annual  session  to  the  interests  of  Conference 
claimants;  that  each  Annual  Conference  establish  a  permanent 
fund  subject  to  its  own  control,  and  under  such  regulations  as  it 
may  adopt,  the  income  of  which  may  be  added  to  the  other 
moneys  for  the  support  of  its  own  claimants ;  and  that  each  con- 
gregation shall  annually  observe  a  Sunday  upon  which  the  pastor 
shall  present  this  cause  to  the  members  and  friends  of  the  church. 

A  collection  shall  be  taken  annually  in  each  congregation  for 
the  support  of  Conference  claimants. 

The  names  of  all  claimants  on  the  funds  of  the  Conference 
hereinafter  provided  for  shall  be  referred  to  a  Conference  Board 
of  Stewards.  Each  Conference  shall  determine  for  itself  whether 
the  action  of  this  board  shall  be  final. 

T  285.  All  moneys  received  by  the  Annual  Conferences  for 
distribution  in  aid  of  the  support  of  Conference  claimants  shall 
be  divided  into  two  sums:  (1)  The  first  shall  be  called  the  Con- 
ference Claimant  Fund,  consisting  of  the  annual  collections  taken 
in  the  churches  for  the  purpose;  (2)  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
Chartered  Fund  and  dividends  of  the  Book  Concern,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  as  may  be  determined  by  each  Annual  Conference,  and 
of  specific  gifts  and  bequests.  The  second  shall  be  called  the 
Special  or  Annuity  Fund,  which  shall  consist  of  such  sources  of 
revenue  as  may  be  devised  and  appropriated  by  each  Annual  Con- 
ference. The  Conference  Claimant  Fund  shall  be  distributed 
annually  among  the  persons  whose  claims  are  allowed  on  the 
basis  of  necessity.  The  Special  or  Annuity  Fund  shall  be  dis- 
tributed upon  the  following  basis: 

Each  superannuated  minister  shall  be  allowed  annually  ten 


1896.] 


On  State  of  the  Church. 


391 


■dollars  for  each  year  of  his  effective  service;  each  widow  shall  be 
allowed  annually  five  dollars  for  each  year  in  which  she  was  the 
wife  of  a  minister  during  his  effective  service,  provided  her  name 
be  entered  upon  the  Annuity  list  by  order  of  the  Conference; 
each  child  of  deceased  ministers  under  sixteen  years  of  age  shall 
be  allowed  annually  two  dollars  for  each  year  of  the  father's 
effective  service.  These  claims  shall  be  paid  pro  rata  from  the 
moneys  in  hand  by  the  Conference  Board  of  Stewards,  or  by  such 
board  as  the  Conference  may  approve.  An  amount  sufficient  to 
meet  the  allowance  of  the  Conference  claimants  under  the  pro- 
Visions  of  this  plan  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  charges  upon 
such  a  basis  as  the  Conferences  may  determine.  It  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  each  charge,  within  whose 
bounds  a  superannuated  minister  or  the  widow  or  child  of  a  de- 
ceased minister  may  reside,  to  appoint  a  committee  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  amount  necessary  to  provide 
such  minister,  widow,  or  child  a  comfortable  support;  such 
estimate  to  be  sent  to  the  Board  of  Stewards  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ference with  which  the  claimant  is  connected.  The  Conference 
Board,  however,  may  consider  and  report  upon  the  case  of  any 
claimant  overlooked  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  Committee. 

Report  So.  IX.    Journal,  page  284. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  memorial  of  R.  H. 
Smith,  recommends  the  following  resolution  for  adoption: 

Resolved,  That  in  every  case  where  a  reserve  takes  the  place 
of  a  regular  delegate,  the  traveling  expenses  of  only  one  of  such 
delegates  shall  be  paid,  except  in  case  of  sickness,  when  the 
traveling  expenses  of  both  shall  be  paid,  and  except  in  case 
|  of  a  delegate  who  takes  the  place  of  a  delegate  elected  to  the 
Episcopacy: 


ON  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  257. 
Your  Committee  begs  leave  to  report: 

Whereas,  There  is  a  strong  and  manifest  desire  on  the  part  of 
many  pastors  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  ap- 
ointment  of  Conference  evangelists  ;  and, 
Whereas,  The  Bishops  of  the  Church  are  not  permitted  by  the 
w  of  the  Church  to  make  such  appointments;  therefore, 
Resolved,  That  this  General*  Conference  authorize  the  insertion 
n  paragraph  170,  section  3,  division  4,  of  the  Discipline,  of  an 
ditional  or  seventh  item,  which  shall  read  as  follows: 
"One  or  more  members  of  an  Annual  Conference  to  do  evan- 
elistic  work  on  charges  within  that  Conference,  if  invited  by 
heir  pastors,  and  in  cooperation  with  them,  or  in  neglected  terri- 


392 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


tory  within  any  district,  when  requested  by  and  in  cooperation 
with  the  presiding  elder  of  such  district;  provided,  the  Confer- 
ence shall  determine  by  vote  how  many  of  its  members  may  be 
thus  appointed;  and,  provided,  further,  the  said  Annual  Confer- 
ence shall  by  vote  of  two  thirds  of  its  members  present  and  vot- 
ing, request  such  appointment." 

Supplementary  to  Report  No.  1.  To  be  inserted  in  its  proper 
place  in  the  Discipline  by  the  Editor: 

"No  pastor  shall  engage  an  evangelist  other  than  those  ap- 
pointed by  the  Bishop  of  his  Conference,  without  first  obtaining 
the  written  consent  of  his  presiding  elder." 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  263. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  certain  memorials  and 
petitions  asking  that  the  election  of  Agents,  Secretaries,  and 
Editors  be  taken  from  the  General  Conference  and  assigned  to  the 
Book  Committee  and  the  several  Boards,  begs  leave  to  report: 

That  we  do  not  recommend  any  change  in  the  present  mode  of 
such  elections. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  page  263. 

Your  Committee  respectfully  presents  the  following  report: 
After  carefully  considering  the  various  memorials  before  us,, 
and  after  reliable  information  obtained  concerning  the  constitu- 
tionality of  paragraph  240  of  the  Discipline,  now  pending  in  the 
Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  we  are  persuaded  that  it  is  not  ad- 
visable to  make  any  change  in  the  aforesaid  article  as  it  now 
stands  in  the  Discipline. 

Report  No.  XIII.    Journal,  page  303. 

Where  the  delegates  to  any  General  Conference  shall  have 
been  chosen,  the  Secretary  of  the  Annual  Conference  shall  report 
the  number  of  its  delegates,  ministers  and  laymen,  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  preceding  General  Conference,  and  shall  state  whether 
the  laymen  have  elected  to  sit  in  a  body  apart  from  the  ministerial 
delegates  or  to  occupy  seats  contiguous  to  those  of  the  ministerial 
delegates  from  the  same  Annual  Conference. 

At  a  date  within  two  days  of  the  session  of  the  General  Con- 
ference a  committee,  consisting  of  the  Secretary  of  the  preceding 
General  Conference  and  the  Committee  on  Entertainment,  with  a 
Bishop  presiding,  shall  make  the  assignment  of  seats  in  manner 
as  follows:  A  plan  of  the  audience  room  having  been  constructed, 
two  blocks  of  contiguous  seats,  each  in  number  equal  to  the  num- 
ber of  lay  delegates  who  have  elected  to  sit  together,  shall  be 
designated,  the  one  block  on  the  extreme  right  and  the  other  on 
the  extreme  left  hand  of  the  chair  of  the  presiding  officer;  and 
by  lot,  in  such  manner  as  the  committee  shall  determine,  one  of 


1896.] 


On  Book  Concern. 


393 


these  blocks  shall  be  assigned  to  the  body  of  laymen  who  have 
elected  to  sit  apart  from  the  ministerial  delegates. 

The  contiguous  seats  for  separate  delegations  of  these  laymen 
shall  then  be  assigned  as  follows: 

The  names  of  the  Conferences  by  them  represented  shall  be 
placed  in  a  box  or  other  receptacle,  and,  after  being  thoroughly 
mixed,  the  Secretary  of  the  General  Conference  shall  draw  the 
same.  The  delegation  first  drawn  shall  occupy  contiguous  seats 
in  the  row  nearest  the  chair  of  the  presiding  officer,  and  the 
seats  shall  be  filled  by  lot  in  regular  order,  from  this  row  first 
designated,  as  the  remaining  delegations  of  laymen  are  drawn. 

The  rest  of  the  delegates,  clerical  and  lay,  shall  then,  by  lot,  in 
a  similar  manner,  by  Conferences,  be  assigned  to  the  seats  that 
remain  unoccupied. 

The  result  of  the  drawing  shall  be  presented  to  the  chairman 
of  each  Conference  delegation,  and  the  delegates  shall  occupy 
seats  as  designated. 

This  order  shall  be  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline. 


ON  BOOK  CONCERN. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  213. 

The  petitions  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Book  Concern,, 
praying  for  the  establishment  of  a  daily  paper,  and  also  for  the 
consolidation  of  the  Western,  the  Northwestern,  and  the  Central 
Christian  Advocates  into  one  official  paper  for  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  have  received  the  considerate  attention  of  the  committee, 
and  the  following  resolutions  are  recommended  for  adoption  by 
the  General  Conference: 

Resolved,  1.  It  is  deemed  unwise  at  this  time  to  make  any 
effort  to  establish  and  conduct  a  daily  paper  on  the  part  of  the 
Church. 

2.  It  is  not  believed  that  the  consolidation  of  the  three  papers 
named  can  be  effected  with  advantage  to  the  Church. 

3.  The  Book  Committee  is  requested  to  take  under  advisement 
the  diminution  in  number  of  the  official  papers  of  the  Church, 
and  report  the  result  of  their  conclusions  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1900. 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  213. 

The  Committee  on  Book  Concern,  having  under  consideration 
the  memorial  of  the  Ohio  Annual  Conference,  held  September,1895, 
in  relation  to  deficits  in  raising  amounts  apportioned  to  each  An- 
nual Conference  for  Episcopal  support,  and  asking  that  the  amount 
of  such  deficits  shall  be  deducted  from  the  amount  which  such 
nnual  Conference  would  otherwise  receive  from  the  profits  of 


394 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


the  Book  Concern  for  the  relief  of  its  traveling,  supernumerary, 
and  superannuated  preachers,  report  that  ^  280  of  the  Discipline 
provides  a  suitable  and  preferable  regulation  and  safeguard 
against  such  deficits  and  neglect  in  raising  the  fund  for  Episcopal 
support  ;  and  it  is  recommended  that  no  changes  be  made  in  that 
respect. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  page  214. 

The  Committee  on  Book  Concern  have  had  under  consideration 
the  memorial  of  the  South  America  Annual  Conference,asking  that 
the  Publishing  Agents  of  the  Book  Concern  publish  in  the  Span- 
ish language  books  and  periodicals  suitable  for  the  advancement 
of  God's  work  in  countries  in  which  that  language  is  spoken,  and 
recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  Publishing  Agents  of  the  Book  Concern, 
with  the  approval  of  the  Book  Committee,  be  authorized  to  print 
or  cause  to  be  printed  in  the  Spanish  language  the  Conference 
Course  of  Study,  and  such  other  literature  as  may  be  called  for 
by  the  Publishing  Committee  of  any  of  our  Missions  in  a  Spanish- 
speaking  country. 

Report  No.  IV.    Journal,  page  263. 

The  Committee  on  Book  Concern  have  had  under  consideration 
the  petition  of  A.  T.  Needham  and  others  of  the  Pacific  coast 
Conferences,  praying  that  the  San  Francisco  Depository  be  trans- 
ferred from  the  New  York  Book  Concern  to  the  Western  Book 
Concern,  and  recommend  that  the  matter  be  referred  to  the 
Publishing  Agents  and  the  Book  Committee,  with  power  to  act 
in  the  premises,  if  they  shall  deem  best. 

Report  No.  VI.    Journal,  page  286. 

Whereas,  Memorials  have  been  presented  to  this  General  Con- 
ference asking  for  such  revision  of  the  Discipline  as  shall  provide 
for  a  more  careful  supervision  of  the  publications  of  the  Book 
Concern,  and  for  the  suspension  of  the  sale  of  any  of  its  publica- 
tions which  shall  antagonize  the  doctrines  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  congratulate  our  Publishing  Agents  upon 
the  quality  and  number  of  the  publications  of  the  past  quadren- 
nium,  and  have  full  confidence  in  their  desire  to  issue  only  such 
books  as  shall  be  for  the  best  interests  of  our  Church. 

2.  That  we  believe  the  desired  result  can  be  best  attained 
by  a  more  thorough  supervision  of  the  manuscripts  presented  for 
publication,  and  inasmuch  as  the  present  Book  Editors  are  pre- 
vented by  the  pressure  of  other  work  from  giving  to  the  duties 
their  personal  attention,  we  recommend, 

(1)  That  %  409  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  striking  out 
all  after  the  word  "  tracts,"  at  the  end  of  the  tenth  line,  so  that  it 
shall  read  : 


1896.] 


On  Book  Concern. 


395 


1"  409.  There  shall  be  elected  quadrennially  by  the  General 
Conference  an  Editor  for  each  of  the  following  periodicals  :  The 
Methodist  Review,  The  Christian  Advocate,  The  Northern  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  The  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate,  The  California 
Christian  Advocate,  The  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate,  The 
Western  Christian  Advocate,  The  Northwestern  Christian  Advo- 
cate, The  Central  Christian  Advocate,  The  Pacific  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, The  Epworth  Herald,  The  Christian  Apologist,  Hans 
und  Herd,  and  German  Sunday  school  books,  periodicals,  and 
tracts. 

(2)  That  ^1  410  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  omitting  the 
word  "  books  "  in  the  third  line  of  said  paragraph,  so  that  it  shall 
read : 

1"  410.  The  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School 
Union  and  the  Tract  Society  shall  be  Editor  of  the  Sunday  School 
Papers  and  Tracts.  He  shall  also,  in  consultation  with  the  Pub- 
lishing Agents,  have  charge  of  the  Department  of  Sunday  School 
Requisites,  including  books  of  instruction  for  Sunday  schools  and 
normal  classes.  He  shall  also  be  Superintendent  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Sunday  School  Instruction.  The  Sunday  School  Union 
and  the  Tract  Society  shall  each  pay  such  proportion  of  his  salary 
as  the  Book  Committee  of  each  society  shall  consider  just.  The 
Editor  of  German  Sunday  School  Publications  in  Cincinnati  shall 
be  the  German  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union 
and  the  Tract  Society,  without  additional  salary. 

(3)  That  1  397  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  inserting  at 
the  end  of  the  first  sentence,  in  line  four,  the  following:  "  They 
may  nominate  an  Editor  who,  when  elected  by  the  Book  Commit- 
tee, shall  have  editorial  supervision  of  all  manuscripts  intended 
for  publication,"  so  that  said  paragraph  shall  read  as  follows: 

397.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Agents  of  both  Publishing 
Houses  to  publish  such  books,  tracts,  periodicals,  etc.,  as  are 
ordered  by  the  General  Conference  or  by  the  Book  Committee. 
They  may  nominate  an  Editor,  who,  when  elected  by  the  Book 
Committee,  shall  have  editorial  supervision  of  all  manuscripts  in- 
tended for  publication. 

(4)  That  paragraph  406  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  insert- 
ing after  the  word  "  Agents,"  in  the  seventeenth  line  of  said  para- 
graph, the  words,  "  To  elect  a  Book  Editor,  and,"  so  that  it  shall 
read  as  follows  : 

1  406.  The  General  Conference  shall  elect  a  Book  Committee, 
to  serve  for  four  years,  consisting  of  one  from  each  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  Districts  into  which  the  Annual  Conferences  are 
distributed,  and  of  three  from  New  York  or  its  vicinity,  to  be 
known  as  the  Local  Committee  in  New  York,  and  three  from  Cin- 
cinnati or  its  vicinity,  to  be  known  as  the  Local  Committee  in 
Cincinnati.  The  Book  Committee  shall  during  the  interval  of  the 
General  Conference  have  power  to  fill  vacancies  occurring  in  its 
own  body.  Such  Committee  shall  have  the  general  supervision  of 


396 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


the  publishing  interests  of  the  Church,  examine  carefully  into 
their  condition,  and  make  report  of  the  same  to  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences and  to  the  General  Conference.  It  shall  also  be  its  duty 
to  fix  the  salary  of  the  Bishops,  Publishing  Agents,  and  all  offi- 
cial Editors  not  otherwise  provided  for,  and  upon  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Agents  to  elect  a  Book  Editor  and  to  determine  the 
amount  to  be  allowed  for  correspondence  for  the  several  official 
periodicals.  It  shall  have  full  power  to  discontinue  any  Deposi- 
tory or  periodical  when  the  interests  of  the  Church  or  Book  Con- 
cern demand  it ;  said  action  shall,  however,  not  be  taken  except 
by  a  two  thirds  vote  of  the  committee,  due  notice  of  such  con- 
templated action  having  been  given  to  the  Agents.  The  commit- 
tee shall  also  have  the  power  to  order  expenses  curtailed  in  any 
department  of  either  Publishing  House  when  it  deems  it  necessary 
for  the  welfare  of  the  same  ;  and  when  action  as  above  specified 
shall  have  been  taken,  the  Agents  shall  proceed  at  once  to  carry 
out  the  instructions  of  the  Committee.  The  Committee  shall  also 
attend  to  all  matters  referred  to  it  by  the  Agents  or  Editors  for  its 
action  or  counsel.  The  Agents  of  either  Publishing  House  are 
authorized,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Local 
Committee,  to  sell  any  real  estate  belonging  to  the  same  when  it 
may  be  deemed  best  for  the  interests  of  the  Church  and  Book 
Concern. 

Report  No.  VII.    Journal,  page  303. 

The  Committee  on  Book  Concern  have  received  great  numbers 
of  petitions  and  memorials  respecting  our  periodical  literature. 
We  realize  that  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  problems  of 
great  importance  and  difficult  of  solution. 

There  are  requests  that  the  number  of  our  papers  be  reduced, 
and  there  are  prayers  that  more  be  established.  The  growth  in 
circulation  is  much  less  than  the  growth  of  the  Church.  The 
problems,  therefore,  do  not  involve  the  ability,  but  the  adapta- 
tion of  our  papers  to  our  people. 

We  recommend  that  the  Publishing  Agents  and  the  General 
Book  Committee  be  requested  to  take  under  advisement  all  ques- 
tions involving  the  grade,  price,  and  adaptation  of  our  periodical 
literature,  and  report  their  conclusions  to  the  General  Conference 
of  1900. 

Subsidies. 

We  recommend — 

1.  That  the  Book  Agents  allow  to  the  California  Christian 
Advocate  $2,000  per  annum. 

2.  That  the  Book  Agents  allow  to  the  Pacific  Christian  Advo- 
cate $3,000  per  annum,  and  that  they  have  the  power  to  arrange 
for  its  business  management  under  the  advice  of  the  General 
Book  Committee. 

3.  That  the  Book  Agents  allow  to  the  Southwestern  Christian 
Advocate  $3,000  per  annum,  and  furnish  the  white  paper  for  the 


1896.] 


On  Book  Concern. 


397 


same;  and  that  the  Book  Committee  be  authorized  at  any  time 
during  the  ensuing  quadrennium  to  remove  the  Soutfiwestern 
Christian  Advocate  from  New  Orleans  to  Atlanta,  Ga.,  or  to  such 
other  place  in  the  South  as,  in  their  judgment,  will  tend  to  in- 
crease its  patronage. 

4.  That  the  Book  Agents  allow  to  the  Vidnesbyrdet  $1,000, 
Si 00  of  which  sum  shall  be  applied  in  the  free  distribution  of  the 
paper  among  the  Mormons  in  Utah  and  $100  among  the  sailors 
on  the  Pacific  coast. 

5.  That  the  Book  Agents  allow — 

(a)  To  the  Omaha  Christian  Advocate  $3,000,  the  ownership  to 
be  delivered  to  the  Book  Concern  free  of  incumbrance,  with 
the  subscription  list  and  earnings  from  this  date. 

(b)  To  the  Methodist  Advocate- Journal  $2,000  per  annum. 

\c)  That,  if  there  shall  be  established  and  conducted  by  the 
people  of  our  Church  in  Denver,  Colo.,  a  paper  upon  a  basis  ap- 
proved by  the  Western  Agents  and  Local  Committee  at  Cincin- 
nati, said  Agents  may  allow  a  subsidy  of  $3,000  per  annum. 

((7)  To  the  Den  Christelige  Talsmand  $800  per  annum. 

(e)  To  the  Krestansky  Posel  $40  per  month. 

That  the  Editors  of  all  papers  receiving  subsidies  be  chosen  by 
the  General  Book  Committee,  unless  otherwise  provided. 

That  the  Publishing  Committee  or  manager  of  each  paper 
shall  make  annual  reports  in  writing  to  the  General  Book  Com- 
mittee of  its  financial  condition,  including  receipts  for  subscrip- 
tions and  advertisements  and  all  items  of  outlay  and  indebted- 
ness. 

That  the  subsidies  be  paid  in  quarterly  installments. 

That  the  Local  Committee  of  the  Book  Concern  paying  the 
subsidy  may  withhold  the  approval  of  any  quarterly  claim  if  it 
shall  appear  to  them  that  the  paper  is  not  reaching  the  reasonable 
expectations  of  the  Church  ;  but  the  General  Book  Committee 
only  may  order  the  discontinuance  of  the  subsidy. 

That  none  of  the  funds  appropriated  as  subsidies  for  periodi- 
cals shall  be  used  in  the  payment  of  any  debts  now  existing,  and 
the  Church  shall  not  in  any  way  assume  or  become  liable  for  any 
indebtedness  created  by  reason  of  the  publication  of  said  periodi- 
cals. 

6.  We  further  recommend  that  the  Western  Book  Agents  be 
authorized,  upon  the  approval  of  the  Local  Committee  at  Cincin- 
nati, to  continue  the  present  contract  with  the  Swedish  Methodist 
Episcopal  Book  Concern  for  the  publication  of  Sandebudet  and 
Sondag  Skol  Baneret  until  the  next  General  Conference,  with  the 
following  additional  provisions: 

(1)  That  a  Publication  Committee  be  constituted,  consisting  of 
three  members  from  the  Central  Swedish  Conference,  three  mem- 
berfl  from  the  Western  Swedish  Conference,  and  three  members 
from  the  Northern  Swedish  Mission  Conference,  which  shall  have 
supervision  over  the  publication  of  said  papers.   The  Publication 


398 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Committee  shall  annually  nominate  the  Editors  of  said  papers, 
subject  to  confirmation  by  the  General  Book  Committee.  Their 
salaries  shall  be  fixed  by  the  Publishing  Committee. 

(2)  That  until  the  different  Annual  Conferences  shall  meet,  the 
following  persons  shall  constitute  said  committee,  to  serve  until 
their  successors  are  elected:  Alfred  Anderson,  J.  T.  Wigren, 
August  Carlson,  John  Lundeen,  O.  J.  Swan,  John  Israelson,  C.  G. 
Nelson,  O.  J.  Stead,  Alfred  N.  Sorenson. 

(3)  That  the  Publishing  Agents  of  the  Book  Concern  shall  not 
be  involved  in  any  financial  obligation  in  behalf  of  these  papers 
by  any  act  taken  in  pursuance  of  their  authorization. 

(4)  A  joint  profit  and  loss  account  of  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Publishing  Houses  shall  be  kept,  and  dividends,  subsidies,  and 
such  expenses  which  shall  be  properly  authorized  by  the  Book 
Committee  or  by  the  General  Conference  shall  be  paid  out  of  said 
joint  account. 

(5)  That  paragraph  414  of  the  Discipline  be  amended  by  add- 
ing, at  the  end  of  the  third  line,  "  and  at  Detroit,  Mich.,"  so  as  to 
include  Detroit  in  the  list  of  Depositories,  to  be  furnished  with 
books  and  supplies  by  the  Publishing  Agents  at  New  York. 


ON  MISSIONS. 

'  Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  154. 

Whenever  any  Synod,  Conference,  Church  society,  or  other 
body  of  Christians  agreeing  in  doctrine  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  shall  desire  to  become  a  component  part  of 
said  Church,  the  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  most  nearly  or  conveniently  related  territorially  to  such 
Synod,  Conference,  Church  society,  or  body  shall  have  power, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Bishop  presiding,  on  being  satisfied  with 
the  agreement  of  such  Synod,  Conference,  Church  society,  or 
body  of  Christians  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  doc- 
trine and  discipline,  to  receive  such  organization  in  a  body  into 
our  communion.  Ministers  so  received  shall  hold  such  relations 
and  enjoy  such  privileges  as  they  would  hold  or  enjoy  if  admitted 
individually  on  their  credentials.  Members  so  received  shall  sus- 
tain the  same  relation  to  the  local  church  they  would  sustain  if 
received  individually  by  certificates.  Before  such  reception, 
however,  a  properly  authenticated  register  of  such  ministers  and 
members  shall  be  deposited  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Conference 
considering  such  reception.  In  all  cases  of  the  reception  of 
churches  satisfactory  assurance  shall  be  given  the  Conference 
that  the  property  shall  be  placed  in  the  custody  of  trustees  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  that  the  churches  will  receive 
pastors  appointed  by  the  authority  of  the  General  Conference  of 
said  Church. 


1896.] 


On  Missions. 


399 


Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  224. 

Your  Committee  has  considered  the  memorial  from  the  Board 
of  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  asking  that  the  Con- 
tingent Fund  be  increased  from  $25,000  to  $50,000,  and  beg  leave 
to  report  as  follows: 

1.  We  recommend  that  Article  XI  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
Missionary  Society  be  changed  by  substituting  "  50  "  for  "  25  "  in 
fifth  line,  so  that  said  article  will  read,  when  amended:  " Never- 
theless, in  the  intervals  between  the  meetings  of  the  General 
Committee  the  Board  of  Managers  may  provide  for  any  unfore- 
seen emergencies  that  may  arise  in  any  of  our  Missions,  and  to 
meet  such  demands  may  expend  an  additional  amount,  not  ex- 
ceeding $50,000." 

2.  Your  Committee  has  considered  the  memorial  of  T.  J.  Scott 
asking  that  paragraph  346  of  the  Discipline  be  so  amended  as  to 
provide  for  the  appointment  of  secretaries  in  presiding  elders' 
districts,  and  reports  as  follows: 

Add  to  paragraph  346  the  following:  "The  Conference  Mis- 
sionary Society  shall  appoint  a  secretary  for  each  presiding 
elder's  district,  whose  duty  shall  be  to  cooperate  with  the  pre- 
siding elders  in  planning  and  holding  district  missionary  meet- 
ings and  disseminating  missionary  literature,  and  who  shall  in- 
form the  Corresponding  Secretaries  from  time  to  time  of  the  state 
of  the  work  in  the  districts." 

3.  The  Committee  has  carefully  considered  the  memorial  ask- 
ing for  the  organization  in  China  of  a  Hinghua  Mission  Confer- 
ence, and  recommends  that  the  request  be  granted. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  page  287. 

1.  We  recommend  that  authority  be  given  to  organize  a  Cen- 
tral Conference  in  China  during  the  next  quadrennium,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Bishop  or  Bishops  having  episcopal  jurisdiction. 

2.  That  the  Gulf  Mission  be  constituted  a  Mission  Conference. 

3.  We  commend  to  the  generous  support  of  the  Missionary  Socie- 
ty the  work  among  foreign  populations  in  cities  and  elsewhere. 

4.  Strike  out  of  paragraph  361  of  the  Discipline  all  of  the  first 
sentence  after  the  word  "  Society,"  and  insert,  "  in  accordance 
with  paragraph  38  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline.  A  col- 
lection shall  be  taken  for  Missions  in  each  Sunday  school  at  least 
once  a  month ;  and  all  sums  of  money  so  collected  shall  be  used 
exclusively  for  the  support  of  Missions  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Missionary  Society,"  and  add,  after  the  word  "Minutes,"  "It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Sunday  School  Missionary  Society  to 
provide,  with  the  consent  of  the  Sunday  School  Board,  for  brief 
missionary  exercises  in  the  Sunday  school  on  the  day  that  the 
monthly  missionary  collection  is  taken ;  to  cause  suitable  litera- 
ture to  be  distributed  in  the  Sunday  school,  and  to  arrange  for 
occasional  missionary  concerts,"  so  that  the  whole  paragraph  will 

26 


400 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


read:  "It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  see  that  each  Sunday 
school  in  our  churches  and  congregations  is  organized  into  a  Mis- 
sionary Society,  in  accordance  with  paragraph  3S  in  the  Appendix 
to  the  Discipline.  A  collection  shall  be  taken  for  Missions  in  each 
Sunday  school,  as  far  as  practicable,  at  least  once  a  month;  and 
all  sums  of  money  so  collected  shall  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of 
the  Missionary  Society,  and  the  missionary  contributions  of  the 
Sunday  schools  shall  be  reported  in  a  separate  column  in  the  be- 
nevolent contributions  of  the  Annual  and  General  Minutes.  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Sunday  School  Missionary  Society  to 
provide,  with  the  consent  of  the  Sunday  School  Board,  for  brief 
missionary  exercises  in  the  Sunday  school  on  the  day  that  the 
monthly  missionary  collection  is  taken,  to  cause  suitable  liter- 
ature to  be  distributed  in  the  Sunday  school,  and  to  arrange  for 
occasional  missionary  concerts." 

5.  Insert  in  Article  III  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  after  the  words  "to  print  books  for  Indian  and  foreign 
missions  and  missions  in  which  a  foreign  language  is  used,"  the 
following:  "  To  appoint  laymen  as  evangelists,  teachers,  or  medi- 
cal missionaries;"  so  that  it  will  read:  "  The  Board  shall  have  au- 
thority to  make  by-laws,  not  inconsistent  with  this  constitution  or 
the  charter,  to  print  books  for  Indian  and  foreign  missions  and 
missions  in  which  a  foreign  language  is  used;  to  appoint  laymen 
as  evangelists,  teachers,  or  medical  missionaries;  to  elect  a  Presi- 
dent, Vice  Presidents,  and  a  Recording  Secretary,"  etc. 

Lay  missionaries  in  foreign  missions  regularly  appointed  by 
the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  shall  be  subject 
to  appointment  by  the  Bishop  presiding,  or,  in  the  absence  of  a 
Bishop,  by  the  Superintendent  of  the  Mission.  They  may  upon 
invitation  of  the  Conference  occupy  seats  in  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences, and  participate  in  the  business  thereof;  provided,  that  they 
shall  not  be  permitted  to  vote  on  any  question  that  relates  to  the 
character  or  Conference  relations  of  ministers,  or  be  counted  in 
the  basis  of  representation  in  the  General  Conference;  and  pro- 
vided, also,  that  they  shall  not  vote  for  ministerial  delegates  to 
the  General  Conference,  or  on  constitutional  questions. 

Report  No.  IV.    Journal,  page  305. 

Your  Committee  has  given  careful  attention  to  a  paper  referred 
to  it,  and  which  consists  of  the  following  preamble  and  proposed 
resolutions: 

"  Whereas,  The  mission  work  organized  by  Bishop  William 
Taylor  among  heathen  tribes  in  Africa  outside  of  the  Liberia  An- 
nual Conference  is  not  in  organic  relation  to  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety, though  purely  the  work  of  the  Church  and  being  developed 
by  voluntary  contributions  which  have  aggregated  $116,000  dur- 
ing the  last  quadrennium;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  we  accept  the  transfer  of  these  missions  on 
the  following  conditions: 


1896.] 


On  Missions. 


401 


"  1.  All  stations  receiving  aid  from  the  society  shall  be  under 
the  direct  control  of  the  Missionary  Board. 

"  2.  Any  person  or  persons  who  may  desire  to  found  and  de- 
velop a  mission  station  shall  be  allowed  to  do  so;  but  all  moneys 
received  for  Africa,  either  privately  or  publicly,  not  so  desig- 
nated shall  flow  directly  into  the  treasury  of  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety and  be  duly  acknowledged  in  its  receipts. 

"  3.  All  self-supporting  churches  in  our  mission  field  shall  sus- 
tain the  same  relation  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  that 
of  our  self-supporting  churches  at  home." 

After  careful  consideration,  and  having  sought  from  Bishop 
Taylor  such  information  as  he  has  afforded  in  personal  interviews 
with  the  subcommittee  having  the  matter  in  hand,  your  Commit- 
tee finds  itself  compelled  to  report  that  the  data  at  its  command 
are  not  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  make  any  definite  recommenda- 
tion on  the  very  important  subject  of  the  foregoing  paper. 

The  latter  is  therefore  reported  back  to  the  General  Cenference 
with  the  recommendation  that  it  be  referred  to  the  General  Mis- 
sionary Committee,  with  power. 

Report  No.  VI.    Journal,  page  305. 

Having  carefully  considered  matters  referred  to  it  in  regard 
to  self-supporting  missions  in  Chili,  your  Committee  recommends 
the  adoption  of  the  following: 

1.  Whereas,  Messrs.  Anderson  Fowler  and  Richard  Grant,  rep- 
resenting the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society,  through  the 
Board  of  Bishops  offered  to  transfer  to  the  Missionary  Society  their 
property  in  Chili,  free  of  debt,  on  condition  that  the  work  should 
be  carried  on  on  the  principle  of  self-supporting  missions;  and, 

Whereas,  The  General  Missionary  Committee,  in  session  at 
Minneapolis  in  November,  1893,  and  the  Board  of  Managers,  in 
New  York,  subsequently  did  accept  said  offer  on  the  condition 
named,  subject  to  the  action  of  this  General  Conference;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  refers  this  whole  matter 
to  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society,  with  power. 

2.  Whereas,  A  great  desire  is  now  being  manifested  on  the  part 
of  the  young  people  of  Liberia  for  educational  advantages;  and, 

Whereas,  The  other  denominations  are  establishing  schools  and 
giving  every  facility  for  educational  training  throughout  the  re- 
public, compelling  all  who  attend  said  schools  to  adopt  their 
particular  faith  and  doctrines,  thus  proselyting  many  of  the  best 
and  most  promising  boys  and  girls  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference,  in  view  of  these  faSts, 
commends  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  General  Mis- 
sionary Committee  and  Board  of  Managers  the  request  of  Liberia 
Conference  to  establish  mission  schools  in  the  leading  districts 
of  the  republic,  and  to  more  thoroughly  equip  those  already  in 
existence. 


402 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


ON  EDUCATION. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  225. 

The  Committee  on  Education  has  carefully  considered  several 
memorials  and  other  papers  duly  referred  to  it,  in  which  the 
General  Conference  is  asked  to  modify  certain  requirements  which 
now  tend  to  discourage  candidates  for  our  ministry  from  pursuing 
their  preparatory  studies  in  the  literary  and  theological  institu- 
tions of  the  Church. 

At  present  the  young  man  who  desires  to  master  a  thorough 
academic,  collegiate,  and  theological  course  finds  that  at  the  end 
of  the  ten  years  required  for  such  mastery  he  will  have  done 
nothing  which  the  Conference  examiners  have  authority  to  recog- 
nize. Moreover,  experience  shows  that  the  threefold  effort — first, 
to  earn  the  means  of  self-support;  second,  to  master  the  success- 
ive courses  of  our  educational  institutions;  and  third,  to  master 
at  the  same  time  the  successive  courses  prescribed  for  local 
preachers  and  for  traveling  preachers — is  undermining  the  health 
of  many  a  young  man  of  promise,  and  causing  others  to  turn  aside 
from  school  and  college  and  theological  seminary.  The  Bishops, 
in  that  part  of  their  quadrennial  Address  referred  to  us,  say  that 
in  their  opinion  the  time  has  "  fully  come  "  for  a  change  in  this 
respect.  They  say,  "Methodist  Conferences  should  accept  cer- 
tificates from  their  own  schools.  Let  the  Conference  continue  to 
examine  rigidly  into  all  matters  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  but  in 
literary  work  accept  the  certificates  of  institutions  so  well  able  to 
judge." 

Pursuant  to  this  advice,  the  Committee  on  Education  recom- 
mends that  the  following  amendment  be  made  in  the  Discipline, 
to  wit: 

To  strike  out  from  note  1  introducing  paragraph  40  of  the 
Appendix  the  words,  "  but  they  shall  not  on  account  of  such 
attendance  be  excused  from  any  part  of  the  Conference  Course 
of  Study,"  and  to  substitute  the  following  therefor: 

"  When  such  a  candidate  shall  present  a  properly  authenticated 
certificate,  showing  that  he  has  already  pursued  and  passed  a  sat- 
isfactory examination  on  one  or  more  of  the  subjects  hereinafter 
prescribed  for  traveling  and  local  preachers,  as  a  regular  attend- 
ant on  the  class-room  instruction  of  one  of  such  aforesaid  institu- 
tions, the  Conference  may  accept  said  certificate  from  such  insti- 
tution as  equivalent  to  that  of  its  own  Committee  of  Examiners, 
it  being  understood  that  the  Annual  Conference  shall  continue 
to  examine  all  candidates  in  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the 
Church." 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  233. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  following  recom- 
mendation of  the  Board  of  Education,  that  the  General  Confer- 
ence "  take  action  to  the  effect  that  the  projectors  of  any  new 


1896.] 


On  Education. 


403 


institution  of  learning,  of  intended  collegiate  grade,  after  July, 
1896,  shall  secure  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  the 
proposed  institution  before  it  be  established,  as  a  condition  of 
official  recognition  or  of  receiving  aid  from  connectional  funds," 
reports  as  follows: 

The  General  Conference  four  years  ago  adopted  and  placed  in 
the  Discipline,  as  appearing  on  page  163,  the  following  provision: 

"§  1.  No  educational  institution  shall  be  recognized  by  the 
Board  of  Education  as  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  be  inserted  in  its  classified  list  of  such  institutions, 
or  receive  aid  from  its  connectional  funds,  unless  it  first  have  the 
approval  of  the  Annual  Conference  within  whose  bounds  it  is 
located,  and  of  the  Conferences  associated  in  its  management." 
The  clause  in  the  Discipline  makes  such  recognition  by  the  Board 
dependent  on  the  approval  of  certain  Conferences. 

This  recommendation  is  to  the  effect  that  the  approval  of  the 
Board  must  be  secured  previous  to  the  creation  of  any  institution 
of  intended  college  grade  if  such  institution  of  learning  shall 
come  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church,  to  be  placed  in  its  classi- 
fied list,  and  receive  aid  from  its  connectional  funds. 

We  regard  the  recommendation  as  eminently  wise,  and  report 
in  favor  of  its  adoption. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  page  289. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  paragraphs  1,  2,  and 
5,  page  43  of  the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  a  me- 
morial relating  to  the  Children's  Fund  and  educational  collection, 
respectfully  submits  the  following  report: 

We  have  carefully  considered  these  documents,  and  recommend 
the  following  action  to  be  taken  by  the  General  Conference: 

1.  Extravagant  decorations  on  Children's  Day  should  be  dis- 
couraged. The  use  of  any  part  of  the  Children's  Fund  collection 
for  any  purpose  other  than  that  of  the  Children's  Fund  is  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  law  of  the  Church. 

2.  The  public  collection  for  Education  should  be  taken  annually 
in  all  our  churches,  as  ordered  in  paragraph  321,  section  4,  in  the 
Book  of  Discipline;  kept  separate  and  apart  from  the  Children's 
Fund  collection,  and  reported  to  the  Annual  Conferences  as  edu- 
cational collections. 

3.  •[  84,  Book  of  Discipline,  1892,  under  Statistics  No.  IV,  where 
it  reads,  "  Education:  (a)  Children's  Fund;  (b)  Other  educational 
objects,"  shall  be  amended  so  as  to  read:  "Education:  (a)  Public 
educational  collection;  (b)  Children's  Fund." 

Report  No.  IV.    Journal,  page  288. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  recommendations  from 
the  Bishops,  respectfully  recommends  to  the  General  Conference 
the  following  action: 

1.  In  paragraph  321  insert,  after  the  words  "said  General  Con- 
ference" and  before  section  1,  the  following: 


404 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


"The  Corresponding  Secretary  shall  be  elected  by  the  General 
Conference.  He  shall,  under  the  provisions  of  the  Discipline  and 
the  direction  of  the  Board,  conduct  the  correspondence,  and  shall 
in  all  his  official  conduct  be  subject  to  the  authority  and  control 
of  the  Board,  by  whom  his  salary  shall  be  fixed  and  paid.  His 
time  shall  be  employed  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  Board, 
and  under  its  direction  in  promoting  its  general  interests  by  trav- 
eling or  otherwise.  Any  vacancy  of  this  office  by  death,  resigna- 
tion, or  otherwise  shall  be  filled  by  the  Board  until  the  Bishops, 
or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  fill  the  vacancy." 

2.  In  paragraph  323,  section  1,  in  the  third  line,  after  the  word 
"  appointed,"  insert  the  word  "  quadrennially,"  so  that  the  para- 
graph will  read:  "There  shall  be  a  University  Senate  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  authorized  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence and  appointed  quadrennially  by  the  Board  of  Bishops,"  etc. 

3.  In  paragraph  186,  section  10,  insert  after  the  words  "  Church 
Extension,"  in  line  two,  the  word  "  Education,"  so  that  it  shall 
read:  "To  promote  by  all  proper  means  the  interests  of  Missions, 
Church  Extension,  Education,  Sunday  schools,  and  the  Epworth 
Leagues,"  etc. 

4.  In  paragraph  186,  section  11,  line  one,  insert  the  words 
"  condition  and  "  before  the  word  "  statistics."  Also,  strike  out 
the  words  "prescribed  by  the  Discipline,"  so  that  it  shall  read: 
"  To  report  to  the  Annual  Conference  the  condition  and  statistics 
of  the  literary  and  theological  institutions  located  in  his  district 
and  under  the  care  of  our  Church." 

Report  No.  V.    Journal,  page  289. 

Your  Committee,  having  examined  the  report  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  begs  leave  to  report  that  the  work  of  the  Board  during 
the  quadrennium  deserves  your  approval.  In  particular,  we  wish 
to  say  that  the  results  reported  in  the  new  lines  of  work  instituted 
by  the  last  General  Conference  justify  the  confident  expectation 
that  the  Board  is  to  be  an  increasing  force  in  our  educational 
system,  tending  to  unify  and  elevate  the  work  of  our  schools,  and 
to  protect  them  from  the  inroads  of  new  and  unneeded  com- 
petitors in  the  Church. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Board  may  become  a  still  greater 
power  in  cooperation  with  our  schools,  to  inspire  in  our  people  a 
desire  for  education  and  an  enthusiasm  for  its  endowment. 

Report  No.  VI.    Journal,  page  289. 

Your  Committee  would  report  that  it  has  given  careful  at- 
tention to  the  memorials  presented  by  W.  F.  Warren,  J.  T.  Mc- 
Farland,  J.  N.  Fradenburgh,  and  others,  concerning  Rules  Regu- 
lating Conference  Courses  of  Study,  Methods  of  Examination  of 
Those  in  Conference  Courses  of  Study,  and  kindred  subjects,  and 
it  recommends: 

1.  That  in  all  of  these  matters  each  Annual  Conference  shall 


1896.] 


On  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts, 


405 


be  allowed  to  adopt  such  methods  and  operate  on  such  plans  as 
may  be  deemed  best  suited  to  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the 
individual  Conferences. 

2.  That  in  the  adoption  of  such  methods  and  plans  the  end 
should  be  the  constant  elevation  of  the  standard  and  the  attain- 
ment of  the  greatest  possible  inspiration  for  the  students  them- 
selves. 

ON  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS  AND  TRACTS. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  178. 

We  recommend  that  the  blank  form  of  the  Statistics  No.  II, 
concerning  the  Sunday  school,  contain  the  following  items: 

1.  Number  of  schools. 

2.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers. 

3.  Number  of  scholars  of  all  grades. 

4.  Average  attendance. 

5.  Number  of  members  in  the  Home  Department. 

6.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers  who  are- church  members  or 
probationers. 

7.  Number  of  scholars  (whether  attendants  or  members  in  the 
Home  Department)  who  are  church  members  or  probationers. 

8.  Members  of  the  Sunday  school  converted  during  this  year. 

9.  Current  expenses. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  page  292. 
PART  I. 

We  recommend  that  to  Chapter  III,  1"  329,  of  the  Discipline 
be  added  a  new  section,  as  follows: 

"  §  8.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  superintendent  to  report  to 
each  Quarterly  Conference  : 

"1.  Name  of  Sunday  school. 

"  2.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers. 

"3.  Number  of  scholars  in  all  grades. 

"4.  Number  of  scholars  in  Home  Department. 

"  5.  Average  attendance. 

"  6.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers  members  of  the  church  or 
probationers. 

"  7.  Number  of  scholars  (whether  attendants  or  members  of 
Home  Department)  members  of  the  church  or  probationers. 

"  8.  Number  of  members  of  the  Sunday  school  converted  during 
the  quarter. 

"  9.  Current  expenses  for  the  quarter." 

PART  II. 

In  335,  Chapter  III,  strike  out  the  words  "  and  average  at- 
tendance;" insert  the  word  "and"  between  "number"  and 
"  state,"  so  that  the  paragraph  will  read: 


406 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


"  K  335.  Each  pastor  shall  lay  before  the  Quarterly  Conference, 
to  be  entered  on  its  journal,  the  number  and  state  of  the  Sunday 
schools  in  his  charge  and  the  extent  to  which  he  has  preached  to 
the  children  and  catechised  them,  and  shall  make  the  required 
report  on  Sunday  schools  to  his  Annual  Conference." 

PART  III. 

In  1"  189,  §  26,  under  Quarterly  Report,  strike  out  numbers  3, 
4,  and  5  (these  items  being  included  in  the  superintendent's 
quarterly  report  as  recommended). 

Report  No.  IV.    Journal,  page  292. 

We  have  received  a  memorial  from  M.  J.  Pihl,  representing 
our  Norwegian  and  Danish  membership  in  this  country,  asking 
for  a  grant  from  the  Tract  Society  to  aid  in  the  publication  of  a 
Hymnal  for  such  membership.  The  manuscript  of  said  Hymnal 
has  been  prepared  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  General 
Conferences  of  1888  and  1892,  and  has  been  submitted  to  the 
Bishops  for  their  approval.  We  are  unanimous  in  our  conviction 
that  the  Book  Concern  should  ? fiord  aid  in  the  case,  and  we 
therefore  present  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  the  General  Conference  to 
authorize  the  Book  Concern  to  appropriate  $1,000  to  aid  in  the 
publication  of  a  suitable  Hymnal  for  the  use  of  the  Norwegian 
and  Danish  people. 

ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION. 

Report  No.  1.    Journal,  page  225. 

The  Committee  on  Church  Extension,  to  which  was  referred 
certain  memorials  in  reference  to  church  extension  work  in  for- 
eign lands,  reports  that  it  is  inexpedient  for  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension  to  extend  its  work  into  foreign  lands,  for  the  following 
reasons: 

1.  The  holding  of  property  and  taking  of  mortgages  and  securi- 
ties in  foreign  lands  is  attended  with  serious  difficulties,  requir- 
ing agents  or  trustees  in  each  separate  country,  and  these  the 
Missionary  Society  already  has,  and  it  would  embarrass  the  work 
of  both  societies  if  these  agencies  should  be  duplicated  ? 

2.  It  would  be  impossible  to  administer  the  American  Loan 
Fund  in  these  countries  because  of  national  laws,  varying  in  pro- 
visions, which  in  some  countries  are  prohibitive  of  such  foreign 
corporations. 

3.  The  present  revenue  of  the  Board  is  utterly  insufficient  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  home  work. 

4.  There  is  no  prospect  or  promise  of  such  increase  of  the 
funds  as  would  justify  the  risk  of  such  extension. 

5.  Provided,  nevertheless,  that  Annual  Conferences  in  foreign 
countries  may  organize  local  Boards  of  Church  Extension  and  ad- 
minister church  extension  funds  raised  within  their  bounds. 


1896.] 


On  Church  Extension. 


407 


Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  225. 

The  Committee  on  Church  Extension  recommends  that,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  correspondence  between  the  Corresponding  Secre- 
taries and  the  trustees  of  churches  to  which  loans  have  been 
made,  a  full  statement  of  all  unpaid  loans  to  churches  upon  each 
district  be  sent  to  the  presiding  elder  annually,  and  that  the 
presiding  elders  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  presenting  the  obli- 
gation of  the  church  for  interest  or  principal  due  the  Board  of 
Church  Extension  before  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  each  church 
where  loans  have  been  made,  and  that  such  Conference  be  re- 
quired to  furnish  the  office  in  Philadelphia  the  name  or  names  of 
suitable  persons  to  whom  correspondence  may  be  addressed. 

We  also  direct  the  Corresponding  Secretaries  to  furnish  semi- 
annual statements  to  all  churches  to  which  loans  are  made. 

Report  No.  YI.    Journal,  page  292. 

Your  Committee  on  Church  Extension,  having  carefully  exam- 
ined the  various  memorials  referred  to  it,  and  the  report  of  the 
Commission  on  Insurance  appointed  by  the  last  General  Confer- 
ence, begs  leave  to  submit  the  following  report: 

The  Commission  appointed  by  the  Bishops,  in  accordance  with 
the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1892,  to  originate  and 
operate  a  Church  Insurance  Company  has  surrendered  its  com- 
mission after  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  organize  on  the  stock  plan. 
Most  of  our  churches  and  parsonages,  except  those  belonging  to 
our  German  brethren,  are  either  allowed  to  go  uninsured — a  dan- 
gerous practice  and  not  in  harmony  with  our  Discipline — or  are 
insured  in  stock  companies  at  a  rate  far  beyond  cost.  The  North- 
ern German  Conference  has  a  mutual  insurance  plan  in  successful 
operation  throughout  the  United  States,  producing  the  best  re- 
sults during  the  past  twelve  years.  W est  Wisconsin  Conference 
in  1888  directed  the  organization  of  a  mutual  insurance  company 
for  the  protection  of  property  belonging  to  churches  and  minis- 
ters at  actual  cost.  This  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Mutual 
Church  Insurance  Company  of  Wisconsin,  which  has  now  been  in 
successful  operation  since  1891.  The  West  Wisconsin  and  Wis- 
consin Conferences  reported  favorably  upon  this  company,  as  is 
shown  by  their  Minutes.  A  substantial  saving  to  our  churches 
has  been  realized  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  North  Dakota, 
South  Dakota,  and  Nebraska,  and  the  annual  installment  premium 
;>lan  and  the  annual  division  of  profits  has  placed  insurance  with- 
in the  reach  of  every  church.  The  said  Mutual  Church  Insur- 
ance Company  of  Wisconsin  has  collected  through  our  presiding 
elders  information  as  to  danger  by  fire  and  lightning  to  the 
property  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  one  hundred  and 
seventy-one  districts  in  forty-one  States  of  the  Union,  during 
periods  of  from  five  to  fifty  years  last  past,  said  districts  contain- 
ing church  and  parsonage  property,  not  including  ground,  valued 
at  between  $39,000,000  and  $40,000,000,  not  including  the  prop- 


408 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


erty  of  ministers.  These  reports  show  that,  if  the  property  in- 
cluded has  been  properly  covered  by  insurance,  our  membership 
in  the  districts  referred  to  has  been  obliged  to  pay  over  three 
quarters  of  a  million  dollars  more  than  would  have  been  neces- 
sary under  the  system  used  by  the  Mutual  Church  Insurance 
Company  of  Wisconsin  during  the  period  covered  by  the  opera- 
tions of  that  company.  This  system  applied  to  the  .United 
States  during  the  same  five  years  would  have  saved  over  one  and 
one  half  million  dollars  to  our  people.  In  view  of  the  facts  above 
recited,  and  of  the  widespread  demand  among  our  people,  we 
recommend  the  following: 

Hesolved,  1.  That  this  General  Conference  approves  of  the  in- 
surance plan  of  the  West  Wisconsin  Conference,  with  which  the 
Wisconsin  Conference  has  successfully  cooperated  ;  and, 

2.  That  this  General  Conference  shall  provide  for  the  organi- 
zation of  a  Mutual  Church  Insurance  Company  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Church  in  the  United  States,  on  a  similar  plan,  for  such  of 
our  churches  and  pastors  as  desire  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  as 
follows: 

3.  The  General  Conference  shall  elect  a  Board  of  Insurance  to 
serve  for  four  years,  consisting  of  one  from  each  General  Confer- 
ence District,  to  be  nominated  by  the  delegates  of  each  district 
represented,  and  five  to  be  nominated  by  the  Bishops. 

4.  Such  Board  shall  have  general  supervision  of  the  matter  of 
fire,  lightning,  and  tornado  insurance  ;  it  shall  as  speedily  as 
practicable  be  incorporated  according  to  law,  with  such  powers 
and  prerogatives  as  may  be  needful  to  the  organization  and  opera- 
tion of  a  mutual  insurance  company  ;  such  organization  to  be 
subject  to  the  control  of  the  General  Conference. 

5.  The  time  of  service  of  the  members  of  said  Board  shall  be- 
gin on  the  second  Wednesday  in  June  following  their  election, 
and  continue  until  their  successors  shall  be  duly  chosen  and  have 
entered  upon  their  duties. 

6.  The  Board  may  fill  vacancies  occurring  among  its  members. 

7.  The  officers  of  the  Board,  who  shall  also  be  officers  of  the 
organization  as  incorporated,  shall  be  a  President,  a  Vice  Presi- 
dent, a  Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  and  an  Attorney,  who,  together 
with  two  others,  shall  constitute  the  Executive  Committee,  all  of 
whom  shall  be  elected  by  the  Board  at  the  first  regular  meeting 
of  each  quadrennium,  and  shall  hold  office  for  four  years,  or  until 
their  successors  are  elected  and  qualify.  The  Executive  Commit- 
tee shall  have  control  of  the  business  subject  to  the  Board.  The 
Board  shall  have  power  to  employ  a  manager  and  such  other  em- 
ployees as  may  be  found  necessary. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  or  of  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee shall  be  held  on  the  second  Tuesday  in  February  each  year 
at  such  place  as  may  have  been  selected  at  the  previous  meeting* 
except  the  first  meeting,  which  shall  be  held  in  Chicago,  111. 
Special  meetings  may  be  called  by  the  President  or  any  five 


1896.]  On  Freedmeri's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  409 


directors.  At  all  regular  meetings  of  the  Board  seven  shall  con 
stitute  a  quorum.  Any  annual  meeting  of  the  Board,  except  the 
first  meeting  after  each  General  Conference,  may  be  substituted 
by  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee,  should  a  majority  of 
the  Board  so  elect,  unless  in  the  opinion  of  the  President  the  full 
Board  should  meet.  Not  later  than  January  5  each  year  the 
Secretary  shall  send  to  each  member  of  the  Board  a  copy  of  the 
annual  statement,  promptly  upon  the  receipt  of  which  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  each  member  of  the  Board  to  express  to  the  President 
in  writing  his  opinion  as  to  whether  the  full  Board  or  only  the 
Executive  Committee  shall  attend  the  annual  meeting.  There- 
upon, but  not  later  than  January  20,  the  President  shall  send 
out  notices  for  the  annual  meeting. 

9.  The  Board  shall  have  power  to  make  by-laws  not  in  conflict 
with  the  action  of  the  General  Conference. 

10.  The  Board  shall  submit  to  each  General  Conference  a  re- 
port of  its  proceedings  for  the  preceding  four  years. 

11.  The  necessary  expenses  incurred  by  members  of  the  Board 
in  attending  its  meetings  and  all  expenses  incurred  in  the  transac- 
tion of  its  business  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Insurance 
Company. 

ON  FREEDMEN'S  AID  AND  SOUTHERN  EDUCATION 

SOCIETY. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  178. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  certain  papers  touching  a  change  of 
name  for  the  Society  were  referred,  begs  leave  to  report: 

1.  There  are  two  such  papers — one  from  Delaware  Conference 
asking  that  the  name  be  changed  to  the  Southern  Education  So- 
ciety, another  from  Upper  Mississippi  Conference  asking  that  no 
change  be  made. 

2.  Your  Committee,  in  view  of  all  the  facts  in  the  case — the 
success  of  the  society  under  its  present  name,  the  advantage  of 
retaining  that  part  of  the  name  which  keeps  distinctly  before  the 
Church  the  people  of  African  descent,  and  the  desirability  of 
preventing  the  confusion  of  this  with  any  other  society — believe 
that  the  name  should  remain  unchanged. 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  295. 

Your  Committee  begs  leave  to  report  as  follows: 
1.  Location  of  our  schools.  In  the  location  of  our  schools 
throughout  the  South  the  society  has  wisely  sought  to  establish 
institutions  of  collegiate  grade  in  great  centers  of  Negro  popula- 
tion, and  where  two  or  more  Annual  Conferences  can  be  united 
in  their  support.  Ten  institutions  of  higher  grade  are  located  in 
as  many  States,  extending  from  Maryland  to  Texas.  The  twelve 
of  academic  grade  are  so  located  as  to  be  feeders  to  those  central 


410 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


institutions,  the  courses  of  study  being  so  arranged  that  students 
can  pass  from  various  classes  in  different  departments  into  classes 
of  a  similar  grade  in  the  higher  schools. 

In  the  work  of  the  society  among  the  white  people  of  the 
South  the  same  wise  policy  has  been  carried  out. 

The  purpose  has  been  to  establish  three  institutions  of  collegi- 
ate grade  among  the  whites,  namely,  at  Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  Little 
Rock,  Ark.,  and  Chattanooga  and  Athens,  Tenn. 

The  school  at  Little  Rock  has  for  several  years  done  little  more 
than  academic  work,  and  the  future  grade  of  this  school  will  be 
determined  by  the  interests  of  the  work  Ih  that  region. 

The  other  two  have  had  marked  success.  The  nineteen  schools 
of  academic  grade  are  so  located  and  classified  as  to  be  feeders  to 
the  schools  among  the  whites  of  collegiate  grade.  We  arfc  con- 
vinced that  the  policy  of  the  society  is  wise  in  not  attempting  to 
locate  any  more  institutions  of  advanced  grade,  but  as  rapidly  as 
possible  to  develop  those  already  founded  and  secure  endow- 
ments for  their  permanent  support.  The  great  necessity  is  that 
the  Church  shall  rally  more  thoroughly  to  the  support  of  the 
society,  so  that  its  schools  may  have  better  equipments  and 
larger  facilities  in  educating  the  multitudes  who  turn  their  faces 
toward  the  centers  of  Christian  learning.  We  commend  Little 
Rock  University  to  the  immediate  and  favorable  consideration  of 
the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Edu- 
cation Society,  that  it  may  be  reopened  as  soon  as  local  considera- 
tions shall  warrant. 

We  also  recommend,  as  a  general  rule,  that  the  theological  de- 
partments of  the  society's  schools  be  located  so  as  to  command 
the  advantage  in  equipment  and  collateral  instructions  of  the 
School  of  Liberal  Arts. 

2.  Character  and  work  of  our  schools.  We  are  glad  that  the 
schools  of  this  society  are  engaged  in  a  very  beneficent  work; 
that  although  they  do  not  fully  reach  the  ideal  in  the  minds  and 
plans  of  their  founder,  nor  of  the  administrators  of  this  great 
trust,  they  are  approaching  perfection  of  service  as  rapidly  as 
their  environment  and  the  means  in  hand  will  permit.  The  re- 
port of  the  society  to  the  General  Conference  reveals  these  en- 
couraging facts,  namely:  There  are  219  students  preparing  for 
the  ministry,  285  for  the  practice  of  medicine,  12  for  the  practice 
of  dentistry,  16  of  pharmacy,  and  6  of  law,  while  482  are  students 
of  instrumental  music,  7  of  art,  and  688  in  normal  classes  pre- 
paring to  be  teachers.  In  commercial  courses  of  study  there  are 
1,853,  and  in  manual  training  and  trade  schools  1,549.  Thus  we 
find  that  the  entire  enrollment  of  5,207,  or  about  sixty  per  cent, 
are  preparing  to  be  teachers  among  their  people.  It  is  evidently 
the  object,  and  should  be  the  constant  effort,  of  this  society  to 
prepare  truly  cultured  and  Christian  leaders  for  the  people  repre- 
sented in  these  schools  throughout  the  South.  We  notice, 
further,  that  there  are  in  collegiate  and  academic  courses  of  study 


1896.]  On  Freedmerts  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  411 

6,741  students.  Taking  this  number  from  the  total  enrollment, 
there  remains  1,984  who  are  below  the  academic  grade  in  their 
studies.  Some  of  these  are  in  the  modeL  schools,  which  are  a  nec- 
essary feature  of  normal  work.  Some  are  attending  schools 
which  are  self-supporting,  while  many  are  from  communities  where 
they  do  not  have  public  school  privileges,  or  are  of  an  age  which 
excludes  them  from  public  schools.  All  these  classes  we  must 
care  for  so  far  as  Ave  can,  but  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  the 
money  of  the  society  ought  not  to  be  used  to  give  instruction  to 
those  who  can  be  as  well  or  better  taught  in  the  -  public  schools. 

Third  Quadrennial  Report. 

The  report,  in  the  statement  of  the  character  and  extent  of  the 
general  work  of  the  society,  is  encouraging  and  calls  for  grati- 
tude. 

The  indebtedness  of  the  society  calls  for  rigid  economy  in  all 
departments  of  the  work.  The  report  in  its  entirety  proves  that 
some  vigorous  measures  ought  to  be  instituted  which  will 
promptly  increase  the  revenues  of  the  society.  Your  Committee 
recommends  that  at  the  Annual  Conference  the  Bishop  ask  in  open 
session  of  each  presiding  elder,  "  Have  you  urged  in  the  Quarterly 
Conferences  the  collections  in  full  for  all  the  benevolent  causes  V  " 

The  increased  evidence  of  advancement  in  the  way  of  self- 
support  among  the  colored  people  is  most  gratifying,  and  we 
recommend  that  increased  powers  be  granted  to  the  local  boards 
in  the  management  of  the  schools  in  the  ratio  of  the  contribu- 
tions made  by  local  patrons  for  their  sustenance,  and  that  sub- 
stantial control  be  granted  to  these  local  boards  when  the  schools 
they  represent  shall  become  safely  self-supporting. 

We  urge  upon  all  our  people  the  necessity  of  informing  them- 
selves concerning  the  history,  character,  and  demands  of  this 
work  as  an  inspiration  to  intelligent  and  patriotic  giving. 

Report  No.  III.    Journal,  page  295. 

Your  Committee  submits  the  following  report: 
If  the  future  is  to  be  gauged  by  the  past,  and  duty  to  be  esti- 
mated by  achievements  already  secured,  then  every  vestige  of 
doubt  as  to  the  necessity  for  the  continuance  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  South  should  be  at  once  and  forever  re- 
moved. We  challenge  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  for  a 
parallel  in  uplifting  and  developing  socially,  intellectually,  mor- 
ally, and  spiritually  masses  of  people  whose  condition  was  so  help- 
less and  whose  future  was  so  dark.  Figures  render  but  small 
service  to  the  myriads  of  people  untouched  by  grace  in  the  vast 
territory  of  the  South.  Let  your  thoughts  rest  for  a  few  moments 
upon  these  States — Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Louisi- 
ana, Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee, 
Texas — and  we  are  at  once  impressed  with  the  vastness  of  this 
field.    In  this  entire  territory  in  1861  we  did  not  have  a  school, 


412 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


church,  or  member.  To-day  we  have  254,211  members  and  a 
property  worth  $3,541,090. 

When  we  add  to  these  results  our  advancement  in  the  border 
States  of  Delaware,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  Missouri,  Virginia,  and 
West  Virginia,  and  in  the  District  of  Columbia — where  in  1866 
we  had  114,201  members,  and  in  1894  we  had  increased  to  293,192 
— we  have  a  grand  total  of  membership  in  the  South  of  547,403. 

In  the  border  States  we  have  increased  the  value  of  our  prop- 
erty from  $2,108,245  in  1861,  to  $11,274,954  in  1894.  Adding 
this  to  the  value  of  our  property  in  the  farther  South,  we  have  a 
total  in  church  and  parsonage  property  of  $14,816,641. 

Add  to  this  our  school  property  in  the  same  territory, 
$3,005,489,  and  this  gives  us  a  grand  total  of  $17,822,133.  This 
increase  is  most  wonderful,  encouraging,  and  prophetic.  We  call 
your  attention  to  an  interesting  fact  noted  in  the  United  States 
census  for  1890.  In  this  same  territory  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  had  a  membership  of  1,185,227,  and  we  had 
523,525.  The  church  property  of  the  Church  South,  $17,775,819; 
our  property,  $12,531,585. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  not  a  menace  to  other  com- 
munions in  the  South,  but  a  grand  inspiration,  infusing  new  life 
into  communities  otherwise  dead  and  deserted.  The  late  Bishop 
Hay  good,  out  of  the  manifold  virtues  of  his  generous  heart,  said: 
"  It  would  be  a  bad  thing  for  the  South  if  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  should  dissolve  all  its  Southern  Conferences.  .  .  . 
I  told  the  people  at  Chautauqua  in  1883  to  take  fresh  hold,  that 
the  work  would  require  a  hundred  years." 

Again  he  writes:  "As  to  undertaking  to  do  church  work  for 
these  millions  of  Negroes,  no  Church  in  the  South  is  in  position 
financially  or  morally  to  do  it.  This  I  know — let  such  as  wish  to 
contradict  the  statement  do  so.  Would  to  God  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  could  do  more  for  the  evangelization  of  the 
Negro  !  " 

Our  most  encouraging  report  is  from  our  educational  institu- 
tions in  the  South.  It  is  very  evident  that  there  is  being  devel- 
oped a  spirit  of  enterprise,  thrift,  and  self-help  gratifying  to 
those  engaged  in  this  work  supervised  by  the  society  we  repre- 
sent. Last  year  the  colored  students  contributed  toward  their 
own  support  for  tuition,  room  rent,  board  bills,  and  books, 
$73,059.92.  This  amount  does  not  include  clothing,  traveling, 
and  other  incidental  expenses  of  the  4,845  pupils  from  twenty- 
two  different  institutions.  Add  this  other  fact,  that  $8,584  was 
raised  by  collections  from  our  sixteen  colored  Conferences  for  the 
society,  and  we  have  the  imposing  total  of  $81,643.92  contributed 
by  our  colored  students  and  people  for  their  own  education  in  the 
schools  of  their  own  Church.  These  are  prophecies  of  greater 
things  in  the  future,  for  with  every  quadrennium  a  grand  army 
of  teachers  goes  forth  to  instruct  and  elevate  and  develop  a 
purer  civilization. 


IS 96.]  On  Temperance  and  Prohibition  of  Liquor  Traffic.  413 


Our  work  in  the  South  is  just  begun — the  darkness  is  passing, 
there  is  a  glow  in  the  East.  It  would  be  the  height  of  folly  not 
to  wait  until  the  sunrise.  The  permanency  of  our  sojourn  is  indi- 
cated by  the  schools  that  have  been  founded,  the  churches  that 
have  been  planted,  and  the  army  of  550,000  communicants,  20,000 
Sunday  school  teachers,  with  a  church  property  worth,  113,000,000, 
and  $4,000,000  more  of  school  property,  with  10,000  students. 
This  is  a  foundation  upon  which  we  may  prophesy  victory  and 
final  triumph. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  needed  in  the  South,  and 
must  advance  in  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  without  fear,  until, 
through  the  agency  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Educa- 
tion Society,  this  vast  multitude,  both  colored  and  white,  shall 
have  heard  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  success  of  this  society  commends  it  to  the  unqualified  sup- 
port of  the  entire  Church,  for  by  it  and  through  it  success  must 
be  secured. 

We  are  in  the  South  to  stay.  Teachers  are  being  multiplied, 
preachers  are  being  educated,  and  a  more  intelligent  piety  pre- 
vails. Thus  gradually  multitudes  are  being  elevated  intellectu- 
ally, morally,  socially. 

Retreat  ?  Never,  until  the  continent  shall  be  filled  up  with 
the  glory  of  God,  and  "  instead  of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the 
fir  tree,  and  instead  of  the  brier  shall  come  up  the  myrtle  tree; 
and  it  shall  be  to  the  Lord  for  a  name,  for  an  everlasting  sign 
that  shall  not  be  cut  off." 


ON  TEMPERANCE  AND  PROHIBITION  OF  THE  LIQUOR 

TRAFFIC. 

Report  No.  L    Journal,  page  287. 

Maintaining  the  high  position  in  respect  to  temperance  and 
prohibition  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  so  long 
occupied,  we  emphasize  as  indicating  our  attitude  as  a  Church  the 
following 

Declaration  of  Principles: 

1.  That  total  abstinence  from  intoxicating  beverages  is  the 
duty  of  every  individual. 

2.  That  the  liquor  traffic  is  a  business  at  once  injurious,  im- 
moral, and  antagonistic  to  every  interest  of  the  Church  of  God. 

3.  We  condemn  the  license  feature  of  all  statutes  by  which 
money  is  accepted  for  the  legal  protection  of  an  immoral  traffic. 

4.  In  accepting  money  for  such  a  purpose  the  government, 
whether  national,  State,  county,  or  municipal,  becomes  a  partner 
in  a  business  justly  declared  to  be  an  enemy  of  God  and  of  man. 

6.  That  the  Christian's  only  proper  attitude  toward  the  liquor 
traffic  is  that  of  relentless  hostility,  and  that  all  members  of  the 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Methodist  Episcopal  Church  who  enjoy  the  elective  franchise 
should  so  use  that  solemn  trust  as  to  promote  the  rescue  of  our 
country  from  the  guilt  and  dishonor  which  have  been  brought 
upon  it  by  a  criminal  complicity  with  the  liquor  traffic. 

The  Saloon  and  Civic  Righteousness. 

Civic  righteousness,  which  now  claims  and  receives  so  large  a 
share  of  public  attention,  demands  the  extirpation  of  a  traffic  so 
fruitful  of  corruption  in  every  department  of  civil  government. 

The  time  has  come  when  all  good  citizens  should  unite  for  har- 
monious and  aggressive  action,  to  the  end  that  all  legislation  re- 
lating to  this  subject — whether  municipal,  State,  or  national — 
should  advance  steadily  and  firmly  toward  the  utter  extermina- 
tion of  the  traffic. 

We  adopt  the  declaration  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  that  "  the  pronounced  and  stupendous  need 
of  the  hour  to  meet  this  enemy  of  everything  American  and 
Christian  is  an  aroused  Church,  consecrated  to  the  extermination 
of  the  traffic." 

Recommendations. 

1.  That  at  each  session  of  every  Annual  Conference  there  shall 
be  held,  wherever  practicable,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Confer- 
ence Temperance  Society  or  Committee,  a  Conference  anniversary 
or  mass  meeting  in  the  interest  of  temperance  and  prohibition. 

2.  That  we  approve  the  object  of  the  American  Antisaloon 
League,  as  expressed  in  its  constitution,  and  that  we  watch  with 
interest  and  prayer  its  efforts  to  suppress  the  saloon,  that  we 
cooperate  with  such  League  so  far  as  is  consistent  with  our 
avowed  principles  of  legal  prohibition,  and  that  we  authorize  the 
permanent  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition  to  appoint 
delegates  to  the  annual  conventions  of  said  League. 

3.  That  in  harmony  with  the  action  of  other  religious  bodies 
the  fourth  Sunday  in  November  in  each  year,  or  some  proximate 
day,  be  observed  as  Temperance  Sunday  in  all  our  churches  by 
providing,  under  the  direction  of  the  pastor,  addresses  and  other 
exercises  suited  to  inculcate  the  principles  of  temperance  and 
prohibition. 

4.  That  full  and  careful  attention  be  given  in  all  our  Sunday 
schools  to  the  regular  quarterly  temperance  lesson. 

5.  That  through  our  Board  of  Bishops  we  memorialize  the 
National  Congress,  asking,  in  the  name  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  so  adjust 
its  Internal  Revenue  laws  as  not  to  seem  to  legalize  the  traffic  in 
ardent  spirits  in  sections  of  the  Union  where  prohibitory  laws  exist. 

6.  That  while  disclaiming  all  responsibility  for  the  existence 
of  laws  legalizing  and  protecting  the  liquor  traffic,  our  people 
should  aid  in  the  enforcement  of  all  restrictions  and  prohibitions 
found  in  statutes  and  ordinances  of  States  and  municipalities 
where  the  traffic  is  in  any  way  legalized. 


1896.] 


On  Epworth  League., 


415 


Scientific  Temperance  Instruction. 

We  favor  the  giving  of  scientific  temperance  instruction  re- 
lating to  the  physiological  effects  of  alcohol  and  other  narcotics 
as  now  required  by  the  laws  of  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union, 
and  we  recommend  the  giving  of  such  instruction  in  all  the 
schools  of  the  Church,  whether  they  be  literary  institutions, 
Sunday  schools,  or  mission  schools. 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  287. 

Having  considered  the  report  of  the  permanent  Committee  on 
Temperance  and  Prohibition, your  Committee  respectfully  reports: 

1.  That  the  permanent  committee  has  acted  in  harmony  with 
the  object  of  its  appointment,  and  we  recommend  that  it  be  con- 
tinued with  the  same  powers  as  heretofore,  and  for  the  ensuing 
four  years  it  be  composed  of  the  following  persons:  A.  J. 
Kvnett,  J.  B.  Graw,  S.  W.  Gehrett,  A.  B.  Leonard,  J.  G.  Evans, 
LB.  Wilson,  W.  W.  Evans,  G.  W.  Todd,  W.  H.  Maxwell,  E. 
D.  Whitlock,  Samuel  Dickie,  J.  W.  Hamilton,  A.  J.  Nast,  C.  H. 
Payne,  and  C.  M.  Boswell. 

2.  That  the  General  Conference  recommends  to  each  Annual 
Conference  the  appointment  of  a  permanent  committee  auxiliary 
to  the  permanent  Committee  of  the  General  Conference. 

3.  That  in  every  district  of  each  Annual  Conference  a  com- 
mittee be  appointed,  of  which  the  presiding  elder  shall  be  chair- 
man, with  instructions  to  cooperate  with  the  permanent  commit- 
tee of  the  Conference,  such  district  committee  to  be  appointed  by 
the  permanent  Committee  on  Temperance  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ference. 

4.  That  the  Committee  on  Temperance  of  each  Quarterly  Con- 
ference be  recommended  to  promote  such  organization  of  the 
members  of  the  church  and  congregation  as  may  be  practicable 
for  cooperation  in  each  church,  under  the  direction  of  the  pastor 
and  Quarterly  Conference,  with  the  permanent  Committees  of  the 
District  and  Annual  Conferences. 

5.  We  recommend  that  collections  be  taken  on  Temperance 
Sunday,  to  be  divided  as  follows: 

One  fourth  to  the  General  Conference  Committee. 
One  fourth  to  the  Annual  Conference  Committee. 
One  half  to  the  Quarterly  Conference  Committee. 


2.  SPECIAL. 
ON  EPWORTH  LEAGUE. 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  295. 

Whereas,  The  Epworth  League  movement  is  still  largely  un- 
developed in  the  territory  covered  by  the  eighteen  colored  Con- 
ferences of  our  Church  ;  and, 
27 


416  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [189G. 


Whereas,  We  believe  that  the  organization  of  our  work  in 
that  field  can  best  be  secured  by  the  appointment  of  an  assistant 
general  secretary,  whose  mission  it  shall  be  to  organize,  develop, 
and  supervise  the  work  among  the  two  hundred  and  sixty-three 
thousand  members  of  our  Church  in  the  Conferences  aforesaid; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  that  the  General  Conference 
authorize  the  Board  of  Control  to  select  such  assistant  general 
secretary  and  place  him  in  the  field  aforesaid  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible moment  ;  it  being  understood  that  such  action  is  to  meet 
the  needs  of  a  special  work,  and  that  such  assistant  secretary  is  to 
operate  under  the  direction  of  the  General  Secretary  of  the 
League. 

Report  No.  IV.    Journal,  page  280. 

Your  Committee  recommends  that  Article  4,  paragraph  325,  of 
the  Discipline  be  changed  so  as  to  read: 

"  The  management  of  the  League  shall  be  vested  in  the  Board 
of  Control,  to  consist  (1)  of  fifteen  members  appointed  by  the 
Bishops,  one  of  whom  shall  be  a  Bishop,  who  shall  be  President 
of  the  Epworth  League  and  of  the  Board  of  Control,  (2)  and  of 
one  member  from  each  General  Conference  District,  to  be  chosen 
at  the  General  Conference  by  the  delegates  of  the  Annual  and 
Electoral  Conferences  comprised  in  the  several  General  Con- 
ference Districts.  The  Board  of  Control  shall  meet  twice  in  each 
quadrennium." 

Report  No.  V.    Journal,  page  295. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  certain  memorials  on 
fraternity  with  the  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor, 
respectfully  reports  as  follows: 

The  need  and  demand  for  the  Epworth  League  as  a  distinctively 
denominational  young  people's  society  have  been  fully  demon- 
strated by  its  wonderful  growth  and  healthful  influence  in  all  de- 
partments of  our  Church  work.  We  believe  there  is  as  much 
reason  for  a  denominational  young  people's  society  as  for  a  de- 
nominational Sunday  school  or  a  denominational  church.  We 
are  ready  for  fraternal  cooperation  in  the  broad  work  in  which  all 
Christians  unite,  and  in  which  each  society  preserves  its  identity 
and  does  its  special  work  in  its  own  way.  We  favor  fraternal 
local  unions  with  all  young  people  where  such  local  unions  do 
not  take  the  name  of  any  one  society.  We  cannot,  therefore, 
consent  that  Epworth  Leagues  shall  become  known  in  such  unions 
as  Epworth  Leagues  of  Christian  Endeavor,  as  asked  by  the 
memorials,  since  we  have  been  constituted  by  the  General  Con- 
ference as  Epworth  Leagues  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Cherishing  most  friendly  feeling  for  all,  we  deprecate  any  plan 
which  would  tend  to  attract  our  young  people  away  from  our 
own  peculiar  forms  of  work. 


1896.] 


On  Eligibility. 


417 


ON  ELIGIBILITY. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  121. 

Your  Committee  on  Eligibility  respectfully  submits  the  follow- 
ing report: 

We  agree  on  the  following  points: 

1.  That  the  question  of  eligibility  is  a  constitutional  question. 

2.  That  the  General  Conference  has  full  power,  in  its  judicial 
capacity,  to  interpret  the  Constitution,  the  question  being  raised 
on  a  case  which  properly  invokes  the  judicial  function. 

3.  That  the  terms  of  paragraph  62  are  such  as  to  admit  of 
serious  doubt,  and  raise  questions  on  which  your  Committee  is 
unable  to  agree. 

AYe  therefore  recommend  for  your  consideration,  first,  that 
under  paragraph  6S  the  General  Conference  act  upon  the  follow- 

That  section  2,  paragraph  67,  be  altered  by  striking  out  all  the 
words  in  said  section  following  the  word  "  provided,"  in  the  fifth 
line  of  said  section,  and  substitute  the  following: 

"  That  no  person  shall  be  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con- 
ference, or  to  an  Electoral  Conference,  who  shall  be  under 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  or  who  shall  not  have  been  a  member  of 
the  Church  in  full  connection  for  the  five  consecutive  years  pre- 
ceding the  election;  and  provided,  also,  that  no  Conference  shall 
be  denied  the  privilege  of  one  ministerial  and  one  lay  delegate; 
provided,  nevertheless,  that  where  there  shall  be  in  any  Conference 
a  fraction  of  two  thirds  the  number  which  shall  be  fixed  for  the 
ratio  of  representation,  such  Conference  shall  be  entitled  to  an 
additional  delegate  for  such  fraction,"  so  that  the  entire  section 
shall  read: 

"  §  2.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  more  than  one 
ministerial  representative  for  every  fourteen  members  of  an 
Annual  Conference,  nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  every 
forty-five;  nor  of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  any  Annual 
Conference;  provided,  that  no  person  shall  be  chosen  a  delegate  to 
the  General  Conference,  or  to  an  Electoral  Conference,  who  shall 
be  under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  or  who  shall  not  have  been  a 
member  of  the  Church  in  full  connection  for  the  five  consecutive 
years  preceding  the  election;  and  provided,  also,  that  no  Con- 
ference shall  be  denied  the  privilege  of  one  ministerial  and  one 
lay  delegate;  provided,  nevertheless,  that  where  there  shall  be  in 
any  Conference  a  fraction  of  two  thirds  the  number  which  shall 
be  fixed  for  the  ratio  of  representation,  such  Conference  shall  be 
entitled  to  an  additional  delegate  for  such  fraction." 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  foregoing  having  received  a  majority  of 
two  thirds  of  this  General  Conference,  the  Bishops  be  and  are 
hereby  instructed  to  submit  to  the  several  Annual  Conferences, 
at  their  first  sessions  following  the  adjournment  of  this  General 
Conference,  the  foregoing  alteration  of  section  2  of  paragraph  67, 


418 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


for  the  concurrence  of  the  members  of  said  Annual  Conferences; 
and  if  it  shall  be  found  that  a  majority  of  three  fourths  of  all  the 
members  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences  concur  in  such  altera- 
tion, they  shall  declare  the  fact  through  the  official  papers  of  the 
Church,  proclaiming  that  section  2  of  paragraph  67  has  been 
amended  as  above,  in  accordance  with  the  provision  of  paragraph 
68  of  the  Discipline. 

2.  That  in  consideration  of  the  general  desire  for  the  early  and 
final  settlement  of  the  whole  question,  and  in  view  of  the  pro- 
posed submission  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  we  recommend  that  no 
formal  decision  of  the  question  of  eligibility  be  made  at  this  time. 

The  challenge  not  having  been  judicially  passed  upon,  those 
occupying  the  seats  in  question  do  so  under  a  title  in  dispute,  yet 
without  prejudice  to  the  rights  of  either  challengers  or  challenged, 
and  without  establishing  a  precedent. 


ON  JUDICIARY. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  297. 

The  Committee  recommends  that  paragraph  216,  sections  1,  3, 
6,  and  7,  be  so  changed  as  to  read: 

1"  216,  §  1.  In  the  interval  between  the  sessions  of  the  Annual 
Conference  the  presiding  elder  shall  call  not  less  than  five  nor 
more  than  nine  members  of  the  Conference  to  investigate  the 
case,  and,  if  possible,  bring  the  accused  and  accuser  face  to  face. 
He  shall  preside  throughout  the  proceedings,  and  shall  certify  and 
declare  the  verdict  of  the  committee,  and  he  shall  cause  a  correct 
record  of  the  charges,  specifications,  proceedings,  and  evidence 
in  the  investigation  to  be  kept  and  transmitted  to  the  Annual 
Conference. 

§  3.  If  in  either  of  the  above  cases  of  investigation  the  ac- 
cused, after  due  notice  given  him,  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  ap- 
pear before  the  committee,  the  investigation  shall  proceed  in  his 
absence.  If  in  either  case  the  charge  be  sustained,  the  accused 
shall  be  suspended  by  the  committee  from  all  ministerial  services 
and  church  privileges  until  the  ensuing  Annual  Conference,  at 
which  his  case  shall  be  fully  considered  and  determined  upon,  etc. 

§  6.  An  Annual  Conference  may  entertain  and  try  charges 
against  its  members,  though  no  investigation  upon  them  has  been 
held,  or  though  an  investigation  has  not  resulted  in  suspension, 
due  notice  having  been  given  to  the  accused. 

§  7.  In  both  the  investigation  and  the  trial  of  the  minister 
witnesses  from  without  shall  not  be  rejected,  and  the  testimony 
of  an  absent  witness  may  be  taken  before  the  preacher  in  charge 
where  such  witness  resides,  or  before  a  preacher  appointed  by 
the  presiding  elder  of  the  district  within  which  such  witness  re- 
sides; provided,  in  every  case,  sufficient  notice  has  been  given  to 
the  adverse  party  of  the  time  and  place  of  taking  such  testimony. 


18 96. J  On  Judiciary.  419 


Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  297. 

Your  Committee  has  considered  the  recommendations  of  the 
Bishops  referred  to  this  Committee,  and  begs  leave  to  recommend 
the  following  for  adoption: 

That  paragraph  214  of  the  Discipline  be  changed  to  read  as 
follows: 

%  214.  A  Bishop  shall  have  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  ensuing 
General  Conference,  if  he  signify  his  intention  to  appeal  within 
three  months  of  the  time  when  he  is  informed  of  his  conviction. 
And  in  case  of  an  appeal  the  record  of  the  trial  and  all  the  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  case,  including  the  charges  and  specifica- 
tions, shall  be  transmitted  to  the  ensuing  General  Conference, 
which  record  and  documents  only  shall  be  used  in  evidence  in 
the  trial  of  the  appeal.  The  General  Conference  may,  at  its 
discretion,  hear  the  appeal  of  a  Judicial  Committee  of  its  own 
number. 

That  paragraph  217  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 

217.  Any  traveling  or  local  preacher  who  shall  hold  religious 
services  within  the  bounds  of  any  mission,  circuit,  or  station, 
when  requested  by  the  preacher  in  charge  not  to  hold  such  serv- 
ices, shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  imprudent  conduct,  and  shall, 
after  the  admonitions  ordered  in  paragraphs  218  and  233,  and  if 
he  do  not  refrain  from  such  conduct,  be  liable  to  charges  and  in- 
vestigation or  trial  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  are  pro- 
vided in  our  Book  of  Discipline  for  these  several  classes  of 
preachers.  A  local  preacher  offending  against  this  provision  may 
be  tried  on  the  charge  where  the  offense  is  committed. 
That  paragraph  220  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 
%  220.  When  a  minister  disseminates,  publicly  or  privately, 
doctrines  which  are  contrary  to  our  Articles  of  Religion  or  estab- 
lished standards  of  doctrine,  let  the  same  process  be  observed  as 
is  directed  in  paragraph  216,  section  1;  but  if,  after  the  charge  is 
sustained,  the  minister  so  offending  does  solemnly  engage  to  the 
Committee  of  Investigation  not  to  disseminate  such  erroneous 
doctrines  in  public  or  private,  the  committee  may  waive  suspen- 
sion, that  the  case  may  be  laid  before  the  next  Annual  Confer- 
ence, which  shall  determine  the  matter. 

That  paragraph  221  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 
If  221.  When^  a  member  of  any  Annual  Conference,  in  the 
interval  between  the  sessions  of  his  Conference,  declines  or  ceases 
to  do  the  work  to  which  he  was  duly  appointed,  except  for  the 
reasons  indicated  in  paragraph  159,  let  the  presiding  elder  pro- 
ceed as  directed  in  paragraph  216,  section  1.  If  the  presiding 
elder  fail  to  do  this,  he  shall  account  therefor  to  the  next  Annual 
Conference. 

That  paragraph  223,  section  2,  be  changed  to  read  as  fol- 
lows : 

1"  223,  §  2.    Errors  or  defects  in  judicial  proceedings  shall  be 


420 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


duly  considered  when  presented  on  appeal.  But  errors  of  law  or 
administration  connected  with  investigations  under  paragraph 
216,  and  errors  of  law  made  by  a  presiding  elder  in  cases  of 
appeal  to  a  Quarterly  Conference,  are  to  be  corrected  by  the 
president  of  the  next  Annual  Conference  on  appeal  in  open  ses- 
sion, and  the  Conference  may  also  order  just  and  suitable  remedies 
for  the  injury  resulting  from  such  errors. 

That  paragraph  223,  section  3,  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 
T  223,  §  3.  Errors  of  administration  not  connected  with  judi- 
cial proceedings  may  be  presented  in  writing  to  the  Annual  Con- 
ference for  its  judgment  thereon,  and  the  Conference  may  also 
order  just  and  suitable  remedies  when  the  rights  of  ministers  or 
members  of  the  Church  have  been  injuriously  affected  by  such 
errors. 

That  the  following  shall  be  added  at  the  end  of  paragraph  224: 
"  When  a  minister  is  tried  on  a  charge  of  immorality,  and  the 
Conference  or  the  select  number  shall  find  that  this  charge  is  not 
sustained  by  the  evidence,  but  that  the  minister  has  been  proven 
guilty  of  '  high  imprudence  and  unministerial  conduct,'  it  may 
declare  this  fact,  and  subject  the  offender  to  reproof,  suspension, 
or  deprivation  of  ministerial  office  and  credentials." 

That  in  paragraph  224,  section  3,  insert  after  the  word  "  pro- 
ceedings" in  the  third  line  of  page  127  these  words,  "  duly  sub- 
scribed by  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  select  number." 
That  paragraph  230  shall  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 
T  230.  When  a  local  preacher  (ordained  or  unordained)  is  re- 
ported to  be  guilty  of  some  crime  expressly  forbidden  in  the 
word  of  God,  sufficient  to  exclude  a  person  from  the  kingdom  of 
grace  and  glory,  the  preacher  in  charge  shall  call  a  Committee  of 
Investigation,  consisting  of  three  or  more  local  preachers,  before 
which  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  accused  to  appear,  and  by 
which,  if  the  charge  is  sustained,  he  shall  be  suspended  from  all 
ministerial  services  and  church  privileges  until  the  next  District 
or  Quarterly  Conference.  If  the  accused  refuse  or  neglect  to 
appear  before  said  committee,  the  investigation  may  proceed  in 
his  absence.  And  the  preacher  in  charge  shall  cause  exact 
minutes  of  the  charges,  testimony,  and  proceedings  in  the  investi- 
gation, together  with  the  decision  of  the  committee,  to  be  laid 
before  the  District  or  Quarterly  Conference,  where  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  accused  to  appear  for  trial. 

That  paragraph  231  be  changed  to  read  as  fo.llows: 

231.  Should  the  Conference  order  a  trial,  its  president  shall 
appoint  a  secretary,  who  shall  make  a  correct  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings and  evidence  in  the  case,  and  if  the  accused  be  found 
guilty,  the  Conference  shall  affix  a  penalty  to  the  offense,  accord- 
ing to  paragraph  193. 

That  the  following  be  added  at  the  end  of  paragraph  23S: 
"  But  if,  in  view  of  mitigating  circumstances  and  of  humble 
and  penitent  confession,  the  committee  finds  that  a  lower  penalty 


1896.] 


On  Judiciary. 


421 


is  proper,  it  may  either  impose  censure  on  the  offender  or  suspend 
him  from  all  Church  privileges  for  a  definite  time,  at  its  discre- 
tion." 

That  the  following  be  placed  after  paragraph  245,  and  num- 
bered 246: 

If  246.  If  in  the  case  of  debt  or  dispute  one  of  the  parties  is 
a  minister,  the  duties  laid  on  the  preacher  in  charge  in  the  fore- 
going paragraph  shall  be  performed  by  the  presiding  elder  of  the 
minister  concerned.  If  both  are  ministers,  the  presiding  elder  of 
either  may  act  in  the  case. 

That  the  number  of  paragraph  246  be  changed  to  247,  and  the 
number  of  paragraph  247  be  changed  to  248. 

That  the  number  of  paragraph  248  be  changed  to  249,  and  said 
paragraph  to  read  as  follows: 

249.  In  all  cases  of  trial  of  members  let  all  witnesses  for  the 
church  be  duly  notified  by  the  preacher  in  charge.  The  order 
concerning  absent  witnesses  and  witnesses  from  without  shall  be 
the  same  as  that  observed  in  the  trial  of  ministers.  The  ac- 
cused shall  have  the  right  to  call  to  his  assistance  as  counsel  any 
member  or  minister  in  good  and  regular  standing  in  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church. 

That  the  following  be  stricken  out  of  the  Discipline: 

*  249.  If  in  any  of  the  above  mentioned  cases  the  preacher 
in  charge  differs  in  judgment  from  the  majority  of  the  committee 
concerning  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  accused,  he  may  refer 
the  case  to  the  ensuing  Quarterly  Conference,  which  shall  have 
authority  to  order  a  new  trial. 

That  paragraph  257  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 

1"  257.  A  Bishop  shall  preside  in  the  Judicial  Conference,  and 
shall  decide  all  questions  of  law  arising  in  its  proceedings,  subject 
to  an  appeal  to  the  General  Conference.  The  Conference  shall 
appoint  a  secretary,  who  shall  keep  a  faithful  record  of  all  the 
proceedings,  and  shall  at  the  close  of  the  trial  transmit  the  records 
made  and  the  papers  submitted  in  the  case,  or  certified  copies 
thereof,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  preceding  General  Conference,  to 
be  filed  and  preserved  with  the  papers  of  that  body.  But  if  the 
case  be  remanded  for  a  new  trial,  the  papers  submitted  shall  be 
returned  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Annual  Conference  of  which  the 
accused  is  a  member. 

That  paragraph  258  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 

•[  258.  In  all  cases  of  trial  and  conviction  of  members  of  the 
Annual  Conference,  an  appeal  shall  be  allowed  to  a  Judicial  Con- 
ference, constituted  as  hereinbefore  provided,  if  the  condemned 
person  signify  his  intention  to  appeal  within  three  months  of  the 
time  when  he  is  informed  of  his  conviction. 

That  in  paragraph  260,  for  the  following:  "It  may  affirm  or 
reverse  the  finding  and  decision  of  the  Annual  Conference,  or 
affirm  in  part  and  reverse  in  part;  but  it  shall  not  reverse  the 
same  nor  remand  the  case  for  a  new  trial  on  account  of  errors 


422 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


plainly  not  affecting  the  result,"  substitute  the  following:  "It 
may  reverse,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  findings  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ference, or  it  may  remand  the  case  for  a  new  trial.  It  may  deter- 
mine what  penalty,  not  higher  than  that  affixed  by  the  Annual 
Conference,  shall  be  imposed.  If  it  neither  reverse  in  whole  or 
in  part  the  judgment  of  the  Annual  Conference,  nor  remand  the 
case  for  a  new  trial,  the  judgment  of  the  Annual  Conference 
shall  stand.  But  it  shall  not  reverse  the  judgment  nor  remand 
the  case  for  a  new  trial  on  account  of  errors  plainly  not  affecting 
the  result." 

That  paragraph  261  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 
T  261.  Appeals  from  an  Annual  Conference  in  the  United 
States  not  easily  accessible  may,  at  the  discretion  of  the  presi- 
dent thereof,  be  heard  by  a  Judicial  Conference  selected  from 
among  the  more  accessible  Conferences.  Appeals  from  an  An- 
nual or  Mission  Conference  not  in  the  United  States  may  be  heard — 
at  the  discretion  of  the  Bishop  in  permanent  charge  thereof,  due 
reference  being  had  to  the  rights  and  interests  of  all  concerned — 
either  by  a  Judicial  Conference  called  by  said  Bishop  from  neigh- 
boring foreign  Conferences,  or  by  a  Judicial  Conference  called  by 
him  to  meet  at  or  near  New  York,  or  by  the  General  Conference 
through  a  special  Judicial  Committee  appointed  for  the  purpose. 
That  paragraph  264  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 
1"  264.  In  case  of  condemnation  the  local  preacher  shall  be 
allowed  to  appeal  to  the  next  Annual  Conference;  provided,  that 
he  signify  to  the  District  or  Quarterly  Conference  his  determina- 
tion to  appeal;  in  which  case  the  president  of  the  District  or 
Quarterly  Conference  shall  lay  the  minutes  .of  the  trial  before 
the  said  Annual  Conference,  at  which  the  local  preacher  so  ap- 
pealing may  appear;  and  the  said  Annual  Conference,  by  a  select 
number,  as  in  the  case  of  accused  members  thereof,  or  in  full  ses- 
sion, shall  judge  and  finally  determine  the  case  from  the  minutes 
of  the  said  trial  so  laid  before  them. 

Note. — For  appeals  of  local  preachers  from  judgments  of  the 
Annual  Meeting  of  a  Foreign  Mission,  see  paragraph  343. 
That  paragraph  265  be  changed  to  read  as  follows: 

265.  If  there  be  a  murmur  of  complaint  from  any  excluded 
person  in  any  of  the  above-mentioned  instances  (paragraphs  237- 
248)  that  justice  has  not  been  done,  he,  not  having  absented 
himself  from  trial  after  due  notice  was  given  him,  shall  be  al- 
lowed an  appeal  to  the  next  Quarterly  Conference,  which  shall 
hear  and  determine  the  case,  and  no  member  thereof  having  been 
a  member  of  the  committee  for  the  trial  of  such  person  shall  be 
permitted  to  vote  on  the  case;  and  the  preacher  in  charge  shall 
present  exact  minutes  of  the  evidence  and  proceedings  of  the 
trial  to  the  Quarterly  Conference,  from  which  minutes  the  case 
shall  be  finally  determined.  And  if,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
presiding  elder,  an  impartial  trial  cannot  be  had  in  the  Quarterly 
Conference  of  the  charge  where  the  appellant  resides,  he  shall, 


* 


1890.]  On  Judiciary.  423 

on  the  demand  of  either  party,  cause  the  appeal  to  be  tried  by 
any  other  Quarterly  Conference  within  his  district,  after  due 
notice  to  the  complainant  and  appellant. 

Report  No.  V.    Journal,  page  283. 

Your  Committee  has  had  under  consideration  the  matter  of  the 
appeal  of  Charles  W.  Price  from  the  decision  of  Bishop  Thomas 
Bowman,  made  at  the  session  of  the  Ohio  Annual  Conference  in 
the  year  1892,  and  respectfully  reports  as  follows: 

Charles  W.  Price,  a  member  of  the  Iliff  Society,  Rossville  Cir- 
cuit, Ohio  Conference,  was  charged,  among  other  things,  with 
immoral  conduct,  to  wit,  lying.  Upon  this  charge  he  was  con- 
victed and  expelled  from  the  Church.  He  took  an  appeal  to  the 
Quarterly  Conference.  Five  members  of  said  Conference  had 
signed  the  charges  on  which  he  was  tried  in  the  court  below,  and 
two  members  of  said  Conference  were  witnesses  against  him  in 
the  court  below. 

At  the  trial  before  the  Quarterly  Conference  (J.  T.  Miller, 
presiding  elder)  Mr.  Price  made  a  motion  to  not  allow  the  five 
persons  who  had  preferred  the  charges  against  him  and  the  two 
persons  who  had  been  witnesses  against  him  in  the  court  be- 
low to  vote  upon  the  case,  and  that  they  be  ordered  to  retire 
from  consideration  of  the  same.  This  motion  the  presiding  elder 
overruled,  to  which  ruling  Price  excepted,  and  the  charge  being 
sustained,  appealed  to  the  Bishop  of  the  Ohio  Annual  Conference. 

Bishop  Bowman,  presiding,  sustained  the  ruling  of  the  presid- 
ing elder,  and  held  that  all  members  of  said  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence who  had  signed  said  charges  had  a  right  to  vote  on  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  said  Price,  to  which  ruling  said  Price, 
through  his  counsel,  excepted,  and  thereafter  perfected  an  appeal 
from  said  decision  to  the  General  Conference. 

Your  Committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  decision  was  erro- 
neous, and  it  recommends  that  the  decision  be  reversed,  and  that 
the  case  be  remanded  for  a  new  trial  by  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence. 

Report  No.  VI.    Journal,  page  283. 

Your  Committee  has  carefully  examined  the  records  and  docu- 
ments in  the  matter  of  the  appeal  of  the  Rev.  John  D.  Knox,  of 
Kansas  Conference,  from  the  action  of  said  Conference  in  strik- 
ing his  name  from  the  Conference  roll,  and  reports  as  follows: 

The  records  do  not  disclose  any  withdrawal  from  said  Confer- 
ence by  said  John  D.  Knox,  and  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  action 
of  ^aid  Conference  in  striking  his  name  from  the  Conference  roll 
tras  made  under  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  and 
without  authority  of  law. 

Your  Committee  therefore  recommends  that  his  name  be  re- 
stored to  the  rolls  of  said  Conference,  without  prejudice,  so  that 
he  may  be  required  to  answer  any  charge  that  may  be  brought 
against  him  arising  out  of  the  matter  in  question. 


424 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Report  No.  VII.    Journal,  page  283. 

Your  Committee  has  had  under  consideration  the  matter  of  the 
alleged  appeal  of  S.  S.  Benedict,  a  member  of  West  Wisconsin 
Conference,  from  certain  rulings  of  Bishop  C.  H.  Fowler,  and  re- 
spectfully reports  as  follows: 

The  alleged  appeal  is  in  the  form  of  a  written  statement,  signed 
by  the  appellant  only,  and  dated  April  24,  1896. 

The  statement  recites  that  one  A.  J.  Davis,  a  presiding  elder 
in  said  Conference,  was  guilty  of  maladministration  while  presi- 
dent of  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  Marshfield  Charge,  at  a 
meeting  held  on  a  date  not  given. 

None  of  the  acts,  rulings,  and  decisions  alleged  to  have  been 
made  by  said  Davis,  and  which  were  the  basis  of  the  charge  and 
specifications  claimed  to  have  been  subsequently  presented  to 
Bishop  Fowler,  are  shown  by  any  journal,  record,  or  certificate  of 
the  proceedings  of  such  Quarterly  Conference,  nor  by  any  tran- 
script of  the  same. 

It  is  claimed  in  the  statement  that  the  alleged  charges  were 
presented  to  Bishop  Fowler,  at  his  room,  during  the  session  of  the 
said  Annual  Conference  of  1894;  that  the  alleged  rulings  of  the 
Bishop  were  then  and  there  rendered  orally ;  and  that  the  state- 
ment contains  no  record  whatever  of  such  rulings  or  of  the  rea- 
sons given  therefor,  except  as  they  appear  in  the  words  of  the 
appellant  recited  from  memory  alone. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  such  charges  were  presented  to  the  said 
Annual  Conference,  or  that  any  action  thereon  was  taken  by  the 
Bishop  while  presiding  over  such  Conference. 

Your  Committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  statement  does  not 
constitute  a  proper  appeal  within  the  meaning  of  the  premises  of 
the  Discipline  relating  to  cases  of  alleged  maladministration,  and 
that  it  is  both  unjust  and  unfair  to  our  Bishops  to  subject  their 
decisions  to  judicial  review  without  setting  forth  some  authorita- 
tive statement  setting  forth  the  exact  question  presented  to  them 
and  the  precise  ruling  made  thereon. 

We  therefore  recommend  that  the  matter  be  dismissed  without 
further  action. 

Report  No.  VIII.    Journal,  pages  284,  293. 

In  the  matter  of  the  appeal  of  Joseph  Pullman,  a  respected 
member  of  New  York  East  Conference,  from  the  decision  of  Bishop 
Merrill,  your  Committee  respectfully  reports  as  follows: 

When  what  is  known  as  the  Hamilton  Amendment  to  the  Second 
Restrictive  Rule  was  before  New  York  East  Conference,  a  motion 
was  made  that  the  Conference  refuse  to  vote  on  the  proposed 
amendment. 

Joseph  Pullman  objected  to  the  motion  as  illegal,  and  appealed 
to  Bishop  Merrill,  presiding,  to  decide  the  legality  of  the  motion. 

Bishop  Merrill  decided  that  the  motion  was  in  order  and  legal. 
From  this  decision  Joseph  Pullman  appealed  to  the  General  Con- 


1896.] 


On  Judiciary. 


425 


ference.  The  above  statement  of  the  ease  is  gathered  from  a 
paper  signed  and  presented  by  said  Pullman.  The  appeal  is  not 
accompanied  by  a  transcript  of  the  Journal  of  said  Conference 
relating  to  the  case. 

We  therefore  recommend  that  the  subject  of  the  paper  be  dis- 
missed. 

Report  No.  IX.    Journal,  page  283. 

In  the  matter  of  the  memorial  of  David  H.  Laney,  a  local  elder 
in  the  Missouri  Conference,  for  restoration  of  legal  rights,  your 
Committee  respectfully  reports  as  follows: 

Mr.  Laney  was  tried  on  a  charge  of  dishonesty  by  a  Committee 
of  Investigation  in  the  church  at  Savannah,  Mo.,  and  being  found 
guilty  was  suspended.  Upon  trial  in  the  District  Conference  he 
was  found  guilty  and  expelled.  On  appeal  to  the  Missouri  An- 
nual Conference  it  would  appear  that  the  select  number  dis- 
missed the  appeal  in  the  absence  of  the  appellant,  and  without 
giving  him  or  his  counsel  any  opportunity  to  appear  before  them 
and  present  the  case.  It  is  due  to  the  select  number  to  state  that 
their  action  was  based  partly  on  the  fact  that  the  records  of  the 
trial  did  not  show  on  their  face  any  exceptions  taken.  It  is  also 
due  to  Mr.  Laney  to  state  that  he  claims  that  the  record  before 
the  select  number  was  not  correct;  that  the  preacher  in  charge, 
who  was  also  secretary  of  the  District  Conference  before  whom 
he  was  on  trial,  had  possession  of  the  records,  and  refused  to 
allow  him  to  make  a  transcript  thereof,  to  the  end  that  he  could 
perfect  his  appeal  to  the  Annual  Conference.  It  would  also  ap- 
pear from  the  best  evidence  obtainable  that  the  Secretary  of  the 
Missouri  Conference  did  not  retain  possession  of  what  few  papers 
were  before  the  select  number,  and  that  the  same  cannot  now  be 
found,  thereby  rendering  it  impossible  for  Mr.  Laney  to  present 
his  appeal  in  due  form  of  law.  The  above  statement  of  facts  is 
based  partly  upon  the  recollection  of  Bishop  Goodsell,  presiding- 
Bishop  at  said  Conference,  and  partly  upon  the  statement  of 
counsel  for  said  Laney. 

Your  Committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  Mr.  Laney  exercised  due 
diligence  in  trying  to  get  his  appeal  properly  before  the  Annual 
Conference,  but  that  he  was  practically  denied  this  right  by  a 
suppression  of  the  papers  and  records  of  the  case. 

Your  Committee  would  therefore  recommend  that  the  case  be 
referred  back  to  the  District  Conference,  and  that  the  said  David 
H.  Laney  be  restored  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  an  expelled 
member  seeking  to  appeal. 

Report  No.  X.    Journal,  page  282. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  following:  "Re- 
solved,  That  the  Judiciary  Committee  be  requested  to  consider 
the  following  question  and  report  on  Monday  next:  'If  so  much 
of  an  Annual  Conference  be  set  apart  that  the  remaining  territory 


426 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


contains  a  less  number  of  ministers  than  is  required  to  constitute 
an  Annual  Conference,  should  this  remaining  territory  be  consti- 
tuted a  Mission,  or  does  it  continue  to  be  an  Annual  Confer- 
ence? ' "  respectfully  report  that  in  our  opinion  such  territory 
'  continues  to  be  an  Annual  Conference. 


ON  DEACONESSES. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  298. 

We  recommend  the  following,  to  be  adopted  as  the  chapter  on 
"  Deaconesses  "  in  the  Discipline,  to  take  the  place  of  Chapter  II, 
part  4,  paragraphs  201-206: 

%  201.  In  all  Annual  Conferences  a  Conference  Deaconess 
Board  of  nine  members,  at  least  three  of  whom  shall  be  women, 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Conference  for  such  term  of  service  as 
the  Conference  may  decide,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  encourage 
and  promote  the  establishment  and  support  of  Deaconess  Homes 
and  to  exercise  general  control  of  this  form  of  Christian  work 
within  the  Conference,  according  to  the  provisions  of  this  chap- 
ter. This  Board  shall  furnish  annually  to  the  Annual  Conference 
a  statement  of  the  number  of  deaconesses  in  each  Home,  how 
employed,  and  the  amount  of  money  received  and  how  expended, 
and  such  other  statistics  as  the  Annual  Conference  may  require. 

IT  202.  Each  candidate  for  license  as  a  deaconess  must  be  over 
twenty-five  years  of  age  and  recommended  by  the  Quarterly 
Conference  of  the  church  of  which  she  is  a  member,  and,  when 
coming  from  a  training  institution  or  Home,  by  the  superintend- 
ent or  managers  of  the  same.  She  must  also  have  given  two  years 
of  continuous  probationary  service  and  have  passed  a  satisfactory 
examination  by  the  Conference  Board  as  to  religious  qualifica- 
tion and  in  the  Course  of  Study  prescribed  for  deaconesses  by  the 
Bishops. 

203.  The  Conference  Board  shall  grant  licenses  to  all  women 
thus  qualified  and  recommended,  and  shall  arrange  for  their  con- 
secration as  deaconesses  according  to  a  uniform  order  of  service 
prescribed  by  the  Discipline,  and  shall  report  each  year  the 
names  and  work  of  such  deaconesses  to  the  Annual  Conference, 
the  approval  of  which  shall  be  necessary  for  the  continuance  of 
any  deaconess  in  her  office. 

^[  204.  The  duties  of  a  deaconess  are  to  minister  to  the  poor, 
care  for  the  sick,  provide  for  the  orphan,  comfort  the  sorrowing, 
seek  the  wandering,  save  the  sinning,  and,  relinquishing  all  other 
pursuits,  devote  herself  to  these  and  other  forms  of  Christian 
labor.  No  vow  of  perpetual  service  shall  be  exacted  from  any 
deaconess.  She  shall  be  at  liberty  to  relinquish  her  position  as 
such  at  any  time,  but  while  engaged  in  this  voluntary  service 
she  shall  be  entitled  to  a  suitable  support.    She  shall  also  wear 


1896.]     On  General  Conference  District  Boundaries.  427 


the  distinctive  costume  prescribed  by  the  Home  with  which  she 
is  connected,  and  it  is  recommended  that  this  garb  be  as  uniform 
as  practicable  throughout  the  Church. 

■  205.  Each  deaconess  not  in  a  Home  shall  be  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  pastor  of  the  church  of  which  she  is  a  member, 
who  shall  certify  to  her  character  and  standing  when  removing 
to  a  Home  or  to  another  charge;  but  those  who  are  members  of  a 
Home  shall  be  subordinate  to  and  directed  by  the  superintendent 
in  charge,  who  shall  certify  in  writing  the  character  and  standing 
of  any  deaconess  removing  to  another  Home  or  to  another  field 
of  labor  in  which  she  is  regularly  employed. 

1"  206.  The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  the  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society,  and  other  benevolent  societies  of  the 
Church  may  freely  employ  deaconesses  and  maintain  Homes  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  work,  but  without  altering  the  relation 
of  said  deaconesses  to  the  Church  and  the  Conference  within 
which  they  labor. 

1"  207.  No  Home  shall  be  recognized  as  a  Methodist  Deaconess 
Home  until  it  be  authorized  by  the  Conference  Board  and  ap- 
proved by  the  Annual  Conference,  and  shall  conform  to  the  regu- 
lations of  this  chapter,  and  no  person  shall  be  recognized  or  em- 
ployed as  a  deaconess  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  who 
does  not  comply  with  the  foregoing  disciplinary  requirements. 

1"  208.  The  foregoing  provisions,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  An- 
nual Conferences,  shall  be  applicable  also  to  Mission  Conferences 
and  Missions. 

ON  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  DISTRICT  BOUNDARIES. 

Report  No.  L    Journal,  page  276. 

First  District. — East  Maine,  4  ;  Italy,  2 ;  Maine,  4  ;  New  Eng- 
land, 8;  New  England  Southern,  6  ;  New  Hampshire,  5  ;  Ver- 
mont, 4;  total,  33. 

Second  District. — Delaware,  4  ;  New  York,  8  ;  New  York 
East,  9 ;  Newark,  7  ;  New  Jersey,  7  ;  Troy,  8 ;  Wilmington,  6  ; 
total,  49. 

Third  District. — Central  New  York,  7  ;  Genesee,  8 ;  Northern 
New  York,  7  ;  North  India,  4  ;  South  India,  2  ;  Wyoming,  7  ; 
total,  35. 

Fourth  District. — Baltimore,  6  ;  Central  Pennsylvania,  8  ; 
Erie,  7  ;  Pittsburg,  6  ;  Philadelphia,  8  ;  Washington,  5  ;  West 
Virginia,  6  ;  total,  46. 

Fifth  District. — Central  Ohio,  6  ;  Cincinnati,  7;  East  Ohio,  8; 
Kentucky,  4 ;  North  Ohio,  6 ;  North  China,  2  ;  Ohio,  7 ;  South 
America,  2  ;  total,  42. 

Sixth  District. — Alabama,  2  ;  Atlanta,  2  ;  Blue  Ridge,  2;  Cen- 
tral Tennessee,  2 ;  East  Tennessee,  2  ;  Florida,  2  ;  Georgia,  2 ; 
Holaton,  4  ;  North  Carolina,  2  ;  Savannah,  2;  South  Carolina, 
5  ;  St.  John's  River,  2  ;  Virginia,  2  ;  total,  31. 


428 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Seventh  District. — Detroit,  9;  Indiana,  9;  Lexington,  4; 
Michigan,  9 ;  Northwest  Indiana,  5 ;  North  Indiana,  7  ;  total,  43. 

Eighth  District. — Central  Illinois,  7  ;  Des  Moines,  7  ;  Iowa,  6 ; 
Northwest  Iowa,  6  ;  Rock  River,  9;  Upper  Iowa,  7;  total,  42. 

Ninth  District. — Bombay,  2  ;  Central  Swedish,  2;  Minnesota, 
5;  Northern  Minnesota,  5  ;  North  Dakota,  2;  Norway,  2  ;  Nor- 
wegian and  Danish,  2  ;  South  Dakota,  4  ;  Western  Swedish,  2  ; 
West  Wisconsin,  5  ;  Wisconsin,  6  ;  total,  37. 

Tenth  District. — Colorado,  4  ;  Japan,  2  ;  Liberia,  2  ;  Ne- 
braska, 5  ;  North  Nebraska,  4  ;  Northwest  India,  2  ;  Sweden,  4  ; 
West  Nebraska,  4;  Northwest  Nebraska,  2  ;  total,  29. 

Eleventh  District. — Illinois,  9  ;  Kansas,  5  ;  Missouri,  5  ; 
Northwest  Kansas,  4  ;  Oklahoma,  2  ;  Southern  Illinois,  6  ;  South 
Kansas,  5  ;  Southwest  Kansas,  5  ;  St.  Louis,  5  ;  total,  46. 

Twelfth  District. — Arkansas,  2  ;  Central  Alabama,  2  ;  Central 
Missouri,  4  ;  Austin,  2  ;  Little  Rock,  2  ;  Louisiana,  5  ;  Missis- 
"  sippi,  4 ;  Texas,  5  ;  Tennessee,  2 ;  Upper  Mississippi,  4  ;  West 
Texas,  4  ;  total,  36. 

Thirteenth  District. — Central  German,  5;  Chicago  German,  4; 
California  German,  2  ;  East  German,  2 ;  Northern  German,  2 ; 
Northwest  German,  2;  St.  Louis  German,  5  ;  Southern  German, 
2  ;  North  Germany,  2 ;  South  Germany,  2  ;  Switzerland,  2  ; 
West  German,  4  ;  total,  34. 

Fourteenth  District. — California,  7 ;  Columbia  River,  4  ; 
Idaho,  2;  Oregon,  4;  Mexico,  2;  Foo-Chow,  2;  Bengal-Burmah, 
2  ;  Puget  Sound,  4 ;  Montana,  2 ;  Southern  California,  5 ; 
Western  Norwegian-Danish,  2  ;  total,  36. 


ON  LAY  REPRESENTATION. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  298. 

The  Committee  on  Lay  Representation  begs  leave  to  submit  the 
following  resolutions  for  adoption  by  the  General  Conference: 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  General  Conference  hereby  submits  the 
following  proposition  to  the  Annual  Conferences  to  be  held  in 
1896  and  1897,  to  wit:  To  amend  section  2,  paragraph  67,  of  the 
Discipline,  so  that  the  section  shall  read  as  follows:  "The  Gen- 
eral Conference  shall  not  allow  of  more  than  one  ministerial 
representative  for  every  fourteen  members  of  an  Annual  Con- 
ference, nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  eveiy  forty-five  ; 
provided,  nevertheless,  that  when  there  shall  be  at  any  Annual 
Conference  a  fraction  of  two  thirds  the  number  which  shall  be 
fixed  for  the  ratio  of  representation,  such  Annual  Conference 
shall  be  entitled  to  an  additional  delegate  for  such  fraction  ;  and, 
provided,  also,  that  there  shall  be  from  each  Annual  Conference 
lay  delegates  equal  in  number  to  the  ministerial  delegates  ;  and, 
provided,  further,  that  no  Conference  shall  be  denied  the  privi- 
lege of  one  ministerial  and  one  lay  delegate." 


1896.] 


On  American  Bible  Society. 


429 


2.  That  if  the  General  Conference  shall  recommend  this  by  a 
two  thirds  vote,  and  it  shall  also  receive  the  necessary  recom- 
mendation of  three  fourths  of  the  members  of  the  several  An- 
nual Conferences  present  and  voting,  then  the  Electoral  Con- 
ferences in  1899  and  1900  may  elect  representatives  in  equal  num- 
bers with  the  ministerial,  and  the  General  Conference  of  1900 
may  provide  for  their  admission. 

3.  That  the  Secretary  of  this  General  Conference  send  to  the 
Secretaries  of  the  Annual  Conferences  blank  forms  for  certificates 
of  the  votes  cast  by  the  respective  Conferences  on  this  proposed 
change,  and  the  Secretaries  of  the  Annual  Conferences  are  hereby 
directed  to  send  the  results  of  said  vote  immediately  after  it  is 
ascertained  to  the  Secretary  of  this  General  Conference  and  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Bishops. 


ON  AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  253. 

This  venerable  society  has  just  issued  its  eightieth  annual  re- 
port, an  abstract  of  which  the  Rev.  Albert  S.  Hunt,  D.D.,  one  of 
its  corresponding  secretaries,  has  laid  before  your  Committee. 
He  has  also  given  us  much  other  information,  both  printed  and 
oral. 

We  learn  that  the  receipts  of  the  society  for  its  general  pur- 
poses during  the  quadrennium  ending  March  31,  1896,  were 
$2,205,707.87.  This  includes  $304,000  from  a  single  legacy,  the 
largest  the  society  ever  received,  and  it  also  includes  $978,094.45 
received  in  return  for  books  supplied  at  the  cost,  or  less  than  the 
cost,  of  manufacture.  The  disbursements  of  the  society  for  gen- 
eral purposes  during  the  same  period  were  $2,125,632.27,  or  a 
yearly  average  of  $531,408.18. 

The  issues  of  the  society  for  the  four  years  amount  to  6,173,933 
volumes,  there  being  a  notable  increase  for  each  of  these  years. 
For  the  year  ending  March  31,  1893,  the  number  was  1,394,863; 
for  the  year  ending  in  1896,  1,750,283 — a\net  gain  of  over 
355,000.  Since  its  organization  the  society  has  issued  61,705,841 
volumes. 

The  contributions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  the  so- 
ciety for  the  past  quadrennial  period  do  not,  we  regret  to  say, 
show  an  increase,  but  rather  a  decrease.    They  were  as  follows: 

1892   $35,266 

1893   35,444 

1894   32,853 

1895   29,937 

Total  $133,500 

This  total  is  $6,014  less  than  was  reported  for  the  preceding 
quadrennium.    Small  as  is  the  total,  it  should  be  noted  that  it 


430 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


includes  all  the  reported  contributions  to  the  Bible  cause,  and 
about  two  thirds  of  these  contributions  were  paid  to  the  local 
auxiliaries  and  used  upon  their  respective  fields.  There  has  been 
a  great  falling  off  in  the  contributions  of  our  Church  to  the  society 
in  the  past  thirty  years.  In  1866  we  gave  $107,238;  in  1871, 
$84,000;  in  1895,  only  $30,000.  While  during  these  years  we  have 
greatly  increased  our  contributions  to  our  missionary  and  other 
societies,  we  have  suffered  our  collections  for  the  American  Bible 
Society  to  dwindle  to  less  than  one  third  of  what  they  were  in  1866. 

This  lamentable  decrease  is  in  no  wise  due  to  any  diminution  in 
the  work  and  usefulness  of  the  society.  It  publishes  more  vol- 
umes, circulates  them  more  widely,  and  sends  a  far  greater  supply 
to  the  mission  fields  than  ever  before.  It  furnishes  the  Scriptures 
in  about  one  hundred  languages  and  dialects.  Nearly  every 
copy  possessed  by  any  foreign  mission  of  our  Church  came  from 
the  American  Bible  Society.  The  work  of  the  society  in  for- 
eign fields  has  grown  to  large  dimensions.  Not  only  does  it 
freely  make  grants  of  books  to  our  foreign  missions,  but  it  also 
makes  appropriations  of  money  for  colportage  in  countries  wrhere 
its  own  agents  are  not  established.  Our  Missionary  Society  has 
received  for  this  purpose  not  less  than  $25,000  in  the  past  four 
years.  Last  year  the  issue  of  volumes  for  all  foreign  fields  ex- 
ceeded for  the  first  time  the  issue  for  our  own  country.  The 
cost  of  this  part  of  the  work  was  $176,799.54.  In  return,  $46,- 
029.51  was  received  from  foreign  lands. 

A  study  of  the  society's  sources  of  income  shows  us  that  out- 
side of  legacies,  which  are  variable  and  uncertain,  it  received  last 
year  from  investments  about  $27,000;  from  rents,  $37,000;  from 
individual  gifts,  $17,643;  from  church  collections,  $22,229;  and 
from  auxiliary  donations,  $27,159,  making  a  total  of  $131,101. 
The  appropriations  for  the  coming  year  for  foreign  lands  alone 
are  $182,756.  This  proves  abundantly  that  the  widespread  im- 
pression that  the  society  is  wealthy  and  does  not  need  help  is 
erroneous.  It  does  need  the  support  of  the  Churches,  and  unless 
this  support  is  given  its  work  will  inevitably  be  curtailed. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  contributions  to  the  society  ought  to  be 
increased.  Our  own  Church  ought  at  the  very  least  to  do  twice 
as  much  during  the  coming  as  in  the  past  quadrennium.  We  do 
not  believe  that  there  is  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of  our  Church 
in  the  work  of  the  society.  Each  General  Conference  for  the 
past  half  century  has  commended  it  and  directed  the  pastors  to 
take  collections  for  it,  but  the  multiplication  of  benevolences  has 
pushed  the  claims  of  the  society  aside. 

We  recommend  for  adoption  the  following  resolutions: 
Resolved,  1.  That  this  General  Conference  gives  its  hearty  ap- 
proval to  the  American  Bible  Society. 

2.  That  we  regard  it  as  a  strong  bond  between  evangelical 
Churches,  doing  the  Bible  work  of  all  without  denominational 
distinction. 


1896.] 


On  National  Arbitration. 


431 


3.  That  its  great  work  in  foreign  lands  commends  it  to  our 
support  as  a  most  efficient  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  foreign 
missions. 

4.  That  we  urge  on  all  pastors  not  to  omit  the  collection  for 
the  American  Bible  Society  from  the  list  of  collections  which 
they  are  charged  to  take,  but  to  present  to  their  congregations 
the  duty  of  giving  liberally  for  the  support  of  this  most  worthy 
and  important  cause. 


ON  NATIONAL  ARBITRATION. 

Report  No.  I.    Journal,  page  273. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  was  committed  the  matter  of  na- 
tional arbitration,  begs  leave  to  submit  the  following,  and  to  rec- 
ommend that  copies  of  the  same,  duly  signed  by  the  President 
and  Secretary  of  this  body,  be  duly  forwarded  according  to  the 
directions  subjoined: 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in 
Cleveland  assembled,  wishes  you  grace,  mercy,  and  peace. 

We,  in  cooperation  with  other  Christian  bodies,  humbly  memo- 
rialize you,  as  the  guardian  of  your  people,  in  behalf  of  peaceful 
arbitration  as  a  means  of  settling  questions  that  arise  between 
nations.  The  spectacle  that  is  presented  of  Christian  nations 
facing  each  other  with  heavy  armaments,  ready  upon  provocation 
to  go  to  war  and  settle  their  differences  by  bloodshed  or  conquest, 
is,  to  say  the  least,  a  blot  upon  the  fair  name  of  Christian.  We 
cannot  contemplate  without  the  deepest  sorrow  the  horrors  of 
war,  involving  the  reckless  sacrifice  of  human  life  that  should  be 
held  sacred,  bitter  distress  in  many  households,  the  destruction 
of  valuable  property,  the  hindering  of  education  and  religion, 
and  a  general  demoralizing  of  the  people. 

Moreover,  the  maintaining  of  a  heavy  war  force,  though  war 
be  averted,  withdraws  multitudes  from  their  homes  and  the  use- 
ful pursuits  of  peace,  and  imposes  a  heavy  tax  upon  the  people 
for  its  support.  And  further,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  wars 
do  not  settle  causes  of  disputes  between  nations  on  principles  of 
right  and  justice,  but  upon  the  barbaric  principle  of  the  triumph 
of  the  strongest. 

We  are  encouraged  to  urge  this  cause  upon  your  consideration 
by  the  fact  that  much  has  already  been  accomplished;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  arbitration  of  Geneva  in  the  Alabama  case  and  by  the 
deliberations  of  the  American  Conference  of  Washington,  not  to 
mention  other  important  cases.  It  will  be  a  happy  day  for  the 
world  when  all  international  disputes  find  peaceful  solutions,  and 
this  we  earnestly  seek. 
28 


432 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


As  to  the  method  of  accomplishing  this  end,  we  make  no  sug- 
gestions, but  leave  that  to  your  superior  intelligence  and  wisdom 
in  matters  of  State  policy. 

We  invoke  upon  ruler  and  people  the  richest  blessings  of  the 
Prince  of  peace. 

Report  No.  II.    Journal,  page  292. 

Your  Committee  on  National  Arbitration,  to  whom  was  referred 
the  memorial  of  Homer  L.  Perrin  on  the  subject  of  the  Armenian 
atrocities,  begs  leave  to  submit  the  following  preamble  and  reso- 
lutions: 

Whereas,  An  exceeding  great  and  bitter  cry  has  gone  up  from 
Armenia,  devastated,  pillaged,  and  trampled  under  the  iron  heel 
of  armed  persecution,  in  which  hundreds  of  our  fellow-Christians 
have  been  murdered  in  cold  blood,  or,  surviving,  suffered  name- 
less outrages;  and, 

Whereas,  This  appeal  comes  to  America  with  more  significance, 
more  deeply  pathetic,  and  with  intensely  greater  anguish  of  heart 
than  did  the  "  Macedonian  cry "  come  up  in  the  vision  of  St. 
Paul,  and  as  that  "cry  was  heard  and  heeded,"  so  must  this 
louder  cry  from  stricken  Armenia  be  heard  and  heeded;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  her  true  mis- 
sionary spirit,  has  ever  sought  to  carry  the  Gospel,  with  its  peace- 
giving  influence,  into  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  world,  and  has 
always  cast  its  influence  and  sympathy  and  support  in  behalf  of 
the  downtrodden  and  persecuted  of  every  land  and  nation,  and 
does  now  extend  its  tenderest  ties  of  sympathy  to  these  poor, 
stricken  Armenians;  but  at  the  same  time  we  must,  as  a  Church, 
express  our  deep  humiliation  and  sorrow  that  in  this  Christian 
and  enlightened  age  there  should  be  such  apparent  lack  of  inter- 
est or  so  much  apathy  shown  by  the  civilized  and  so-called  Chris- 
tian governments  of  Europe  and  America  in  taking  no  decisive 
action  to  stop  this  awful  crime;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  assembled  in  Cleveland,  0.,  May,  1896,  does  hereby 
petition  Congress  to  pass  a  joint  resolution  at  the  earliest  possible 
date  authorizing  the  President  of  these  United  States  to  enter 
into  negotiations  with  the  European  powers  most  directly  inter- 
ested, with  the  view  and  to  the  end  that  such  powers  and  govern- 
ments be  requested  in  the  name  of  humanity  and  civilization  to 
take  such  united  action  as  will  forever  put  a  stop  to  these  atro- 
cious and  shameful  outrages. 

Resolved,  further,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to 
both  Houses  of  Congress  immediately  upon  their  adoption,  and 
that  said  copies  shall  be  signed  by  the  President  and  Secretary 
of  this  body. 


1896.]    On  Location  of  the  General  Conference  of  1900.  433 


ON  LOCATION  OF  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  OF  1900. 

Report  No.  L    Journal,  page  295. 

Your  Committee  on  the  Location  of  the  General  Conference  of  1900  begs 
leave  to  report  that  it  is  in  receipt  of  invitations  from  Chicago,  Kansas 
City,  Ocean  Grove,  and  Saratoga  Springs ;  that  it  finds  it  impossible  from 
the  facts  before  it  to  arrive  at  any  definite  conclusion  as  to  the  most  de- 
sirable place  at  which  the  next  General  Conference  should  be  held. 

There  being  many  facts  which  should  be  determined  before  any  definite 
conclusion  can  be  intelligently  reached,  and  there  not  being  sufficient  time 
to  determine  such  facts  before  this  General  Conference  shall  have  ad- 
journed, your  Committee  recommends  the  following: 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  Book  Committee  shall  constitute  a  permanent  com- 
mission who  shall  have  power,  and  are  hereby  directed,  to  make  careful 
investigation  of  all  the  facts  in  connection  with  each  place  inviting  the 
General  Conference,  and  to  determine  which  place  shall  be  selected. 

2.  The  Book  Committee  shall  estimate  the  amount  required  for  the  ex- 
pense of  the  General  Conference,  including  traveling  expenses  and  board, 
and  shall  apportion  the  same  among  the  Annual  Conferences  at  as  early 
a  day  as  practicable,  it  being  understood  that  no  place  shall  be  selected 
which  does  not  guarantee  to  furnish  suitable  auditorium  and  committee 
rooms  and  to  pay  all  local  expenses. 


ON  RECEPTION  TO  CONFERENCE. 

Journal,  page  131. 

To  the  Honorable,  the  Mayor  and  City  Council  of  Cleveland  and  Members  of 
the  Local  Committee : 

Gentlemen:  We,  the  undersigned,  have  been  appointed  by  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  now  in  quadrennial  ses- 
sion in  your  beautiful  and  prosperous  city,  to  express  the  heartfelt  grati- 
tude of  that  body  toward  you  and  the  citizens  of  your  magnificent  city 
for  the  cordial  welcome  extended  them,  and  especially  for  the  most  charm- 
ing and  elegant  manner  in  which  that  welcome  was  voiced  and  shown 
forth  in  the  reception  tendered  us  on  the  evening  of  the  first  day  of  our 
session. 

The  great  armory,  which  by  your  wisely  matured  and  vigorous  exe- 
cuted plans  had  been  made  ready  for  our  meeting,  was,  on  that  evening, 
by  the  exquisite  taste  and  loyal  devotion  of  your  good  wives  and  daugh- 
ters made  to  blossom  and  breathe  forth  fragrance  like  some  garden  of  the 
tropics. 

Your  welcoming  address,  pulsating  with  a  boundless  wealth  of  hospit- 
able feeling,  and  voiced  in  such  fervent,  glowing  terms  of  brotherly  kind- 
ness and  love,  filled  and  thrilled  all  our  hearts. 

The  singing  by  the  Arions  and  by  Misses  Armstrong  and  Hyde  and  Mr. 
Isen  was  to  all  lovers  of  good  music  a  joy  and  a  delight  which  will  not 
soon  be  forgotten. 

For  all  your  kind  words  and  loving,  fraternal  deeds  we  most  sincerely 
thank  you,  and  we  will  ever  pray  that  upon  you  and  yours  the  richest 
blessings  of  Heaven  may  continue  to  descend,  and  that  the  already  splendid 
commercial,  social,  educational  achievement  of  your  city  may  be  multi- 
plied a  hundredfold ! 


c. 


MANAGERS  OF  SOCIETIES. 


I . — Board  of  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society. 
Journal,  page  301. 


M.  D'C.  Crawford, 
A.  S.  Hunt, 
A.  D.  Vail, 
A.  K.  Sanford, 
J.  B.  Merwin, 
J.  M.  Buckley, 

G.  G.  Saxe, 
J.  B.  Graw, 
J.  M.  King, 

H.  A.  Buttz, 
C.  S.  Coit, 


E.  L.  Fancher, 
J.  H.  Taft, 
J.  S.  McLean, 
John  French, 
0.  H.  P.  Archer, 
G.  J.  Terry, 
G.  G.  Reynolds, 
Lemuel  Skidmore, 
J.  D.  Slayback, 
Anderson  Fowler, 
E.  B.  Tuttle, 


Ministers. 
S.  F.  Upham, 
T.  H.  Burch, 
Andrew  Longacre, 
J.  F.  Goucher, 
J.  R.  Day, 

C.  S.  Harrower, 
H.  A.  Monroe, 

B.  M.  Adams, 

D.  R.  Lowrie, 
Homer  Eaton, 
George  Abele, 

Laymen. 
Charles  Scott, 
Alden  Speare, 
P.  A.  Welch, 
W.  H.  Falconer, 
William  Hoyt, 
J.  M.  Cornell, 
Richard  Grant, 
H.  W.  Knight, 
A.  H.  DeHaven, 
J.  A.  Punderford, 

C.  C.  Corbin, 


C.  R.  Barnes, 
S.  P.  Hammond, 
E.  W.  Burr, 
S.  0.  Benton, 
Ensign  McChesney, 
C.  H.  Payne, 
E.  S.  Tipple, 
Herbert  Welch, 
S.  W.  Thomas, 
W.  M.  Swindells. 


E.  L.  Dobbins, 
J.  F.  Rusling, 
J.  E.  Andrus, 
H.  K.  Carroll, 
J.  S.  Huyler, 
John  Beattie, 
R.  W.  B.  Goff, 
J.  S.  Berry, 
Archer  Brown, 
D.  F.  Merritt. 


2. — Board  of  Church  Extension.    Journal,  page  301. 


T.  C.  Murphy, 
S.  W.  Thomas, 
H.  J.  Paxson, 
A.  J.  Kynett, 
W.  C.  Robinson, 
J.  S.  J.  McConnell, 
W.  M.  Swindells, 
J.  B.  Graw, 
T.  B.  Neely, 
C.  W.  Buoy, 
J.  M.  Hinson, 


Ministers. 
W.  L.  McDowell, 
G.  B.  Wight, 
J.  F.  Crouch, 
J.  F.  Meredith, 
C.  W.  Bickley, 
Merritt  Hulburd, 
William  Downey, 
S.  W.  Gehrett, 
S.  A.  Heilner, 
Edmund  Hewitt, 
R.  W.  Humphriss, 


S.  M.  Vernon, 
J.  W.  Sayers, 
W.  A.  Spencer, 
H.  A.  Monroe, 
J.  A.  Lippincott, 
F.  B.  Lynch, 
J.  S.  Hughes, 
J.  R.  T.  Gray, 
C.  M.  Boswell, 
L.  E.  Barrett. 


1896.] 


Managers  of  Societies. 


435 


James  Long, 
W.  G.  Spencer, 
Joseph  Thompson, 
L.  G.  Simon, 
D.  W.  Bartine, 
John  Gillespie, 
J.  E.  James, 
J.  W.  Boughton, 
Thomas  Bradley, 
T.  L.  De  Bow, 
R.  S.  McCombs, 


Laymen. 

M.  S.  McCullough, 
Francis  Magee, 
M.  A.  Rettew, 
George  Kessler, 
J.  B.  Brenniser, 
S.  K.  Felton, 
J.  F.  Fox, 
C.  W.  Higgins, 
T.  A.  Redding, 
J.  R.  Senior, 
W.  H.  Senderlin, 


R.  E.  Pattison, 
A.  Wakelin, 
William  King, 
S.  T.  Fox,  Jr., 
Jefferson  Justice, 
J.  A.  Hudson, 
F.  G.  Elliott, 
John  Gribbel, 
I.  L.  Conkling, 
R.  L.  Shetter. 


3. — Board  of  Managers  of  the  Sunday  School  Union. 
Journal,  .page  301. 

Ministers. 


W.  H.  DePuy, 

G.  H.  Whitney, 

H.  M.  Simpson, 
W.  C.  Steele, 
J.  C.  Thomas, 
Alexander  McLean, 
Alexander  Craig, 
J.  W.  Ackerly, 

G.  E.  Strobridge, 
C  R.  Barnes, 
Asbury  Lowrey. 


Joseph  Longking, 
Ira  Perego, 
B.  F.  Clark, 
E.  S.  Halsted, 
Daniel  Denham, 
Thomas  Nicholson, 
W.  D.  Cowan, 
T.  Y.  Kinne, 
L.  P.  Nostrand, 
R.  R.  Doherty, 
James  McGee, 


F.  M.  North, 

Sandford  Van  Benschoten, 

S.  H.  Smith, 

W.  L.  Hoagland, 

H.  F.  Kastendieck, 

John  Krantz,  Jr., 

J.  W.  Johnston, 

Ernest  Lyon, 

J.  F.  Dodd, 

E.  L.  Hoffecker, 

S.  P.  Cadman, 

Laymen. 

William  Baldwin, 
C.  W.  Turner, 
E.  Reinhart, 
R.  S.  Anderson, 
W.  H.  Beach, 

G.  Waldo  Smith, 
Joseph  Fettretch, 
W.  G.  McDonald, 
John  Beattie, 

A.  S.  Newman, 
William  Graham. 


F.  L.  Wilson, 
F.  M.  Davenport, 
A.  J.  Civill, 
F.  H.  Carpenter, 
J.  0.  Wilson, 
J.  W.  Campbell, 
J.  L.  Hartsock, 
Clark  Wright, 
J.  Y.  Bates, 
R.  E.  Bell. 


Samuel  Williams, 
J.  V.  Forster, 
C.  W.  Eichells, 
W.  A.  Stoney, 
C.  A.  Dunn, 
Charles  Oluey, 
J.  R.  Joy, 
E.  M.  F.  Miller, 
W.  E.  Drake, 
W.  H.  Wheeler. 


4. — Board  of  Managers  of  the  Tract  Society. 
Journal,  page  301. 


J.  B.  Faulks, 
Ichabod  Simmons, 
Nicholas  Vansant, 
W.  W.  Bowdish, 


Ministers. 
Daniel  Halleron, 
F.  B.  Upham, 
C.  E.  Miller, 
C.  M.  Giffin, 


G.  W.  Miller, 
F.  L.  Wilson, 
A.  B.  Richardson, 
E.  A.  Noble, 


436 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


V.  W .  l^oucn, 

1.  Li.  Pouison, 

J.  R.  Bryan, 

H.  A.  Monroe, 

F.  G.  Howell, 

Fields  Hermancer 

E.  S.  Osbon, 

L.  R.  Streeter, 

G.  P.  Mains, 

W.  E.  Ketcham, 

J.  F.  Dodd, 

G.  C.  Wilding, 

A.  B.  Sanford, 

J.  I.  Boswell, 

W.  F.  Burch, 

E.  A.  Blake, 

F.  C.  Iglehart, 

S.  E.  Simonson. 

C.  W.  Millard, 

E.  A.  Cunningham, 

Laymen. 

TIT-IT  m 

Will]  am  Truslow, 

a.  w .  oourtney, 

L.  Shanley  Davis,. 

j.  \j.  r  owier, 

\j.  \j.  jyioore, 

1.  11.  lilt, 

Hiram  Merritt, 

G.  M.  Richardson, 

Samuel  Sterling, 

±i.  a.  ireat, 

William  Balfour, 

w .  a.  Mcivmien, 

John  Bentley, 

William  Jackson, 

1.  A.  Campbell, 

J.  D.  Felter, 

J.  M.  Bulwinkle, 

S.  V.  R.  Ford, 

W.  R.  Walkley, 

Robert  Lavery, 

Alex.  Carmichel,  Jr.,. 

N.  A.  Ulman, 

Frank  Moss, 

G.  F.  Hadley, 

Richard  Lavery, 

C.  F.  Jones, 

William  Fenno, 

S.  L.  Russell, 

Bradford  Rhodes, 

G.  B.  Class. 

M.  H.  Smith, 

Milton  See, 

5. — Board 

of  Education.  Journal, 

PAGE  301. 

Trustee  to  fill  vacancy  in  the  class  whose  term  expires  in  1900 :  G.  P.  Hukell,  of 
Oil  City,  Pa.  Trustees  of  class  expiring  in  1908:  Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst,  0.  H.  Dur- 
rell,  W.  F.  King,  and  J.  D.  Slayback. 

6. — Board  of  Managers  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  South- 
ern Education  Society.    Journal,  page  301. 


J.  M.  Walden, 


R.  S.  Rust, 
Luke  Hitchcock, 
Lewis  Curts, 
T.  H.  Pearne, 


G.  B.  Johnson, 
J.  N.  Gamble, 
G.  Wright, 


W.  F.  Mallalieu, 


D.  A.  Goodsell. 


Ministers. 

J.  D.  Walsh,  A.  J.  Nast,  Christian  Golder, 

Joseph  Courtney,      William  Runvan,  J.  F.  Marley, 

D.  H.  Moore,  H.  C.  Weakley,  W.  H.  Hickman 

J.  M.  Shumpert,       John  Pearson, 

Laymen. 

F.  D.  Jones,  W.  F.  Boyd,  C.  W.  Bennett, 

B.  H.  Cowan,  D.  D.  Woodmansee,  H.  C.  Dickout, 

R.  T.  Miller,  D.  D.  Thompson,  J.  H.  De  Camp. 


7. — Board  of  Control  of  the  Epworth  League.  Journal,, 

PAGE  301. 
(Appointed  by  the  Board  of  Bishops.) 

Bishop  W.  X.  Ninde,  President. 
Ministers. 
E.  M.  Mills, 
J.  W.  E.  Bowen, 

Laymen. 
W.  L.  Woodcock, 
R.  S.  Copeland, 
H.  A.  Schroetter, 


W.  I.  Haven, 
J.  H.  Coleman, 

J.  A.  Patten, 

F.  A.  Chamberlain, 

R.  R.  Doner tv, 


S.  O.  Royal. 


C.  E.  Piper, 
F.  D.  Fuller, 
L.  J.  Nortou. 


1896.] 


Managers  of  Societies. 


437 


(Elected  by  the  General  Conference  District  delegations.) 

Districts. 

Names. 

Districts. 

Names. 

I. 

C.  R.  Magee, 

VIII. 

J.  B.  Albrook, 

II. 

E.  S.  Osbon, 

IX. 

W.  H.  Jordan, 

III. 

S.  A.  Morse, 

X. 

B.  L.  Paine, 

IV. 

F.  W.  Tunnell, 

XI. 

J.  W.  Van  Cleve, 

V. 

B.  E.  Helman, 

XII. 

Frank  Gary, 

VI. 

M.  M.  Alston, 

XIII. 

William  Koeneke, 

VII. 

W.  D.  Parr, 

XIV. 

J.  W.  Bennett. 

8. — Boaed  of  Insurance,  Journal,  page  304. 

(Appointed  by  the  Board  of  Bishops.) 

J.  B.  Hobbs,  J.  R.  Lindgren,  N.  W.  Harris. 

A.  B.  Burke,  G.  B.  Johnson, 

(Elected  by  the  General  Conference  District  delegations.) 


I. 
II. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 


H.  H.  Shaw, 
C.  D.  Hammond, 
J.  E.  Bills, 
W.  M.  Swindells, 
F.  H.  Tanner, 
J.  S.  Hill, 
A.  M.  Gould, 


VIII. 
IX. 
X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 


C.  E.  Lane, 
H.  P.  Magill, 
T.  L.  Matthews, 
T.  J.  Green, 
E.  H.  McKissack, 
C.  E.  Mueller, 
J.  D.  Hammond. 


9. — Book  Committee.    Journal,  page  301. 


I. 
II. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 


S.  0.  Benton, 
Henry  Spellmeyer, 

C.  C.*Wilbor, 

D.  S.  Hammond, 
W.  F.  Whitlock, 
J.  E.  Wilson, 

G.  0.  Robinson, 


VIII. 
IX. 
X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 


0.  P.  Miller, 
S.  W.  Trousdale, 
D.  L.  Rader, 
Horace  Reed, 
Harry  Swann, 
H.  A.  Salzer, 
G.  M.  Booth. 


Local  Committee  at  New  York :  E.  B.  Tuttle,  J.  E.  Andrus,  T.  J.  Preston. 
Local  Committee  at  Cincinnati :  Richard  Dymond,  J.  N.  Gamble,  R.  T.  Miller. 

I  0. — General  Missionary  and  Church  Extension  Committee. 


Journal,  page  301. 


I. 
II. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 


E.  M.  Smith, 
Merritt  Hulburd, 
D.  F.  Pierce, 
R.  T.  Miller, 
L.  H.  Stewart, 
J.  M.  Carter, 
H.  N.  Herrick, 


VIII. 
IX. 
X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 


H.  G.  Jackson, 
J.  F.  Chaffee, 
Alfred  Hodgetts, 
W.  J.  Martindale, 
A.  J.  Taylor, 
Bartholomew  Lampert, 
S.  A.  Thomson. 


I  | . — Members  of  the  University  Senate.  Journal, 
page  301. 


I. 

II. 
III. 
IV. 

V. 
VI. 
VII. 


B.  P.  Bowne, 
B.  P.  Raymond, 
J.  R.  French, 
J.  F.  Goucher, 
T.  P.  Marsh, 
W.  II.  Crogman, 
H.  A.  Gobin. 


At  large,  W.  F.  Warren. 

VIII. 
IX. 


X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 


H.  W.  Rogers, 
G.  H.  Bridgman, 
W.  F.  McDowell, 
W.  H.  Wilder, 
L.  G.  Adkinson, 
G.  B.  Addicks, 
G.  W.  White. 


438 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


|  2. — Local  Publishing  Committees.  Journal,  page  301,  304. 

For  Omaha  Christian  Advocate  : 

J.  B.  Maxfield,  J.  W.  Shank,  A.  Hodgetts, 

John  Dale,  L.  0.  Jones,  L.  T.  Matthews, 

J.  H.  Mickey,  D.  K.  Tindall,  Erastus  Smith. 

For  Pacific  Christian  Advocate  (Advisory): 

Oregon  Conference  J.  F.  Caples,  J.  R.  Gill. 

Puget  Sound  Conference  S.  S.  Sulliger,  W.  S.  Harrington. 

Columbia  River  Conference  N.  Evans,  W.  W.  Van  Dusen. 

Idaho  Conference  C.  R.  Kellerman. 

For  California  Christian  Advocate  : 

H.  C.  Benson,  I.  J.  Truman,  E.  W.  Vanderwater, 

Rolla  V.  Watt,  W.  A.  Knighten,        J.  B.  Green, 

Charles  Goodall. 

For  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate  : 

J.  R.  Kevs,  C.  E.  Manchester,        H.  P.  Sullivan, 

T.  W.  Douglass,  J.  W.  Miles,  H.  Samson, 

J.  Conner,  D.  L.  Ash,  J.  H.  Hess. 


13.  — Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Journal,  page  276. 

Term  expires  1904. — Ministerial:   J.  M.  Walden,  Lewis  Curts,  D.  H.  Moore. 

Laymen :  R.  T.  Miller,  J.  D.  Hearne,  W.  F.  Boyd. 
Term  expires  1900. — Ministerial:  Luke  Hitchcock,  Earl  Cranston,  John  Pearson. 

Laymen:  J.  N.  Gamble,  G.  B.  Johnson,  William  Newkirk. 

14.  — Trustees  of  John  Street  Methodist  Episcopal 
*  Church.    Journal,  page  301. 

Edward  Allen,  John  Bentley,  J.  S.  Coward, 

W.  H.  De  Puy,  R.  B.  Gwillim,  B.  M.  Tilton, 

James  Wright,  Bowles  Colgate,  E.  F.  Allen. 


15. — Trustees  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 
Journal,  page  299. 

Term  expires  1908. — Ministerial:  Bishop  R.  S.  Foster,  Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst,  C.  S. 

Coit,  J.  M.  Buckley,  James  Montgomery,  Thomas  Hanlon,  J.  M.  Freeman. 
Laymen :  Samuel  Eddy,  J.  M.  Cornell,  J.  S.  Huyler,  William  White,  William  Hoyt, 

J.  S.  McLean,  Richard  Grant. 


16. — American  University.    Journal,  page  279. 


E.  L.  Mc.Comas, 
A.  J.  Palmer, 
John  Fritz, 
J.  R.  McClean, 


Michael  Burnham, 
W.  H.  Milburn, 
J.  E.  Hessell, 
John  Patton, 


H.  N.  Higginbotham, 
William  Connell, 
J.  G.  Holmes, 
T.  H.  Pearne. 


D.  1 

BALLOTS. 


By  order  of  the  General  Conference  the  names  of  all  persons 
receiving  less  than  twenty  votes  are  omitted. 

I . — Bishops  . 
First  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  521;  necessary  to  a  choice,  348. 

J.  W.  E.  Bowen  received  147,  C.  C.  McCabe  141,  Earl  Cranston 
115,  J.  W.  Hamilton  107,  H.  A.  Buttz  72,  T.  B.  Neely  47,  C.  W. 
Smith  41,  J.  R.  Day  35,  S.  F.  Upham  34,  J.  C.  Hartzell  34,  J. 
F.  Goucher  32,  J.  M.  Buckley  28,  W.  A.  Spencer  27,  F.  L. 
Nagler  25,  J.  F.  Berry  22. 

Second  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  514;  necessary  to  a  choice,  343. 
C.  C.  McCabe  received  218,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  175,  Earl  Cranston 

164,  J.  W.  Hamilton  145,  H.  A.  Buttz  96,  T.  B.  Neely  45,  J.  R. 
Day  27,  J.  F.  Goucher  26,  C.  W.  Smith  24. 

Third  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  510;  necessary  to  a  choice,  340. 
C.  C.  McCabe  received  252,  Earl  Cranston  191,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen 

165,  H.  A.  Buttz  153,  J.  W.  Hamilton  138,  T.  B.  Neely  42. 

Fourth  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  512;  necessary  to  a  choice,  342. 
C.  C.  McCabe  received  243,  H.  A.  Buttz  233,  Earl  Cranston 
214,  J.  W.  Hamilton  141,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  109,  T.  B.  Neely  30. 

Fifth  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  513;  necessary  to  a  choice,  342. 
H.  A.  Buttz  received  266,  Earl  Cranston  245,  C.  C.  McCabe 
236,  J.  W.  Hamilton  137,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  75,  T.  B.  Neely  21. 

Sixth  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  508;  necessary  to  a  choice,  339. 
H.  A.  Buttz  received  291,  Earl  Cranston  257,  C.  C.  McCabe  228, 
J.  W.  Hamilton  122,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  56,  T.  B.  Neely  22. 

Seventh  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  497;  necessary  to  a  choice,  332. 
II.  A.  Buttz  received  283,  Earl  Cranston  268,  C.  C.  McCabe 
240,  J.  W.  Hamilton  110,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  45. 


440 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Eighth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  calt,  502;  necessary  to  a  choice,  335. 
H.  A.  Buttz  received  280,  C.  C.  McCabe  270,  Earl  Cranston 
263,  J.  W.  Hamilton  100,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  37. 

Ninth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  500;  necessary  to  a  choice,  334. 
C.  C.  McCabe  received  238,  Earl  Cranston  236,  H.  A.  Buttz 
218,  J.  W.  Hamilton  159,  T.  B.  Neely  57. 

Tenth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  511;  necessary  to  a  choice,  341. 
Earl  Cranston  received  259,  C.  C.  McCabe  223,  H.  A.  Buttz 
193,  J.  W.  Hamilton  180,  T.  B.  Neely  81. 

Eleventh  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  508;  necessary  to  a  choice,  339. 
Earl  Cranston  received  245,  C.  C.  McCabe  214,  J.  W.  Hamil- 
ton 191,  H.  A.  Buttz  174,  T.  B.  Neely  131. 

Twelfth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  504;  necessary  to  a  choice,  336. 
Earl  Cranston  received  230,  C.  C.  McCabe  192,  J.  W.  Hamil- 
ton 191,  T.  B.  Neely  163,  H.  A.  Buttz  138,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  20. 

Thirteenth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  504;  necessary  to  a  choice,  336. 
Earl  Cranston  received  245,  C.  C.  McCabe  190,  J.  W.  Hamil- 
ton 186,  T.  B.  Neely  172,  H.  A.  Buttz  125,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  24. 

Fourteenth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  504;  necessary  to  a  choice,  336. 
Earl  Cranston  received  261,  C.  C.  McCabe  258,  J.  W.  Hamil- 
ton 149,  H.  A.  Buttz  123,  T.  B.  Neely  112,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  35. 

Fifteenth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  504;  necessary  to  a  choice,  336. 
C.  C.  McCabe  received  344,  Earl  Cranston  328,  H.  A.  Buttz 
112,  J.  W.  Hamilton  109,  T.  B.  Neely  50,  J.  W.  E.  Bowen  30. 

Sixteenth  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  504;  necessary  to  a  choice,  336. 
Earl  Cranston  received  366,  H.  A.  Buttz  82,  J.  W.  Hamilton  36. 

Missionary  Bishop  for  Africa. 
First  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  451;  necessary  to  a  choice,  301. 
J.  C.  Hartzell  received  223,  M.  C.  B.  Mason  81,  H.  A.  Monroe  73. 

Second  Ballot. 
Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  456;  necessary  to  a  choice,  305. 
J.  C.  Hartzell  received  335,  M.  C.  B.  Mason  60,  H.  A.  Monroe 

53. 


1896.] 


Ballots. 


441 


2. — Publishing  Agents  at  New  York. 
First  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  504;  necessary  to  a  choice,  253. 

Homer  Eaton  received  458,  C.  R.  Magee  130,  G.  P.  Mains  104, 
R.  R.  Doherty  94,  W.  W.  Evans  59,  J.  M.  King  56,  W.  M. 
Swindells  74,  J.  D.  Hammond  22. 

Second  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  480;  necessary  to  a  choice,  241. 
C.  R.  Magee  received  186,  G.  P.  Mains  132,  W.  M.  Swindells 
45,  R.  R.  Doherty  59,  W.  W.  Evans  2V,  J.  M.  King  24. 

Third  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  498;  necessary  to  a  choice,  250. 
G.  P.  Mains  received  236,  C.  R.  Magee  154,  R.  R.  Doherty  34. 

Fourth  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  509;  necessary  to  a  choice,  255. 
G.  P.  Mains  received  339,  C.  R.  Magee  154. 

3. — Publishing  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 
First  Ballot. 

Total  number  of  votes  cast,  496;  necessary  to  a  choice,  249. 

Lewis  Curts  received  301,  G.  B.  Johnson  134,  Samuel  Dickie 
117,  H.  C.  Jennings  86,  W.  F.  Whitlock  69,  W.  R.  Halstead  64, 
L.  A.  Belt  58,  J.  J.  Bentley  40,  C.  C.  Lasby  37,  S.  H.  Pye  31, 
H.  C.  Weakley  23. 

Second  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  497;  necessary  to  a  choice,  249. 

G.  B.  Johnson  received  142,  H.  C.  Jennings  127,  Samuel 
Dickie  77,  W.  F.  Whitlock  54,  W.  R.  Halstead  43. 

Third  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  508;  necessary  to  a  choice,  255. 

H.  C.  Jennings  received  235,  George  B.  Johnson  177,  W.  F. 
Whitlock  29,  Samuel  Dickie  30,  W.  R.  Halstead  30. 

Fourth  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  510;  necessary  to  a  choice,  256. 
H.  C.  Jennings  received  344,  G.  B.  Johnson  125. 

4. — Missionary  Secretaries. 
First  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  512;  necessary  to  a  choice,  257. 

A.  B.  Leonard  received  388,  A.  J.  Palmer  300,  John  Hamilton 
121,  W.  N.  Brodbeck  113,  W.  T.  Smith  108,  S.  L.  Baldwin  107, 
Merritt  Hulburd  78,  T.  B.  Neely  63,  J.  S.  Chadwick  53,  W.  F. 
Oldham  51,  T.  C.  Iliff  32,  F.  M.  Bristol  29,  Robert  Forbes  22. 


442 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Second  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  494;  necessary  to  a  choice,  248. 
J.  W.  Hamilton  received  178,  W.  N.  Brodbeck  102,  W.  T. 
Smith  101,  S.  L.  Baldwin  57. 

Third  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  488;  necessary  to  a  choice,  245. 
J.  W.  Hamilton  received  180,  W.  T.  Smith  155,  W.  N.  Brod- 
beck 99,  S.  L.  Baldwin  48. 

Fourth  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  500;  necessary  to  a  choice,  251. 
W.  T.  Smith  received  211,  J.  W.  Hamilton  208,  W.  N.  Brod- 
beck 58,  S.  L.  Baldwin  20. 

Fifth  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  509;  necessary  to  a  choice,  255. 
W.  T.  Smith  received  291,  J.  W.  Hamilton  205. 

5. — Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and  Tract 

Society. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  413;  necessary  to  a  choice,  207. 
J.  L.  Hurlbut  received  276,  W.  N.  Brodbeck  63,  J.  W.  C. 
Coxe  39. 

6. — Secretaries  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension. 

Total  number  of  votes  cast,  494;  necessary  to  a  choice,  248. 
A.  J.  Kynett  received  395,  W.  A.  Spencer  391,  T.  B.  Neely  82, 
Robert  Forbes  33,  John  Krantz  27. 

7. — Secretaries  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Edu- 
cation Society. 

First  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  492;  necessary  to  a  choice,  247. 

J.  C.  Hartzell  received  311,  J.  W.  Hamilton  308,  M.  C.  B. 
Mason  174,  W.  H.  W.  Rees  70,  John  Mitchell  30,  J.  E.  Williams 
22. 

First  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  405 ;  necessary  to  a  choice,  203. 
M.  C.  B.  Mason  received  296,  John  Mitchell  45,  E.  W.  S.  Ham- 
mond 40. 

8. — Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  426;  necessary  to  a  choice,  214. 
C.  H.  Payne  received  367. 


1896.]  Ballots.  443 

9. — Editor  op  the  Methodist  Review. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  449;  necessary  to  a  choice,  225. 
W.  V.  Kelley  received  265,  M.  S.  Terry  131,  R.  J.  Cooke  50. 

10. — Editor  of  The  Christian  Advocate. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  440;  necessary  to  a  choice,  221. 
J.  M.  Buckley  received  414. 

1 1. — Editor  of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  435;  necessary  to  a  choice,  218. 
D.  H.  Moore  received  371,  C.  H.  Zimmerman  43. 

12. — Editor  of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  451 ;  necessary  to  a  choice,  226. 
Arthur  Edwards  received  341,  E.  D.  Whitbeck,  66,  J.  W. 
Haney  26. 

13.  — Editor  of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  452;  necessary  to  a  choice,  227. 
J.  B.  Young  received  296,  John  T.  McFarland  143. 

14.  — Editor  of  the  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  445;  necessary  to  a  choice,  223. 
C.  W.  Smith  received  376,  Levi  Gilbert  66. 

15.  — Editor  of  the  Northern  Christian  Advocate. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  419;  necessary  to  a  choice,  210. 
J.  E.  C.  Sawyer  received  407. 

I  6. — Editor  of  the  California  Christian  Advocate. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  423;  necessary  to  a  choice,  212. 
W.  S.  Matthew  received  310,  M.  D.  Buck  104. 

I  7. — Editor  of  the  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate. 
First  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  428;  necessary  to  a  choice,  215. 
L  B.  Scott  received  185,  E.  W.  S.  Hammond  184,  A.  E.  P.  Al- 
bert 46. 

Second  Ballot. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  422;  necessary  for  a  choice,  212. 
t  B.  Scott  received  265,  E.  W.  S.  Hammond  152. 

18. — Editor  of  Der  Christliche  Apologete. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  402  ;  necessary  to  a  choice,  202. 
A.  J.  Nast  received  400. 


444  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

19. — Editor  of  Haus  und  Herd. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  409;  necessary  to  a  choice,  205. 
F.  L.  Nagler  received  406. 

20. — Editor  of  the  Epworth  Herald. 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  416;  necessary  to  a  choice,  209. 
J.  F.  Berry  received  392. 


APPENDIX  III. 


A— FRATERNITY. 
B.— MEMOIRS. 


FRATERNITY. 


|. — Address  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  to 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

Brethren  Dearly  Beloved  in  Christ  Jesus  :  We  rejoice 
to  be  able  to  send  to  your  great  assembly  as  our  representative 
the  Rev.  William  L.  Watkinson,  the  editor  of"  our  connectional 
publications,  a  minister  of  Christ  Jesus,  greatly  honored  and  be- 
loved in  our  ranks.  By  his  hand  also  we  desire  to  send  written  as- 
surance of  our  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  God  committed  to  you, 
and  also  some  brief  mention  of  God's  dealings  with  us.  Mr. 
Watkinson  will,  from  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  condi- 
tion of  British  Methodism,  add  any  necessary  supplement 
or  explanation.  At  our  Conference  in  Birmingham  we  re- 
ceived with  satisfaction  your  fraternal  messenger,  the  Rev. 
Bishop  Andrews.  His  dignified  and  affectionate  bearing,  his 
eloquent  and  luminous  exposition  of  the  constitution,  genius,  and 
position  of  your  Church,  his  sermons  and  speeches  on  several  im- 
portant occasions,  commended  and  endeared  him  to  us  all.  We 
rejoice  that  God  gives  to  you  in  the  chief  pastorate  worthy  suc- 
cessors of  Asbury,  McKendree,  and  Simpson.  We  regretted  that 
His  Excellency,  Chancellor  Runyon,  was  prevented  by  official 
duty  from  visiting  us,  and  we  mourn  with  you  his  recent  death. 
Long  may  the  bright  succession  rise  among  you  of  noble  Chris- 
tian men  in  Church  and  State!  We  thank  God  on  every  remem- 
brance of  you  for  the  place  and  power  he  continues  to  give  you 
among  the  varied  components  of  your  national  life.  We  cannot 
fail  to  see  how  important  is  the  bringing  in  among  you  of  multi- 
tudes of  men  of  other  nationalities.  Surely  never  had  a  Christian 
people  such  an  opportunity  of  fulfilling  the  mission  of  Christ. 
To  the  statesman  and  publicist  immigration  on  so  large  a  scale  is, 
no  doubt,  a  difficulty  and  a  perplexity.  To  the  Christian  it  pre- 
sents a  rare  opportunity.  And  we  rejoice  that  to  so  large  an  ex- 
tent you  have  been  able  to  reach  and  bless  these  strangers  with 
Christian  agencies  and  influences.  Our  observation  of  life  in 
Europe  and  elsewhere  convinces  us  that  in  bringing  them  under 
the  saving  power  of  the  Gospel  you  are  mightily  affecting  lands 
and  nations  far  beyond  your  own  wide  territory.  God  has 
brought  foreign  missions  into  the  midst  of  your  home  life.  May 
his  grace  strengthen  you  for  vour  vast  responsibility  ! 
29 


448 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


We  thank  God  that  in  missions  properly  called  foreign  your  zeal 
abounds.  We  rejoice  that  your  children  and  ours,  in  not  a  few 
regions  of  the  earth,  are  working  side  by  side,  supplementing  the 
labors  of  each  other.  The  field  is  vast,  and  the  utmost  exertions 
of  universal  Methodism  cannot  overtake  the  divine  task.  A  gen- 
erous rivalry  in  devotion  and  effort  need  not  generate  into  jeal- 
ousy and  envy.  May  God  make  you  everywhere  a  thousandfold 
more  than  you  are!  Yet  it  is  sometimes  practically  useful  for 
Churches  of  the  same  family  to  undertake  the  culture  of  separate 
portions  of  the  field.  And  occasionally  circumstances  may  make 
it  desirable  that  the  results  of  the  efforts  of  one  Church  should  be 
incorporated  with  another.  To  many  of  the  Methodists  of  Ger- 
many, both  yours  and  ours,  it  appears  desirable  that  such  an 
amalgamation  of  our  work  and  yours  should  be  effected.  The 
officers  of  our  Foreign  Missionary  Society  are  in  communication 
with  your  Board  of  Missions  on  this  subject,  and  we  doubt  not  it 
will  receive  your  paieful  and  prayerful  attention. 

We  give  devout  thanks  to  God  for  the  great  increase  of  your 
membership  as  reported  for  another  period  of  four  years.  To 
the  individual  preacher  there  is  no  joy  like  the  joy  of  winning 
souls ;  and  to  the  true  Church  there  is  no  delight  so  exquisite  as 
that  of  seeing  multitudes  flocking  to  the  cross.  We  cannot  re- 
port such  large  figures  as  you  ;  yet  no  recent  year  of  our  history 
has  failed  to  record  an  advance;  and  the  total  increase  since  last 
we  addressed  you  is  close  upon  thirty  thousand.  We  labor  amid 
social  and  ecclesiastical  difficulties  of  which  you  know  little. 
Moreover,  our  churches  are  depleted  by  a  continual  flow  of  em- 
igrants to  your  and  other  lands.  But  we  would  not  desire  by 
these  considerations  to  satisfy  ourselves  with  an  increase  that  is 
all  too  small,  but  crave  from  the  Fountain  of  all  grace  a  fuller 
consecration  and  a  more  extensive  usefulness. 

The  question  of  public  education  is  deeply  moving  the  hearts 
of  all  Christian  people  in  this  country.  A  composite  system  has 
long  prevailed  here.  It  embraces  schools  belonging  to  the  Chris- 
tian denominations,  aided  by  public  grants,  but  inspected  and  in 
a  measure  controlled  by  the  national  authority.  It  includes,  fur- 
ther, schools  maintained  by  popularly  elected  boards,  but  which 
are  also  subsidized  from  the  national  purse  and  responsible,  in  a 
degree,  to  the  Central  Ministry  of  Education.  The  ardent  sup- 
porters of  the  denominational  element  claim  for  it  increased  aid 
from  the  imperial  revenue.  The  advocates  of  the  board  system 
are  opposed  to  this,  unless,  indeed,  the  control  of  schools  so  aided 
should  be  made  more  definitely  popular  and  representative.  Un- 
happily, the  question  is  complicated  by  sectarian  considerations. 
In  too  many  places  the  so-called  National  School  has  been  used  for 
the  oppression  of  Nonconformists,  and  for  the  inculcation  of  re- 
ligious tenets  of  an  intolerant  character.  This  fact  deeply  stirs 
our  people,  who,  in  many  a  village,  have  to  maintain  their  attach- 
ment to  the  Church  of  their  choice  at  a  cost  which  it  is  difficult 
for  you,  in  the  different  circumstances  of  your  country,  to  under- 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


449 


stand.  Happily,  among  us  there  is  no  one  who  would  consent 
that  the  Bible  should  be  excluded  from  the  curriculum  of  the 
public  schools.  We  are  still  profoundly  convinced  that  in  the 
teachings  of  the  Holy  Book  is  to  be  found  the  only  safe  and  suffi- 
cient guide  through  this  life  to  the  better  life  beyond. 

We  have  at  times  been  tempted  to  tremble  for  the  Holy  Book, 
as  for  the  Ark  of  the  Lord.  It  has,  indeed,  of  late  years  been 
going  through  a  fiery  trial.  The  researches  of  philology,  the  dis- 
coveries of  science,  and  the  speculations  of  philosophy  have  been 
supposed  by  some  to  be  fatal  to  the  authority  of  the  inspired 
word.  As  a  consequence,  in  many  minds  faith  has  become  less 
vivid  and  influential,  and  in  not  a  few  it  has  died  ;  but  we  are 
convinced  that  the  Sacred  Book  holds  and  will  hold  its  own. 
Already  there  is  visible  a  recoil  from  the  extreme  positions  which 
were  so  hastily  assumed.  Evidence  confirmatory  of  its  claims  is 
rising  around  the  Bible  on  every  hand.  The  weapons  forged 
against  it  are  turning  to  its  defense.  The  fiercer  light  which  is 
thrown  upon  it  is  only  bringing  out  its  truth  and  beauty  more 
clearly.  And  we  doubt  not  that  it  will  come  forth  from  the  fur- 
nace of  its  present  ordeal  as  "  gold  that  perisheth  not,  though  it 
be  tried  by  fire." 

The  divine  message  to  mankind  is  still  asserting  its  fitness  and 
power  in  all  parts  of  our  field  of  labor.  Our  foreign  missionary 
work  advances  surely  everywhere,  and  with  rapid  strides  in  some 
districts.  The  lamp  of  truth  is  being  carried  steadily  forward 
into  the  interior  of  Africa  ;  and  in  certain  parts  of  India  the 
people  are  flocking  to  the  testimony  of  the  Lord.  Our  foreign 
work  is  indeed  only  limited  by  lack  of  means.  We,  like  your- 
selves, have  to  struggle  with  the  difficulty  of  an  income  which,  if 
not  falling,  is  not  at  present  elastic.  Surely  this  cannot  be  in 
keeping  with  the  purposes  of  God  or  the  powers  of  his  Church. 
If  wealth  were  everywhere  consecrated,  and  modest  comfort  were 
everywhere  willing  to  deny  itself  for  this  greatest  of  causes,  there 
would  be  no  paralyzing  fetter  upon  the  missionary  enterprise. 
We  are  driven  to  believe  that  in  a  great  and  wide  revival  of 
spiritual  religion  is  the  one  hope  of  a  rallying  of  the  people  of  God 
to  the  noble  task  of  the  world's  salvation. 

But  we  do  not  for  a  moment  doubt  the  inherent  power  of  the 
<TO-pel  to  revolutionize  human  character.  If  we  did  we  should 
be  rebuked  by  the  signal  success  which  attends  our  work  among 
the  multitudes  in  our  great  cities.  Everywhere  victory  waits 
upon  the  aggressive  efforts  by  which  we  are  claiming  and  winning 
the  ear  of  the  common  people.  The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in 
all  its  breadth  and  depth  is  again  proving  itself  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation.  The  manifestation  of  practical  sympathy  with 
the  people  in  their  difficulties  and  sufferings — especially  through 
tbe  ministry  of  devoted  women — is,  without  doubt,  a  contributing 
force.  But  we  rejoice  to  believe  that  the  gathering  of  multi- 
tudes,  such  as  has  not  been  known  in  England  since  the  days  of 
W'-nley  and  Whitefield,  finds  its  explanation  in  the  charm  of  the 


450 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Gospel  itself  when  preached  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  May  that 
power  ever  accompany  the  declaration  of  the  word  by  you,  as  it 
has  done  in  the  past,  and  yet  more  abundantly  ! 

We  cannot,  dear  brethren,  conclude  without  a  reference  to  the 
political  alarms  which  recently,  like  distant  thunder,  awakened 
the  fears  of  both  your  nation  and  ours.  When  for  a  moment 
the  specter  of  possible  war  rose  between  the  mother  land  and  her 
offspring  a  sense  of  horror  ran  through  the  British  nation.  It  is 
consistent  with  our  consciousness  of  strength  and  our  sense  of  self- 
respect  to  say  that  we  dread  and  deprecate  such  a  war  as  a 
calamity  to  civilization  and  a  crime  against  our  common  blood. 
Surely  there  is  enough  of  Christian  principle  and  feeling  in  your 
nation  and  ours  to  secure  that  any  differences  which  may  arise 
shall  be  settled  by  some  other  arbitrament  than  that  of  the  sword. 
We  thank  God  for  the  uprising  of  deep  and  solemn  feelings,  on 
both  sides  of  the  ocean,  which  has  already  quelled  the  clamor  and 
made  both  nations  stand  and  think  before  it  was  too  late.  It  is 
our  constant  prayer  that  by  some  wisely  devised  scheme  of  arbi- 
tration the  risk  of  war  between  these  kindred  peoples  may  be  re- 
duced to  the  lowest  point.  And  we  do  not  doubt  that  the  decision 
of  this  question  will  ultimately  rest,  not  with  statesmen  alone,  but 
with  the  Christian  sentiment  and  conscience  of  both  nations.  Nor 
can  we  doubt  that  upon  the  Methodist  Churches,  in  both  lands, 
must  rest  a  large  share  of  the  responsibility  for  shaping  and 
directing  that  public  opinion  which  will  one  day  declare  that,  be- 
tween men  of  the  same  blood  and  the  same  religion,  "  war  shall 
be  no  more." 

With  this  aspiration,  dear  brethren,  we  commend  you  again  to 
God  and  the  word  of  his  grace  !  * 
Signed  on  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  Conference, 

D.  J.  Waller,  President. 

Marshall  Hartley,  Secretary. 

2. — Address  of  Dr.  W.  L.  Watkinson,  of  the  British  Wes- 
leyan  Conference.    Journal,  page  181. 

Bishop  Foster,  Dear  Brethren:  You  may  believe  me  when 
I  say  that  it  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  that  I  find  myself  in  this 
assembly.  And  I  know  that  you  will  believe  me  also  when  I 
say  that  my  pleasure  is  considerably  chastened  by  the  prospect  of 
having  to  make  a  speech.  The  making  of  a  speech  is  rarely  felt  to 
have  any  tragical  significance  to  an  American;  but  it  has  very 
considerable  terrors  for  modest  men  coming  from  that  obscure 
island  that  it  is  my  duty  to-night  to  represent.  In  some  respects 
you  will  see  at  a  glance  I  am  not  one  of  the  most  suitable  repre- 
sentatives of  my  particular  nationality.  And  I  feel  perfectly 
sure  that  as  I  advance  with  my  address  you  will  discover  that  in 
point  of  eloquence  I  fall  lamentably  short  of  my  predecessors. 
But  I  can  assure  you  that  none  of  my  predecessors  had  a  more 
sincere  admiration  for  your  great  Church  than  I  have,  and  I 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


451 


speak  to  you  to-night  with  very  deep  and  sincere  sympathy.  I 
have  very  little  confidence  in  myself,  and  I  have  good  reason  for 
my  lack  of  faith,  but  I  have  great  confidence  in  you  that  you  will 
extend  to  me  all  possible  consideration  and  indulgence. 

Now,  as  the  messenger  of  the  British  Conference,  you  will  not 
be  surprised  that  I  come  to  you  with  a  message  of  peace  and 
good  will.  The  fact  is,  there  can  be  only  absolute  cordiality  be- 
tween the  two  great  sections  of  Methodism  on  the  English  side 
and  on  the  American  side  of  the  world.  I  can  assure  you  that  it 
is  the  passionate  desire  of  the  great  mass  of  my  countrymen  that 
there  should  be  perfect  amity  between  your  nation  and  ours. 
Now,  some  people  are  very  much  astonished  that  there  ever 
should  be  any  discord  between  America  and  England.  I  am 
not  at  all  astonished.  It  is  just  as  it  ought  to  be,  according 
to  the  philosophers.  You  know  the  Darwinian  law,  that  com- 
petition is  always  the  most  severe  between  forms  most  closely 
allied.  And  the  reason  why  there  are  constant  misunderstand- 
ings between  England  and  America  is  exactly  in  accord  with  the 
philosophic  theory  of  the  age.  We  have  so  much  in  common 
that  these  misunderstandings  inevitably  arise.  But  there  is  no 
necessity  that  they  should  degenerate  into  strife  and  murder. 
You  know  that  there  is  in  the  crown  of  England — I  say,  "  you 
know,"  because  I  am  sure  you  know  everything  about  that 
crown — there  is  in  that  crown  a  diamond,  the  Kohinoor,  one  of 
the  greatest  diamonds  in  the  world.  But,  big  as  it  is,  it  is  only 
half  the  size  of  the  original  jewel.  I  do  not  know  exactly  where 
the  other  portion  is>;  but  somewhere,  no  doubt,  in  the  great 
world.  Now,  no  pebble  can  scratch  that  diamond  in  the  crown 
of  England;  no^ordinary  jewel  can  deface  it;  but  the  other  half 
could  scratch  it.  No  country  can  hurt  either  America  or  England 
while  they  maintain  brotherly  relations.  But  it  is  quite  within 
|)0^<ibility  that  they  might — if  they  were  insane  enough  and 
criminal  enough,  it  is  in  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  they 
might — deface  one  another.  We  have  something  better  to  do 
than  to  deface  one  another.  Superstition,  ignorance,  intemper- 
ance, tyranny,  threaten  our  common  civilization;  and  by  the 
time  we  have  attained  victory  over  these  menacing  foes  I 
rather  think  we  shall  be  in  too  good  a  state  of  mind  to  wish 
to  fight  one  another.  Some  men  tell  us  that  war  is  inevita- 
ble— the  same  men  who  told  you  a  little  while  ago  that  slavery 
was  inevitable.  They  say  that  we  must  eat  or  be  eaten — that  all 
civilization  is  based  on  cannibalism.  They  tell  us  that  war  is 
the  essence  of  life;  and  then  a  great  writer  finishes  up  by  telling 
us  that  progress  always  rides  in  a  powder  cart.  All  I  can  say  is, 
that  whenever  progress  chooses  that  method  of  locomotion  it  is 
liable  to  startling  shocks  and  eccentric  motions ;  and  its  ultimate 
position  reminds  me  of  that  story  you  are  telling  in  America 
just  now  which  relates  how  one  of  your  juries  brought  in  a 
verdict  over  an  unfortunate  individual,  that  he  was  kicked  to 
death  by  a  mule,  and  that  there  were  no  remains.    Progress  does 


452 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[189G. 


not  ride  on  a  powder  cart.  Progress  rides  in  the  chariot  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  Mexico,  I  believe,  is  represented  in  this  assem- 
bly. Indeed,  it  would  be  most  difficult  to  mention  a  place  that 
is  not.  The  ancient  Mexicans  worshiped  the  rainbow,  and  they 
are  the  only  people  that  ever  did  worship  the  rainbow;  and  I 
trust  that  under  the  pacific  influences  of  our  common  and  glori- 
ous Christianity  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  all  the  nations 
Will  return  to  that  sweet  idolatry.  Now,  it  is  my  duty,  as  it  is 
my  joy,  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  astonishing  success  of  the 
last  quadrennium.  There  is  no  necessity  that  I  should  read  these 
figures  to  you;  you  know  them,  but  you  don't  know  what  a  pleas- 
ure it  is  to  me  to  read  them.  It  does  me  good ;  so  let  me  read 
them  just  for  the  sake  of  the  persona]  inspiration.  Why,  it  is 
staggering  to  us.  Three  hundred  and  eighty-six  thousand  mem- 
bers added  to  your  already  colossal  and  glorious  communion, 
making  a  Church  of  2,766,656.  We  ought  to  say  it  in  the  spirit 
of  gratitude,  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  speak  of  such  a  thing 
without  the  spirit  of  triumph,  a  magnificent  result  accomplished 
in  the  face  of  great  difficulties.  Now,  during  the  same  period,  a 
period  of  very  fair  prosperity,  we  have  added  to  our  Church  in 
England — do  not  despise  it — thirty  thousand.  And  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  the  last  denominational  census — the  intelligence  was 
in  the  papers  last  week — the  last  denominational  census  records 
for  the  current  year  a  decrease  in  our  membership  of  something 
like  three  thousand  members.  So  that  jovl  can  rejoice  with  great 
joy,  but  for  us  there  is  a  time  of  heart-searching  and  humilia- 
tion. 

Still,  you  must  remember  that  we  have  limitations  of  which  you 
know  little  or  nothing.  We  have  geographical  limitations.  You 
have  heard  that  before.  An  American  who  came  to  my  country 
declared  the  sky  was  small.  That  is  astronomical  rather  than 
geographical ;  but  our  land  is  unquestionably  limited,  and  you 
will  see  in  that  fact  an  obvious  reason  why  we  cannot  keep  pace 
with  you.  And  then  that  fact  affects  us  on  the  question  of  emi- 
gration. When  people  in  America  seek  another,  that  is,  a  better 
country,  there  is  but  one  thing  for  them  to  do;  they  go  to  heaven. 
But  very  often  with  our  people,  when  they  seek  another,  that  is, 
a  better  country,  they  come  to  America.  I  have  been  surprised 
during  the  time  that  I  have  spent  with  you  to  find  what  a  large 
number  of  people  in  this  country  recognize  me;  they  come  for- 
ward to  say  that  they  have  known  me  in  the  past  years  and 
sat  under  my  ministry;  and  so  when  I  look  at  these  numbers, 
2,700,000,  I  comfort  myself  to  some  extent  that  they  have  come 
more  or  less  from  us. 

But  there  is  another  thing  that  you  must  remember — a  thing  of 
which  happily  you  know  very  little — our  social  and  ecclesiastical 
limitations,  or,  to  speak  more  correct^,  the  limitations  imposed 
upon  us  by  the  social  and  ecclesiastical  condition  of  our  country. 
I  have  just  been  reading  the  letters  of  Matthew  Arnold,  and  in 
one  of  his  letters — you  know  that  he  was  never  a  friend  to  dissent 


1S90.] 


Fraternity. 


453 


— in  one  of  his  letters  there  is  a  very  striking  passage  of  which 
you  in  America  ought  not  to  be  ignorant.  Allow  me  to  read  it. 
It  is  delightful  reading.  Mr.  Arnold,  writing  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  Forster,  says:  "I  see  John  Bright  goes  on  envying  the 
Americans.  I  cannot  but  think,  however,  that  the  state  of  things 
with  respect  to  their  national  character,  which,  after  all,  is  the 
basis  of  the  only  real  national  grandeur  or  prosperity,  becomes 
graver  and  graver."  Now,  everybody  in  this  place  will  agree  with 
Mr.  Arnold  that  national  character  is  the  basis  of  the  real  gran- 
deur or  prosperity  of  a  nation.  We  shall  agree  with  that.  But 
then  he  tells  us  that  your  condition  in  that  respect  "  grows  graver 
and  graver."  Now,  I  hope  the  reading  of  this  passage  will  not 
occasion  a  panic  in  this  assembly.  It  is  thirty  years  since  he 
threw  that  sand  upon  your  national  coffin  and  you  are  here  yet, 
and  in  a  very  fair  state  of  preservation.  Indeed,  you  are  in  that 
condition  that  homely  people  in  my  own  country  describe  as  a 
"  beautiful  corpse." 

But  it  is  the  other  portion  of  the  letter  that  I  want  to  enforce 
to-night,  and  that  you  Americans  ought  to  lay  to  heart  :  "  It 
seems  as  if  few  stocks  could  be  trusted  to  grow  up  properly 
without  having  a  priesthood  and  an  aristocracy  to  act  as  their 
schoolmasters  at  some  time  of  their  national  existence."  So 
you  are  suffering  from  a  defective  education,  and  you  see  that 
that  defect  in  your  education  has  brought  you  to  the  edge  of  dis- 
aster. Now,  in  England  we  have  had  these  schoolmasters  from 
the  beginning.    You  do  not  want  schoolmasters  forever. 

Tutors  are  for  a  time  appointed,  for  chastening  ends.  We 
have  about  finished  our  education  in  that  direction.  Now,  you 
think  in  America  that  when  we  English,  people  get  hold  of  some- 
thing good  we  stick  to  it,  but  I  assure  you  that  you  are  wel- 
come to  these  schoolmasters  to  complete  your  defective  education. 
Will  you  have  them?  Now,  it  is  a  chance  that  may  not  occur 
again.  Will  you  have  them?  Well,  you  reject  my  magnanimous 
offer,  and  it  may  be  long  before  you  find  us  again  in  such  a  fit  of 
disinterestedness.  But  let  me  whisper  to  you  that  when  you 
decline  our  aged  schoolmasters  I  rather  think  that  you  are  in 
the  right.  I  believe  with  Mr.  Arnold  that  no  nation  can  com- 
plete its  education  without  a  priesthood  and  an  aristocracy,  but 
you  know  well  that  the  true  priesthood  is  the  priesthood  of 
true  believers,  and  that  the  genuine  aristocracy  is  the  aristocracy 
of  pure  and  Christian  citizenship. 

And  I  say  to  you  without  the  least  bitterness  against  the  priest 
or  the  peer — for  there  are  noble  men  in  both  sections — I  say  em- 
phatically that  at  a  thousand  points  they  limit  and  harass  our 
Church  as  it  seeks  in  the  nation  the  kingdom  of  God.  Neverthe- 
less we  pursue  our  way,  and  amid  many  discouragements,  accord- 
in  g  to  the  charter  of  our  great  founder,  we  seek  to  "spread 
scriptural  holiness  throughout  the  land." 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  of  the  present  day  with  some  great 
thinkers  is  this:  they  believe  that  Christianity  is  no  longer  ade- 


451 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


quate  to  deal  with  modern  civilization.  They  think  that  it  was 
able  to  direct  a  more  simple  civilization,  but  that  it  is  no  longer 
capable  of  dealing  with  the  complex  and  energetic  civilization  of 
the  modern  world. 

Now,  I  assure  you  that  the  British  Church  does  not  share  in 
the  least  in  that  skepticism,  and  that  we  are  sure  to-day  that 
Christianity  is  able  to  cope  with  the  elaborate  civilization  of 
modern  times  just  as  it  was  able  to  deal  with  the  nations  in 
more  simple  ages. 

Grant  me  your  indulgence  for  a  moment  while  I  speak  of  the  two 
aspects  with  which  the  Christian  Church  in  America,  as  in  England, 
has  to-day  directly  to  consider  and  to  deal.  Now,  there  is  one  aspect 
of  our  civilization  to  which  we  give  but  little  attention,  and  yet  it 
is  an  aspect  of  the  greatest  significance  to  us  as  Christian  men  ; 
and  it  is  this:  We  have  to  deal  to-day,  in  that  modern  Babylon 
that  we  have  built,  London,  in  New  York,  Chicago,  and  cities  too 
numerous  to  mention,  we  have  to  deal  with  arts,  sciences,  gold, 
literature,  fashions,  liberty,  greatness,  pleasure. 

Now,  the  question  is,  have  you  men,  have  you  faith,  that  can 
restrain,  that  can  master,  that  can  sanctify  this  colossal  and  opu- 
lent civilization  ?  Have  you  ?  You  know  that  the  old  prophets 
never  looked  with  any  tranquillity  upon  material  wealth  and 
splendor.  The  prophets  in  the  Old  Testament  were  always 
ready  to  curse  Tyre  and  Sidon;  they  looked  shy  at  the  ships  of 
Tarshish;  they  felt  uncomfortable  in  the  presence  of  increasing 
wealth  and  magnificence.  They  could  not  see  how  such  imperial 
greatness  and  opulence  was  at  all  compatible  with  real  righteous- 
ness of  life.  Now,  I  say  that  we  ought  to  look  at  things  very  dif- 
ferently. You  are  compelled  to-day  to  look  an  opulent  civilization 
in  the  face.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  God  is  going  to  keep  us 
pure  by  keeping  us  poor.  Emerson  had  an  ancestor  who  prayed 
that  none  of  his  posterity  might  be  rich.  I  believe  that  one  of 
my  ancestors  must  have  offered  a  similar  supplication,  and 
I  am  sorry  to  think  that  he  must  have  been  a  righteous  man. 
I  am  forced  to  think  that  he  must  have  been  a  righteous 
man,  for  his  prayer  has  availed  much.  But  I  tell  you,  God 
does  not  intend  to  keep  us  pure  by  keeping  us  poor.  It  is  an  old 
superstition.  God  does  not  intend  to  keep  nations  pure  by  keep- 
ing them  poor.  You  have  a  nation  full  of  energy,  freedom,  gold, 
pleasure.  Why,  as  I  walk  through  your  cities,  Cleveland,  Chicago, 
and  New  York,  I  think  of  Turner's  great  picture  in  the  British 
Gallery,  "  The  Building  of  Carthage."  It  is  an  astonishing  epoch 
of  material  wealth  and  of  national  aspiration,  of  power,  mastery, 
achievement.  That  is  the  world  that  you  are  sent  to.  Have  you 
got  a  faith  that  can  deal  with  it  ?  The  Hebrew  prophet  felt  that 
he  could  not  tackle  the  profound  problems  of  an  opulent  and 
complex  civilization.  Have  you  a  faith  that  will  deal  with  an 
opulent  world  ?  We  believe  that  we  have  such  a  faith — a  faith 
that  can  direct  science;  a  faith  that  can  spiritualize  commerce; 
a  faith  that  will  hallow  gold;  a  faith  that  will  create  equitable 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


455 


and  just  governments;  a  faith  that  will  keep  the  roses  of  pleas- 
ure as  pure  as  are  the  roses  of  the  garden.  And  you  depend  upon 
it,  your  rich  civilization  wants  you  as  much  as  a  poor  civilization 
wanted  you.  Do  you  think  that  men  have  lost  the  spiritual  instinct 
because  they  are  clothed  with  purple  ?  Do  you  think  that  the  re- 
ligious element  has  been  smothered  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it !  There  are 
not  more  vivid  hungerings  after  the  unseen,  after  the  ideal,  in  the 
whole  world — not  more  vivid  hungerings  than  in  opulent  England 
and  opulent  America;  and  if  you  will  go  boldly  in  the  midst  of  your 
cities,  with  their  freedom  and  affluence  and  taste  and  amusements, 
you  shall  find  that  in  you  God  will  fulfill  the  old  prophecy  that 
"  the  nations  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it,  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  shall  bring  their  glory  and  honor  to  it." 

But  you  say,  "  What  are  you  doing  in  England  with  the  work- 
ing classes  ?  "  I  could  not  say  that  we  are  doing  all  that  we  might 
do,  but,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  I  think  we  are  fairly 
doing  our  work  in  that  direction.  John  Wesley  went  to  the 
working  class;  and,  mind  you,  John  Wesley  went  to  the  working 
class  before  it  had  a  vote.  Methodism  took  the  Gospel  to  our 
working  classes  in  their  lowlier  and  more  obscure  and  uninflu- 
ential  days.  The  test  of  the  Church  is  what  it  is  doing  for  the 
middle  classes,  for  the  working  classes.  I  dare  say  that  you 
have  noticed,  when  you  visit  the  Oriental  department  of  an  inter- 
national exhibition,  nearly  all  the  work  is  in  silver  and  gold  and 
diamonds  and  silk  and  porcelain.  You  are  dazzled.  Yet  these 
belong  to  the  declining  nationalities.  When  you  go  to  the 
Western  department,  when  you  go  to  the  Northern  depart- 
ment, there  is  very  little  silk  or  velvet  or  gems,  but  the  work- 
manship is  iron,  steel,  cotton,  pottery,  and  that  workmanship 
represents  the  master  civilizations  of  the  world.  And  you  be 
sure  that  the  Church  which  to-day  achieves  most  victories  among 
the  masses  of  people  will  inevitably  be  the  Church  of  the  fu- 
ture. You  say,  "  What  are  you  doing  with  that  class  below  the 
working  classes — below  all  the  classes — the  exile,  the  outcast, 
the  submerged  ?  "  Well,  I  dare  say  Mr.  Johnson  will  tell  you  a 
good  deal  about  that — that  is,  especially,  if  I  leave  him  plenty  of 
time  to  do  it  in.  But  in  Manchester,  in  Liverpool,  in  Leeds,  and 
in  other  great  cities  we  are  grappling  with  that  most  difficult 
problem,  and  grappling  with  success.  Your  scientists  know  that 
no  matter  how  much  an  organism  may  be  degraded,  as  long 
as  it  exists  it  is  capable  of  utmost  resuscitation  and  transfigura- 
tion. You  may  take  a  parasite  to-day  utterly  degraded;  take  it 
out  of  the  black  abyss;  take  it  out  of  the  dirty  slime  :  not  a 
feature  of  its  primitive  glory  survives — no  eye,  no  color,  no  com- 
plexity ;  but  the  scientist  tells  you  that  if  you  will  only  give  it 
a  favorable  environment  its  eye  will  light  up  again,  it  will 
recover  its  ancient  color,  and  it  will  become  as  complex  as  that 
particular  organization  is  susceptible  of  becoming.  Brethren, 
we  know  a  more  wonderful  thing  than  that.  You  may  take 
man  at  his  lowest  estate,  in  lust  and  passion  and  misery,  and 


456 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


our  Master  can  accomplish  a  more  wonderful  miracle  than  that 
of  nature — only  Christ  does  not  ask  for  a  new  environment.  He 
gives  a  new  heart,  and  he  does  not  take  a  geological  age  to  do  it ; 
but  he  speaks  the  resurrection  word,  and  those  that  have  lain 
among  the  pots  become  as  the  wings  of  a  dove  covered  with 
silver  and  her  feathers  with  yellow  gold. 

Now,  there  is  another  thing  in  England  :  we  are  not  neglect- 
ing the  education  of  the  young.  We  look  with  very  great  in- 
terest upon  your  work  in  respect  to  the  Epworth  League,  and 
we  are  trying  to  follow  in  your  steps  by  the  creation  of  the 
Wesley  Guild;  and  I  hope  that  we  may  have  some  of  your  glori- 
ous success.  The  fact  is,  with  the  Church  there  lies  our  hope — 
our  day  schools,  our  Sunday  schools,  and  Dr.  Stevenson's  Home 
for  Destitute  Children  and  Orphans.  I  have  seen  since  I  came 
to  America  an  article  that  spoke  of  the  wonderful  improve- 
ments that  have  been  made  in  physics  during  the  last  fifty 
years;  and  it  stated  that  doctors  were  beginning  to  doubt 
very  much  their  power  to  cure  confirmed  maladies.  They 
have  less  faith  in  themselves  than  they  ever  had  before  as 
to  their  power  to  cure  ;  but  all  the  time  there  has  been  a  grow- 
ing confidence  in  them  that  they  have  power  to  prevent.  And 
to-day  they  are  accomplishing  more  in  the  direction  of  pre- 
vention than  they  ever  accomplished  in  the  direction  of  cure — 
which  is  a  thing  we  may  easily  believe.  Prevention  is  better 
than  cure,  and  if  you  want  to  carry  that  out  to  the  utmost  extent 
carry  it  out  with  the  little  child,  for  that  is  the  place  to  cure  the 
maladies  of  the  world.  Why,  when  I  was  young  scientists  always 
studied  nature  in  the  big  and  the  old.  If  they  wished  to  study 
vegetable  life,  they  studied  it  in  the  oak;  if  they  wished  to  study 
organization,  they  studied  it  in  the  elephant;  if  they  wanted  to 
study  life,  they  studied  it  in  the  adult.  But  they  have  changed 
all  that  to-day.  Botanists  do  not  study  life  in  the  oak;  they 
study  it  in  the  moss.  They  do  not  to-day  study  life  in  the 
elephant;  they  study  it  in  the  microbe.  They  do  not  to-day 
study  organization  in  the  adult;  they  stud}*  it  in  the  embryo. 
They  have  taken  the  minute ;  they  have  gone  back  to  the  gene- 
sis of  things;  and  I  say  that  it  must  be  the  same  in  society.  You 
must  study  all  great  problems  in  the  brain  of  the  child.  That  is 
the  place  where  they  will  be  settled.  All  your  questions  of  dirt 
and  drink  and  darkness  and  deviltry,  every  one  of  them  will  be 
settled  happily  in  the  noble  education  of  the  little  child.  And 
the  chief  factor  of  that  education  is  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesu 
Christ. 

As  to  our  missionary  societies,  why,  you  ought  to  give  me 
night  for  that.    What  can  I  say  to  you  in  five  minutes  ?  And 
thought  I  saw  Chaplain  McCabe  somewhere,  with  a  glittering 
eve  upon  me.    Methodists  are  always  at  home  with  the  missionar 
movement.    We  believe  in  one  religion.    You  know  they  had 
great  Parliament  of  Religions  at  Chicago.  All  right;  but  you  be 
lieve,  and  I  do,  or  we  should  not  be  here  to-night — we  believe  i 


1S96.J 


Fraternity. 


457 


the  intolerance  of  Christianity.  We  believe  that  there  is  but 
one  religion  for  the  race.  Some  men  say  there  will  be  but  one 
language.  I  do  not  know  about  that.  If  there  is  it  will  be  the 
American,  as  that  language  is  spoken  in  England.  But  we  are 
perfectly  sure  there  will  be  but  one  religion,  and  that  simplifies 
our  task  immensely,  and  is  the  fountain  of  our  enthusiasm. 
And  then  Ave  have  no  trouble  as  to  whether  we  have  got  to 
the  limit  or  no.  Politicians  are  always  bothered  about  limits. 
Mr.  Disraeli  used  to  talk  about  a  scientific  frontier.  I 
do  not  know  what  it  was  exactly.  It  was  one  of  his  fine 
phrases.  It  was  about  a  line,  I  think,  something  about  the  thick- 
ness of  the  equator,  that  was  to  come  between  England  and 
Russia.  And  then,  you  know  a  good  deal  about  a  line — I  think 
you  call  it  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  And  then,  much  more  re- 
cently, we  have  heard  a  great  deal  more  about  another  line  ;  but 
I  must  mind  what  I  say  about  that,  for  I  have  noticed  since  I 
came  here  that  in  this  Conference  you  pay  extraordinary  defer- 
ence to  the  Monroe  doctrine.  But  Methodism  has  no  trouble  on 
the  question  of  limits.  Our  glorious  John  made  it  delightfully 
simple:  "  The  world  is  my  parish."  With  one  Redeemer  for  one 
long-suffering  race,  we  go  forth  here  and  there  and  everywhere,  and 
by  your  side  we  work  in  many  languages  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  the  people  in  many  tongues;  but  God  has  followed  our  work 
with  signs  and  blessings,  and  although  we  are  fettered  for  want  of 
money — as  we  always  were  and  always  shall  be,  and  so  are  you — 
there  is  a  worse  thing  than  that:  there  is  the  fetter  of  coldness,  the 
lack  of  enthusiasm;  and  I  do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  we  are 
lacking  for  that,  or  that  our  enthusiasm  in  the  missionary  cause  is 
not  as  great  as  it  ever  was.  May  God  send  a  wonderful  blessing 
upon  our  agents,  and  in  all  parts  of  the  earth  may  we  be  gladdened 
to  see  the  nations  turn  from  their  idols  to  serve  the  living  God! 

Now,  I  have  done,  as  nearly  as  possible,  but  I  have  a  few 
minutes  left.  Will  you  excuse  me  if  I  have  the  boldness  to  say 
one  or  two  words  more  to  you  upon  your  duty  and  ours  ?  Stick, 
I  say,  to  the  old  Gospel.  Why,  they  will  say  that  the  old  Book 
is  worn  out,  and  that  it  is  to  be  dismissed  as  an  obsolete  record. 
When  visiting  Cologne  I  looked  into  that  great  cathedral,  and 
in  the  early  morning  I  saw  that  the  eastern  window  was  lighted 
up  and  all  the  other  windows  were  dark  and  obscure.  When  I 
went  at  noon  I  found  that  some  of  the  other  windows  had  turned 
to  ruby  and  gold,  and  that  they  flamed  out  in  prophets,  in  angels, 
and  saints.  And  then,  when  I  went  at  sunset,  I  saw  that  the 
other  windows  were  lighted  up  with  the  setting  sun.  And  what 
looked  black  in  the  morning,  at  night  looked  like  windows  into 
heaven.  It  is  a  good  deal  like  that  with  the  Bible.  There  are 
dark  pages  in  it,  but  in  the  process  of  the  sun  first  one  page 
is  lighted  up,  and  then  another,  and  where  men  once  found  only 
obscurity  there  flamed  out  magnificent  meaning,  with  Jesus 
Christ  always  standing  in  the  midst.  There  was  truth  for  Chrys- 
ostom's  day,  truth  for  Bernard's,  truth  for  Luther's,  truth  for 


458 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Wesley's,  and  you  men  to-day  in  your  pulpits  are  finding  the 
exact  truth  for  your  particular  generation  and  the  singular  condi- 
tion of  things  in  which  you  find  yourselves.  And  depend  upon  it, 
before  this  world  is  done  there  won't  be  a  dark  page  left  in  the 
book,  but  every  bit  of  it  will  be  illuminated,  and  the  temple  filled 
with  the  glory  of  God  and  with  the  gladness  of  men.  Stick  to 
the  old  Book.  And  if  you  stick  to  the  old  Book  you  won't  have 
to  resort  to  sensationalism  to  draw  people  into  your  churches. 
We  had  in  England,  years  ago,  a  painter,  and  he  wanted  to  be 
original  in  his  art,  and  he  strove  after  originality,  and  therefore 
missed  it.  He  did  what  all  such  men  do — he  became  eccentric, 
and  that  he  might  paint  something  that  would  impress  he 
used  to  eat  raw  pork  for  supper,  and  the  next  day  paint  what  he 
saw.  It  strikes  me  sometimes  that  some  modern  preachers  must 
adopt  similar  tactics.  You  don't  want  eccentric  things,  and  you 
don't  want  sensational  sermons.  The  preachers  that  draw  best 
in  England  are  the  men  who  preach  with  greatest  simplicity  the 
old  evangelical  doctrines  that  made  Methodism.  You  say  you 
want  something  to  draw — that  is  the  word — to  draw.  Your 
Master  knew  that  you  would  want  something  wherewith  to  draw, 
and  therefore  he  left  you  the  grandest  magnet  in  the  universe 
— he  left  you  Christ  :  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men 
unto  me." 

I  won't  say  anything  to  you  about  politics,  because  I  know 
you  are  a  dangerous  set;  but  if  you  ask  me  privately  what  would 
immensely  prejudice  Methodism  in  England,  I  say,  mixing  it  up 
with  popular  politics.  Let  us  as  Christian  men  take  care  of  our 
citizenship,  of  its  rights  and  its  duties.  This  world  belongs  to 
God,  and  we  must  claim  it  for  him.  But  let  us  not  mix  politics 
up  in  our  Church  life.  Can  you  turn  the  Church  of  God  into  a 
political  cock-pit  and  then  expect  spiritual  prosperity  ? 

There  is  another  thing  I  will  venture  to  say,  although  you  will 
suspect  I  am  a  narrow  man.  I  say  to  you,  take  care  of  your  de- 
nominational spirit.  I  don't  care  who  accuses  me  of  bigotry  in 
that  matter.  Some  reference  has  been  made  to  the  flag  of  my 
country  here,  and  I  have  been  astonished  since  I  came  to  America 
at  the  frequency  with  which  I  have  seen  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
What  do  you  mean  by  it  ?  You  mean  to  create  a  patriotic  sen- 
timent, for  you  know  that  without  that  patriotic  sentiment  you 
cannot  live  and  flourish.  Cultivate  the  denominational  temper 
as  you  do  the  patriotic.  Without  it  you  cannot  live  and  flourish. 
No  injustice  to  other  Churches.  What  do  you  mean  by  those 
flags  ?  Why,  you  put  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  the  middle,  and 
enough  of  them  lest  anybody  should  overlook  them.  Quite  right. 
But  then  the  other  flags  are  here.  Why,  there  is  the  Union  Jack, 
that  has  braved  a  thousand  years  of  battle  and  the  breeze;  the 
French,  the  Prussian,  the  Italian,  and  some  other  flags  of  nation- 
alities that  I  venture  to  say  are  not  yet  born.  You  do  not 
exclude  other  nations,  or  assume  toward  them  a  position  of 
hostility. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


45(J 


First,  love  to  your  great  empire  that  is  worthy  of  your  love, 
and  then  justice  and  charity  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  This- 
is  what  I  read  from  this  display  of  flags.  So  let  it  be  in  Church 
life.  Love  Methodism,  our  beloved  Church ;  but  no  injustice  in 
that  to  other  Churches  which  you  cannot  love  properly  unless  you 
first  love  your  own.  I  was  looking  the  other  day  at  the  grave- 
stone of  a  good  woman,  and  it  declared,  "  She  was  a  lover  of  all 
good  men."  But  there  was  another  fact  disclosed  on  that  stone, 
and  that  is  that  she  showed  love  to  one  in  particular.  Let  it  be 
so  with  us.  Depend  upon  it  our  patriotism  has  a  great  deal  to 
do  with  our  nation,  much  more  than  we  think,  and  you  realize 
that  when  you  put  the  Stars  and  Stripes  over  every  school.  You 
have  got  it  there.  It  was  a  conception  worthy  of  you.  Put  your 
denominational  flag  up.  Let  your  children  love  your  Church. 
Love  it  yourself.  Strive  ever  to  make  it  more  worthy  of  their 
love  and  of  yours.  And  depend  upon  it,  as  Methodism  arose  in 
one  of  the  world's  darkest  hours,  so  shall  it  live  to  share  in  the 
splendors  of  the  millennial  day. 

The  final  words,  so  dear  to  listeners,  and  so  excruciating  to 
orators.  Your  country  had  a  grand  beginning.  When  Solo- 
mon built  the  temple  they  brought  stones,  colossal  stones,  hewn 
stones  for  the  foundations.  We  generally  put  in  rubbish  in 
foundations,  but  God  does  otherwise.  The  foundations  of  the 
temple  were  among  the  most  magnificent  portions  of  that  structure. 
It  is  like  God.  Whenever  he  begins  a  work  he  is  very  particular 
about  the  foundations.  He  was  when  he  built  this  earth.  He 
laid  the  foundations  well.  You  were  not  there,  I  was  not  there, 
but  they  were  well  laid  notwithstanding  ;  and  when  God  has  a 
new  empire  to  build  he  lays  the  foundations  well,  and  he  laid 
your  foundations  in  a  sound  fabric  when  he  laid  it  in  those  men 
that  came  over  from  Lincolnshire  and  other  counties  in  Eng- 
land, the  stoutest  and  strongest  and  noblest  products  of  the  old 
civilization.  Take  care.  You  have  received  a  great  country. 
Take  care  that  you  build  wisely  and  well.  We  dump  a  great 
deal  of  poor  material  on  your  shores.  From  England,  from  Ire- 
laud,  from  Italy,  from  Scandinavia,  we  send  you  very  equivocal 
material.  But  the  future  depends  upon  yourselves.  It  depends 
upon  this  Conference  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  whether  out  of 
all  these  expatriated  nationalities  you  are  going  to  turn  out  mere 
slag  and  cinder,  or  whether  you  are  going  with  a  pure  fire  to  fuse 
tin-  material  into  a  new  Corinthian  brass,  pure  gold,  with  which 
you  shall  build  the  city  of  God. 

I  think  that  the  Mayflovier  was  a  splendid  name  for  the  ship 
that  brought  over  the  Pilgrim  fathers — Mayflower,  not  a  flower 
of  the  autumn,  but  the  flower  of  the  spring;  and  it  was  a  symbol, 
it  was  a  prophecy  of  what  was  to  come  to  pass  in  these  latter 
days:  that  a  new  summer  of  civilization  was  breaking  upon  the 
earth — a  summer  in  whose  pure  sky  were  lighter  clouds  and 
eclipses;  a  summer  whose  brilliant  blossoms  should  be  a  loftier 
conception  of  the  nobility  of  manhood,  of  the  rights  of  freedom, 


460 


Journal  of  the  Ge?ieral  Conference. 


[1890. 


of  the  royalty  of  virtue ;  a  summer,  let  us  hope  and  pray,  a  sum- 
mer whose  sun  shall  no  more  go  down,  and  whose  moon  shall  not 
withdraw  its  shining. 

3. — Address  of  the  Irish  Methodist  Conference  to  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Beloved  and  Honored  Brethren:  We  gladly  embrace  the 
opportunity  of  greeting  you  in  the  name  of  our  common  Lord, 
"  Grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  unto  you  through  the  knowledge 
of  God,  and  of  Jesus  our  Lord." 

We  received  your  fraternal  address  with  much  gratification, 
and  welcomed  to  our  Conference  your  honored  and  beloved 
Bishop,  Rev.  Edward  G.  Andrews,  D.D.,  LL.D.  We  regretted 
the  unavoidable  absence  of  his  companion,  the  Hon.  Theodore 
Runyon,  LL.D.,  Ambassador  for  the  TJnited  States  to  the  German 
Empire,  as  his  presence  would  have  given  us  peculiar  pleasure. 

The  address  of  Bishop  Andrews  was  heard  with  the  deepest 
interest.  As  he  set  forth  in  eloquent  language  the  marvelous 
progress  of  your  Church  we  offered  devout  thanksgiving  to  the 
Head  of  the  Church  who  has  so  abundantly  crowned  your  labors. 
As  we  were  reminded  that  within  the  last  four  years  your  mem- 
bership has  increased  by  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million,  and  that 
Methodism  in  the  States  can  claim  to  have  under  its  pastoral  care 
one  fifth  of  your  population,  we  recognized  how  justly  you  say 
that  "  such  development  is  without  parallel  in  the  history  of 
Christianity." 

We  are  also  informed  of  the  noble  work  you  are  doing  for  the 
higher  education  of  your  people,  and  of  the  whole  nation,  in  your 
high  schools,  colleges,  and  universities;  of  the  thorough  equip- 
ment with  which  you  furnish  your  students  in  theological  col- 
leges so  that  they  may  become  "able  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament,"  as  well  as  of  the  efficiency  of  your  great  publishing 
establishments,  from  which  is  issuing  in  many  forms  a  pure, 
healthy,  and  ennobling  literature.  We  rejoice  that  you  are  thus 
perpetuating  the  traditions  of  early  Methodism  and  the  work  of 
our  revered  founder. 

Your  foreign  mission  enterprise  awakens  our  liveliest  interest. 
In  the  European  field  you  are  paying  back  generously  your  own 
indebtedness  to  the  Old  World.  In  Africa  and  in  the  Orient 
you  are  also  emulating  the  home  Churches  in  your  successful 
efforts  to  win  the  world  for  Him  who  purchased  it  with  his  blood. 

We  are  not  forgetful  of  the  great  social,  moral,  and  spiritual 
problems  affecting  the  growing  and  varied  peoples  which  make 
up  your  population,  which  you,  in  common  with  all  the  Christian 
Churches,  are  trying  to  solve.  And  we  pray  that  God  may  con- 
tinue to  give  you,  in  all  your  councils,  high-minded  and  large- 
hearted  men  who,  having  knowledge  of  the  times,  will  know  what 
your  Israel  ought  to  do. 


1896.J 


Maternity. 


461 


Your  difficulty  is  to  overtake  your  work — to  lay  bold  of  the 
multitudes  which  from  all  lands  are  week  by  week  poured  into 
your  cities.  Ours  is  to  hold  our  ground  in  the  face  of  a  declining 
population.  We  have  to  mourn  continually  the  loss  by  emigra- 
tion of  many  of  our  best  people.  We  see  those  whom  we  have 
brought  to  God  and  trained  for  service  in  his  Church  leaving  us 
for  other  lands  while  yet  in  the  prime  of  life.  Yet  we  must  and 
do  toil  on  remembering  that  our  record  is  on  high,  and  that  one 
day  "  both  he  that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  will  rejoice  to- 
gether." 

You  will  be  made  glad  when  we  assure  you  that  notwithstand- 
ing these  losses  our  adherents  were  never  more  numerous;  that 
our  Church  is  more  united  and  better  organized  than  ever;  that 
the  efficiency  of  our  ministry  steadily  increases,  and  that  our 
financial  position  is  firmer  than  at  any  former  time.  We  are  still 
confident  that  God  has  a  great  work  for  "  the  least  among  the 
tribes"  to  do  in  Ireland.  And  although  we  see  those  whom 
God's  grace  has  made  true,  noble,  and  holy  men  and  women  pass 
from  us  to  your  country  and  to  other  lands,  yet  we  are  persuaded 
that  we  are  taking  our  part  in  helping  forward  the  regeneration 
of  the  world. 

We  have  appointed  as  our  representative  the  Rev.  R.  Crawford 
Johnson,  the  secretary  of  our  Conference,  and  a  brother  greatly 
beloved  and  honored.  He  carries  our  warmest  greetings  and  will 
give  you  a  full  account  of  our  position  and  prospects. 

Honored  and  beloved  brethren,  we,  as  nations  and  peoples,  are 
bound  by  the  closest  ties  of  language,  blood,  and  religion.  We 
hold  and  guard  in  common  "  the  faith  which  was  once  delivered 
to  the  saints."  As  Christian  Churches  we  are  commissioned  to 
proclaim  the  Gospel  and  further  throughout  the  world  the  king- 
dom of  our  blessed  Lord.  May  these  bonds  be  ever  sacred,  grow- 
ing in  strength  from  generation  to  generation!  May  our  emula- 
tion as  Churches  and  as  nations  ever  be  to  enfranchise  the  race 
and  hasten  on  the  universal  reign  of  the  Prince  of  Peace! 

Signed  on  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  Conference, 

John  O.  Park, 

Belfast,  June,  1895.  Assistant  Secretary. 

4.  Address  of  Rev.  Dr.  R.  C.  Johnson,  of  the  Irish  Metho- 
dist Church.    Journal,  page  182. 

During  the  sessions  of  the  last  British  Conference  two  little 
street  arabs  were  discussing  the  situation.  "  What  are  all  these 
parsons  doing  here?  "  "  O,"  said  his  comrade,  "  don't  you  know? 
Why,  they  are  here  to  swap  sermons."  Now,  although  we  may 
not  be  here  to  swap  sermons,  we  are  here  to  exchange  greetings. 
I  bring  you  the  sincere  and  enthusiastic  love  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  Irish  Methodist  preachers  and  of  one  hundred  thousand  at- 
tendants on  their  ministry.  We  have  one  very  good  reason  for 
Sending  our  love  to  you.    "Where  the  treasure  is,  there  will  the 


462 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


heart  be  also."  In  twenty -five  years  eleven  thousand  members, 
and  that  means  fifty  thousand  hearers,  have  left  our  shores  for 
foreign  lands,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  those  emigrants  have 
turned  their  faces  to  the  lands  of  the  setting  sun.  Dr.  Potts,  of 
Canada,  says  that  one  third  of  the  Methodist  preachers  of  Canada 
are  of  Irish  birth  or  parentage,  and  I  think  I  am  perfectly  safe 
in  saying  that  you  have  nearly  four  times  as  many  Methodist 
preachers  with  warm  Irish  blood  in  their  veins  as  we  have  in  the 
dear  old  land.  Emigrants  have  to  be  weighed  as  well  as  counted. 
Two  half  Christians  do  not  make  a  whole  one.  One  of  your  own 
historians  has  said  that  God  sifted  three  kingdoms  for  the  very 
choicest  spirits  he  could  find  in  order  to  people  this  great  conti- 
nent. I  do  not  know  whether  he  included  Ireland  in  that  trinity 
or  not,  but  I  know  that  a  large  number  of  the  very  elect  have 
come  from  Ireland  to  America.  John  Summerfield,  the  seraph  of 
his  day;  Thomas  Guard,  endowed  with  the  twin  gifts  of  logic 
and  rhetoric,  every  sentence  of  whose  lectures  is  a  proverb,  and 
every  proverb  a  gem;  Elliott,  the  erudite,  and  Butler,  the  pioneer; 
Bishop  Thoburn,  who  read  for  us  that  glorious  chapter  which  has 
been  added  to  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  by  your  missions  in  India 
during  the  last  quadrennium — these  and  a  host  of  others  are  of 
either  Irish  birth  or  origin.  Time  fails  to  mention  more,  but 
allow  me  to  add  another  name — Bishop  Simpson,  orator,  patriot, 
saint,  and  sage. 

"  Your  greatest,  yet  with  least  pretense ; 

Foremost  captain  of  his  time ; 

Great  in  council ;  great  in  war ; 
Rich  in  saving  common  sense ; 

And,  as  the  greatest  only  are, 

In  his  simplicity  sublime." 

I  do  not  believe,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  these  fraternal  inter- 
changes evaporate  in  mere  sentiment.  I  am  foolish  enough  to 
believe  that  they  serve  very  practical  ends.  Sometimes  when 
you  are  traveling  in  a  railway  car  you  may  go  miles  without 
speaking  a  single  word  to  your  fellow-passenger.  You  think  that 
he  looks  forbiddingly  cold. 

"  You  feel  his  presence  by  the  coldness, 
Feel  the  icy  breath  upon  him." 

He  is  thinking  the  same  about  you.  But  break  the  ice,  and 
you  often  find  him  to  be  a  genial  and  pleasant  companion.  So 
these  reunions  help  to  dissolve  prejudice  and  misunderstanding. 
They  bind  Church  to  Church  ;  ay,  and  nation  to  nation.  You 
have  set  the  world  a  noble  example  in  substituting  arbitration 
for  the  brutalities  of  war,  and  no  act  of  this  Conference  has  so 
stirred  my  soul  as  the  unanimity  with  which  you  passed  a  series 
of  resolutions  on  this  subject  last  week. 

When  Dean  Stanley  was  traveling  in  your  country  he  noticed 
on  the  beautiful  shores  of  Lake  George  a  maple  and  an  oak  grow- 
ing from  the  same  stem,  and  he  saw  at  once  in  that  twofold 
yet  united  tree  an  emblem  of  unity — the  brilliant  and  fiery 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


463 


maple  an  emblem  of  America,  the  gnarled  and  twisted  oak  the 
emblem  of  Great  Britain — and  he  breathed  the  prayer  that  these 
two  great  nations  might  always  be  linked  together  in  the  bonds 
of  brotherly  love  and  peace.  I  am  sure  you  will  all  say  amen  to 
the  great  churchman's  prayer.  It  has  been  said,  "  America  and 
England  against  the  world."  No!  a  thousand  times,  No!  Amer- 
ica and  England  for  the  world.  With  a  common  language  with 
a  common  literature,  and  with  a  common  Christianity,  be  it 
ours  to  unite  hand  to  hand,  heart  to  heart,  in  trying  to  make  this 
world  better,  and  men  more  like  Jesus  Christ. 

And  now,  sir,  I  want  to  talk  to  you  a  little  about  Ireland — 
the  land  of  the  blackthorn,  the  shamrock,  and  the  harp.  We  are 
often  asked,  "  What  hope  have  you  for  the  conversion  of  Ireland  ?  " 
I  am  very  thankful  to  say  that  we  have  never  had  the  same  con- 
fidence in  answering  that  question  in  the  affirmative  as  to-day. 
I  suppose  you  know  that  we  have  been  passing  through  a  po- 
litical crisis.  You  will  say,  perhaps,  "  You  are  always  in  a  state  of 
crisis  there."  But  the  late  crisis  has  been  a  crisis  of  crises,  and 
the  hour  trembled  with  destin}^. 

Perhaps  some  of  you,  especially  these  "  potent,  grave,  and  rev- 
erend seigniors,"  may  be  alarmed  at  the  mention  of  politics. 
You  need  not  be.  There  was  an  Irishman  in  England  preaching 
one  evening,  and  friends  were  invited  to  go  and  hear  him,  but 
one  of  the  invited  very  brusquely  said:  "No,  I  won't  go;  perhaps 
he  may  have  a  bit  of  dynamite  in  his  pocket."  I  can  assure  you 
I  have  neither  dynamite  in  my  pocket  nor  political  dynamite  in 
my  speedy  and  yet  I  am  in  a  dilemma.  If  I  refer  merely  to  the 
work  of  the  early  Methodist  preachers — of  Gideon  Ouseley  and  of 
Graham  Campbell — that  is  ancient  history,  and  you  do  not  come 
to  hear  ancient  history  to-clay.  It  is  impossible  to  give  you  a 
picture  of  the  Ireland  of  to-day  without  referring  to  contempo- 
rary events. 

All  through  the  past  few  years  a  story  of  the  American  war 
has  been  running  through  my  mind.  At  a  great  crisis  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  civil  war  Frederick  Douglass,  the  Negro  orator,  was 
very  despondent,  and  was  communicating  his  despair  to  an  audi- 
ence, when  an  old  woman  right  under  the  platform  shouted  at  the 
top  of  her  voice,  "Frederick,  is  God  dead?"  No!  God  still 
lives,  and  providence  is  no  empty  dream.  Commercial  depres- 
sion, social  revolution,  political  crises  are  all  under  his  control, 
and  I  have  steadfastly  believed  that,  whether  our  hopes  or  our 
fears  be  realized,  our  good  will  be  consulted. 

"  What  though  thou  rulest  not, 

Yet  heaven  and  earth  and  hell 
Proclaim,  God  sitteth  on  the  throne, 

And  ruleth  all  things  well." 

Influence  of  the  Political  Struggle. 

We  are  only  now,  however,  beginning  to  see  the  influence  of 
the  political  struggle  on  the  religious  destinies  of  the  country. 
30 


464 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


I  hope  some  of  you  have  been  to  Killarney.  Come  next  year  if 
you  have  not  been  there;  there  is  plenty  of  room  in  the  hotels. 
You  have  seen  at  the  Lakes  masses  of  rock  that  have  been  split 
by  the  action  of  trees.  A  seed  borne  by  the  birds  was  deposited 
in  the  crevice  of  a  rock,  and  by  and  by  that  tiny  seedling  has 
split  the  gigantic  mass  in  twain.  Now,  a  process  like  that  has 
been  going  on  in  society  in  Ireland  during  the  past  few  years, 
and  in  a  far  shorter  space  of  time  than  that  in  which  the  acorn 
rent  the  rock,  a  mighty  chasm  has  been  created  between  the 
priests  and  the  people  of  Ireland,  and  that  chasm  is  growing 
wider  every  day.  What  is  the  point  at  issue?  Is  it  the  right  of 
the  people  to  use  their  own  judgment  in  political  matters?  Let 
me  prove  this  from  the  lips  of  the  priests  and  people  alike. 

First,  the  people.  Here  is  a  statement  of  their  case  as  pub- 
lished in  a  National  and  Roman  Catholic  paper: 

"The  general  election  has  resulted  in  the  revival  of  the  domi- 
nation of  clericalism  in  Ireland.  Regardless  of  the  injury  done 
to  religion,  the  priesthood  have  flung  themselves  into  the  fight, 
and  conducted  themselves  in  a  most  flagrant  and  improper  man- 
ner. The  Catholics  of  Cork  have  the  means  in  their  qwn  hands 
of  checking  the  irreligious  and  damnable  conduct  of  the  partisan 
political  priests.  Let  the  men  of  Cork  look  to  it.  The  political 
priest  must  have  no  place  in  Ireland.  He  is  an  anachronism  in 
this  decade,  and  he  must  be  driven  out  of  existence.  In  Kil- 
dare  the  people  suffer  as  they  do  in  Cork,  in  Heath,  and  else- 
where." 

And  then,  discussing  the  action  of  a  particular  priest,  whose 
name  is  given,  the  article  goes  on  to  say: 

"  He  was  as  morally  responsible  for  the  misconduct  of  the 
politicians  as  though  he  had  stood  outside  of  the  booths  him- 
self with  a  blackthorn  in  one  hand  and  the  breviary  in  the 
other." 

Second,  the  priests.  Here  is  the  language  of  one  of  the  highest 
ecclesiastics  of  the  land: 

"The  doctrines  of  the  present  day  are  calculated  to  wean 
the  people  from  the  advice  of  the  priests,  to  separate  the  priests 
from  the  people,  and  let  the  people  use  their  own  judgment." 

Politician  and  priest  thus  unite  to  say  that  the  point  at  issue 
between  them  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  use  their  own  private 
judgment  in  political  affairs. 

Now,  what  follows — or,  rather,  what  is  beginning  to  follow 
from  this  ?  The  right  of  the  people  to  form  their  own  judgment 
in  religious  matters  as  well  as  in  matters  political.  The  most  re- 
markable conversion  of  modern  days  in  Ireland  is  that  of  a  priest 
called  Father  Connellan.  He  was  a  priest  in  the  Church  of  Rome 
for  seven  and  a  half  years.  About  two  years  after  he  had 
entered  the  priesthood  he  was  appointed  to  preach  a  sermon  on 
the  subject  of  Transubstantiation.  Doubts  arose  in  his  mind  in 
the  preparation  of  the  sermon,  but  he  stifled  his  doubts  and 
preached  the  sermon.    The  doubts,  however,  continued  till  five 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


465 


years  afterward,  when,  in  an  agony  of  perplexity  and  despair,  he 
resolved  to  leave  the  Church  of  Rome.  He  was  in  a  difficulty, 
for  if  he  openly  renounced  the  priesthood  he  knew  that  he  would 
be  slandered  like  Luther;  but  he  hit  upon  a  strange  plan.  His 
parish  was  close  to  the  river  Shannon,  and  one  day  he  took  a 
boat,  having  deposited  a  suit  of  layman's  clothes  on  the  land; 
then,  when  he  got  a  little  way  out,  he  doffed  his  clericals,  leaped 
into  the  river  and  swam  ashore,  and  donned  the  suit  of  layman's 
clothes.  He  then  left  the  country.  There  was  mourning  and 
lamentation  and  woe  on  every  hand.  Boards  of  Guardians  sus- 
pended their  meetings  and  passed  votes  of  condolence  with  the 
bereaved  family,  while  all  the  local  papers  rang  with  the  praise 
of  one  who  was  affectionately  called  the  "  fair-haired  priest." 
Everybody  thought  that  he  was  dead.  He  was  actually  in 
London.  When  he  went  there  he  went  to  Spurgeon's  Taber- 
nacle and  other  places  seeking  light.  About  a  year  and  a  half 
after  he  went  to  London  he  found  peace  with  God  under  the 
ministry  of  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Webb-Peploe.  The  instincts  of 
patriotism  and  grace  at  once  said,  "  Go  home  and  tell  thy  friends." 
Timid  advisers  warned  him  of  ostracism,  persecution,  and  death. 
However,  he  resolved  to  go  home.  You  who  know  anything 
about  the  Irish  know  that  their  great  ambition  is  to  have  a  priest 
in  the  family,  and  when  Father  Connellan  came  home  they 
received  him  as  one  alive  from  the  dead,  but  they  received  him 
with  mingled  grief  and  joy.  He  was  immediately  denounced 
from  the  altar;  nay,  further,  the  priest  came  to  old  Mr.  Connellan 
and  told  him  to  turn  out  the  renegade.  But  what  did  the  old  man 
say?  Though  choking  with  grief  he  told  the  ecclesiastic  himself 
to  go  about  his  business.  How  was  that  ?  What  lay  at  the  back 
of  that  manly  utterance  of  the  old  man  ?  A  local  political  quar- 
rel. The  clergy  and  the  Connellans  had  different  views  about 
some  local  contest  for  the  village  parliament — the  Board  of 
Guardians — and  as  the  Connellans  had  resisted  the  interference 
of  the  clergy  in  political  matters  they  resented  their  interference 
in  religious  matters.  Father  Connellan  is  still  at  home  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  his  friends  and  neighbors,  no  man  forbidding. 

The  Magna  Charta  of  the  Reformation. 

O,  sir,  this  is  a  glorious  day  for  Ireland  !  The  manhood  of 
Ireland,  the  independence  of  Ireland,  is  beginning  to  assert  itself. 
Homer  says  that  the  day  that  makes  a  man  a  slave  takes  half  his 
manhood  away;  but  put  conscience  and  will  and  judgment  in 
chains,  and  you  take  all  the  man  away.  When  Father  Connel- 
lan's  superior  remonstrated  with  him  about  his  error, Father  Con- 
nellan pleaded  the  voice  of  conscience.  "  Absurd,  sir,"  said  the 
priest,  "  you  have  no  conscience;  no  man  has  any  conscience  but 
the  Catholic  Church."  A  wonderful  change  has  come;  the  spirit 
of  freedom  is  abroad.  The  literature  of  London  is  pervading  our 
remotest  villages.  The  very  exigencies  of  political  strife  are 
bringing  all  classes  and  creeds  together,  and  Irelanct  is  now 


466 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


demanding  the  Magna  Charta  of  the  Reformation,  the  right  of 
private  judgment  in  things  spiritual  and  divine. 

"  Spirit  of  freedom,  on! 

0  pause  not  in  your  flight, 
Till  every  claim  be  won 

To  worship  in  thy  light. 

"  On,  till  from  every  vale, 

And  where  the  mountains  rise, 
The  beacon  fires  of  liberty 

Shall  kindle  for  the  skies." 

Results — A  Free  Bible  and  a  Free  Pulpit. 

Austin  Phelps  says  that  the  two  great  factors  in  the  English 
Reformation  were  a  free  Bible  and  a  free  pulpit.  We  are  fast 
obtaining  both. 

First,  a  free  pulpit.  Four  years  ago,  when  you  met  at  Omaha, 
there  was  practically  no  liberty  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  open 
air  outside  of  the  province  of  Ulster.  Now,  with  the  spirit  of 
freedom  in  the  air,  the  Gospel  is  preached  every  Sunday  in  the 
provinces  of  Minister,  Leinster,  and  Connaught. 

There  are  heroes  of  the  Gospel  as  well  as  of  the  sword.  Two 
of  these,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hallowes,  a  Church  of  Ireland  clergyman, 
and  the  Rev.  William  Harper,  a  Methodist  preacher,  met  to- 
gether some  years  ago  for  prayer,  and  as  a  result  commenced 
services  in  the  town  of  Arklow.  Rotten  eggs,  liquid  mud,  and 
other  missiles  common  in  George  Whitefield's  day  were  hurled  at 
the  preachers.  Fog  horns,  tin  whistles,  kettles,  and  all  the  dis- 
cords of  pandemonium  were  employed  to  drown  the  Gospel  mes- 
sage. But  faith  and  courage  proved  triumphant,  and  now  the 
Gospel  is  preached  every  Sunday  in  Arklow,  Athlone,  Cork,  Gal- 
way,  Dublin,  and  many  other  places. 

Comedy  frequently  mingles  with  tragedy,  and  sometimes  the 
open-air  services  in  these  provinces  almost  end  in  comedy.  There 
are  fashions  in  oratory  as  well  as  in  millinery,  but  I  am  glad  to 
say  the  highfaluting  style  of  oratory  has  quite  died  out  with  us. 
We  hate  grandiloquence  as  Ave  hate  rouge,  and  love  plain  words 
as  we  love  the  roses  with  which  nature  paints  our  cheeks.  Oc- 
casionally, however,  some  of  our  youthful  orators  still  indulge 
in  the  old  spread-eagle  style.  One  of  these  young  men  came 
down  to  address  an  audience  at  the  customhouse  steps  in  Dub- 
lin. He  had  been  curling  an  incipient  mustache,  and  as  he  pro- 
ceeded to  say,  in  pompous  rhetoric,  "  I  have  tried  logic,  I  have 
tried  metaphysics,"  and  so  on,  alas !  his  fine  sentences  were  inter- 
rupted by  an  old  woman  who  cried  out  in  a  most  mellifluous 
brogue,  "  Have  you  iver  thried  hair  resthorer?" 

Mazzini  says,  "  The  angels  of  Martyrdom  and  Victory  are  twin 
brothers."  Yes,  the  martyrs  of  to-day  will  be  the  victors  of  to- 
morrow, and  all  over  our  beautiful  land  we  will  soon  have  what 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  sought  and  found  in  this  broad  continent  of 
yours,  freedom  to  worship  God. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


467 


Secondly,  a  free  Bible.  Have  you  ever  pictured  the  condition 
of  a  land  without  the  Bible?  No  Twenty-third  Psalm  with  its 
green  pastures  and  still  waters!  No  fifty-third  of  Isaiah  with  its 
glorious  revelation  of  Christ  as  our  substitute  on  the  cross,  and 
as  our  intercessor  before  the  throne!  No  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
with  its  lofty  morals  and  sweet  beatitudes!  No  parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son,  telling  us  of  a  God  who  is  a  father,  and  a  father 
who  is  a  God!  No  third  of  John  with  its  sixteenth  verse,  which 
contains  the  Gospel  in  miniature;  and  no  fourteenth  chapter  with 
its  infallible  cure  for  the  troubles  of  the  heart!  Surely,  a  land 
without  a  Bible  is  a  land  in  the  very  shadow  of  death!  Ireland 
has  been  such  a  land.  Will  it  surprise  you  when  I  tell  you  that 
in  large  areas  of  Ireland  there  has  been  no  Bible?  No  Bible 
in  the  pews  of  the  churches,  no  Bible  in  the  schools,  and,  with 
but  few  exceptions,  no  Bible  in  the  homes  of  the  people!  Father 
Connellan  assures  us  that  now  there  is  hardly  a  corner  in  the 
land  that  has  not  its  Douay  Bible.  We  have  as  a  Church  six 
colporteurs  at  work.  Here  is  a  report  from  a  week's  work  from 
one  of  them:  "Paid  80  visits;  held  97  conversations;  prayed  in 
41  families;  books,  tracts,  and  texts  disposed  of,  230."  We  try 
to  circulate  the  Douay,  the  Roman  Catholic  Bible.  It  was  the 
Vulgate,  of  which  it  is  the  literal  translation,  that  led  Luther 
unto  light;  and  it  was  the  same  Bible  that  led  to  the  conversion 
of  Father  Connellan.  Now,  the  very  germ  of  the  English  Refor- 
mation lay  in  Wyclif's  Bible,  and  the  hope  of  Ireland  lies  in  the 
circulation  of  the  Scriptures.  Let  me  give  you  the  history  of  one 
of  our  young  ministers.  He  was  brought  up  a  Roman  Catholic 
in  the  south  of  Ireland.  The  first  lesson  in  theology  was,  of 
course,  from  his  mother.  In  that  lesson  he  tells  us  he  was  taught 
to  dread  four  things:  "  The  bite  of  a  dog,  the  laugh  of  a  Protestant, 
the  horns  of  a  cow,  and  the  heels  of  a  horse."  That  was  his  first 
lesson  in  theology.  I  cannot  tell  about  his  ecclesiastical  appren- 
ticeship as  an  acolyte  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Let  me  keep  to 
the  point  where  the  Douay  Testament  led  him  to  Christ;  that 
is  what  I  want  to  illustrate.  He  said,  quoting  Daniel  O'Connell, 
u  There  is  no  place  for  philosophy  and  tobacco  like  the  back  of 
a  tailor's  shop."  He  used  to  go  to  the  back  of  a  tailor's  shop, 
and  there  he  heard  people  discuss  theology.  He  thought  he 
should  like  a  Douay  Testament;  but  he  had  not  one,  and  so  one 
of  his  shopmates  put  one  on  his  bedroom  table,  and  he  began  to 
read  the  Douay  Testament.  He  read  it  clandestinely,  but  it  had 
a  wonderful  effect  upon  him.  He  went  to  confession.  Sir,  priests 
have  a  remarkable  scent.  They  have  a  very  keen  scent  for 
heresy.  The  priest  said,  "You  have  been  reading  bad  books." 
"  No,  sir,  I  have  not.  I  have  been  only  reading  the  Douay  Tes- 
tament." "  You  must  not  read  the  Douay  Testament  any  more. 
I  won't  give  you  absolution  if  you  do."  There  was  some  Spanish 
blood  in  him,  and  he  said,  "That  only  made  me  resolve  to  read 
it  the  more,  and  I  did  not  go  back  to  confession.  I  read  the 
Douay  Testament  to  my  mother,  and  then  began  to  give  some 


468 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


exposition.  The  moment  I  began  the  exposition  some  one  hid 
the  Testament  from  me."  "  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  will  have  revenge. 
I  will  get  a  copy  of  the  Protestant  Bible  if  they  won't  let  me 
read  the  Catholic  Bible."  The  very  next  day — it  is  wonderful 
how  Providence  cooperates  with  grace — there  was  an  auction  of 
books.  He  was  very  fond  of  novels,  so  he  went  to  this  auction, 
and  there  was  a  parcel  of  thirteen  books  tied  up  in  one  bundle 
for  sale,  some  of  George  Macdonald's  books,  but  the  covers  were 
off  them,  and  he  bought  the  thirteen  volumes  for  thirteen  pence. 
When  he  came  home  he  found  right  in  the  heart  of  that  bundle 
a  Protestant  Bible.  On  one  of  the  first  leaves  was  the  name  of 
Rebecca  Allen,  a  good  Quaker  lady.  She  had  underlined  all  the 
promises,  so  that  when  he  went  to  the  Bible  the  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises  were  all  at  hand.  Soon  after  there  was  a 
mission  in  the  town — a  mission  of  the  Redemptorist  Fathers — and 
of  course,  as  a  good  orthodox  Catholic,  he  attended  the  mission. 
He  found  there  another  young  fellow  touched  with  strange  doubts 
like  himself.  They  got  into  conversation.  One  of  the  priests 
was  to  preach  on  the  subject  of  confession  on  Wednesday  night, 
and  they  agreed  that  if  he  satisfied  them  about  confession  they 
would  go  the  next  morning.  But  he  did  not  satisfy  them.  The 
next  day  my  friend  got  his  beads,  his  medals,  and  his  meerschaum 
pipe,  made  a  bonfire  of  them  all,  and  gave  his  heart  to  Christ 
then  and  there.  And  now  this  young  fellow  is  preaching  with  a 
tongue  and  with  a  heart  of  fire  throughout  his  native  land. 

The  Forward  Movement  in  Ireland. 
I  want  to  speak  a  little  about  what  is  popularly  known  as  the 
forward  movement.  We  rather  object  to  that  phrase.  First, 
because  it  seems  to  depreciate  the  ox'dinary  agencies;  but 
secondly,  and  chiefly,  because  we  think  it  is  a  backward  rather 
than  a  forward  movement.  There  have  been  four  distinct  stages 
in  the  history  of  Methodism — the  evangelical,  the  ecclesiastical,, 
the  educational,  and  the  philanthropic.  The  evangelical  was  the 
first  stage,  and  was  represented  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
by  John  Wesley  and  the  early  Methodist  preachers ;  the 
ecclesiastical  came  next,  and  was  represented  by  Jabez  Bunting; 
then  came  the  educational,  with  its  Riggs  and  Moultons;  and 
lastly  the  philanthropic,  so  worthily  associated  with  Dr.  Bowman 
Stevenson  and  others.  At  times  within  the  past  fifty  years  we' 
had  almost  left  our  first  love  and  had  become  absorbed  in  mere 
organization  ;  but  happily  we  have  begun  within  the  last  few 
years  to  do  our  own  work,  and  the  revival  of  the  evangelistic 
spirit,  which  is  the  great  characteristic  of  the  forward  movement, 
is  simply  a  return  to  the  freshness  and  crown  of  our  first  love. 
Sometimes  the  representatives  of  these  several  interests  quarrel 
with  each  other.  This  is  the  quarrel  of  the  eye  with  the  ear, 
the  hand  with  the  foot.  Each  is  necessary  for  the  per- 
fection of  the  body.  Cultivate  the  evangelical  only,  and  you 
may  make  fanatics;  cultivate  the  ecclesiastical  only,  and  you  may 


1896.  J 


Fraternity. 


469 


make  bigots;  cultivate  the  educational  only,  and  you  may  make 
agnostics;  cultivate  the  philanthropic  only,  and  you  may  make 
Pharisees.  Cultivate  all  these  elements,  and  you  have  a  symmet- 
rical Church.  But,  whatever  is  wanting,  the  aggressive  element 
must  be  there.  The  Church  ceases  to  be  evangelical  when  it 
ceases  to  be  evangelistic.  The  law  of  nature  is  "use  or  lose." 
The  law  of  grace  is  the  same,  and  the  Methodist  Church  will  be 
smitten  with  the  curse  of  atrophy  and  death  if  its  old  fires  are 
allowed  to  die  out.  But  "  What's  in  a  name  ?  that  which  we 
call  a  rose  by  any  other  name  would  smell  as  sweet."  Call  it, 
therefore,  the  forward  movement,  or  the  backward  movement, 
as  you  please.    It  is  simply  Methodism  up  to  date. 

This  is  an  age  of  cities.  Begin  at  Jerusalem.  The  city  holds 
the  key  of  the  centuries — wealth,  commerce,  the  press,  and  many 
other  powers  that  make  for  right  or  wrong  focus  there.  The 
rapid  growth  of  cities  deteriorates  the  moral  fiber.  The  crowd 
covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  Men  lose  the  restraints  of  a  village 
in  a  big  city  and  give  the  reins  to  the  brute  and  demon  within 
the  soul.  Then  there  is  a  twofold  exodus — the  exodus  from  the 
country  to  the  city,  the  exodus  from  the  city  to  the  suburbs. 
This  twofold  rush  gravely  complicates  the  moral  problems  of 
the  city.  It  separates  the  classes  from  the  masses;  it  removes 
the  men  of  light  and  leading  from  the  crowd;  it  decimates  our 
city  churches,  and  leaves  vast  areas  to  be  the  abodes  of  ignorance 
and  squalor  and  sin.  More  than  one  half  of  the  population  of 
Great  Britain  is  massed  together  in  the  large  towns.  Ireland  is 
still,  however,  a  nation  of  villages;  but  in  the  province  of  Ulster 
the  population  is  quickly  gravitating  to  the  center — Belfast. 
Where  is  Belfast  ?  I  have  read  a  story  of  your  Quaker  poet, 
Whittier,  which  will  help  me  answer  this  query. 

The  aged  poet,  a  few  winters  since,  renewed  his  youth,  like  the 
eagles,  in  a  handsome  overcoat  of  the  purest  Ulster  pattern,  clad 
with  which  he  attended  a  school  examination  up  among  the 
Berkshire  hills,  so  dear  to  him.  He  was  standing  beside  the 
teacher,  who  was  catechizing  a  dimpled  little  tot  in  geogra- 
phy- 

"  What  are  the  provinces  of  Ireland  ?  "  asked  the  teacher. 
"  Potatoes,  whisky,  aldermen,  patriotism,  and — "  began  the 
child. 

u  No,  no,"  interrupted  the  teacher;  "I  didn't  mean  products;  I 
said  provinces." 

"  O,"  said  the  girl,  "  Connaught,  Leinster,  Munster,  and — 
and—" 

Here  she  stuck,  put  her  chubby  finger  in  her  rosebud  mouth, 
and  sought  inspiration  successively  in  her  toes,  the  corner  of  her 
apron,  the  ceiling,  and  the  dear  old  Quaker  poet's  kindly  face. 
He  smiled;  her  face  brightened  sympathetically.  The  entente 
cordiale  had  been  established  between  them.  He  patted  his  coat 
significantly;  she  looked  at  him  inquiringly;  he  nodded,  and  she 
burst  out: 


470 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


"  O,  Miss  Simmons,  I  know  now.  They  are  Connaught, 
Leinster,  Munster,  and  Overcoat !  " 

Belfast,  then,  is  the  capital  of  the  northern  province  from  which 
these  handsome  overcoats  take  their  name. 

When  Wesley  opened  his  commission  in  Belfast  there  were 
"  1,799  houses,  mostly  thatched."  Now  we  are  building  houses 
at  the  rate  of  two  thousand  every  year.  While  the  population 
of  Ireland  has  decreased  by  one  half  since  the  ravages  of  the 
famine,  the  population  of  Belfast  has  more  than  trebled  itself  in 
that  period.  Then  you  will  please  remember  that  the  population 
of  Belfast  is  mostly  Protestant;  very  largely  Scotch — Scotch  in 
physiognomy,  Scotch  in  dialect,  Scotch  in  characteristics,  and 
Scotch  in  religion  too.  In  fact,  Belfast  is  a  miniature  Glasgow. 
Now,  these  two  things,  the  rapid  growth  and  the  prevailing 
Protestantism  of  Belfast,  make  it  very  much  more  like  an  Ameri- 
can city  than  an  Irish  one,  and  give  us  at  least  one  spot  in  Ireland 
where  we  have  our 

Opportunities  for  Aggressive  Work. 

The  late  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  after  large  opportunity  of 
observing  and  collating  facts,  stated,  at  the  anniversary  of  the 
"  Open-air  Mission,"  at  Islington,  that  "  not  more  than  two  per 
cent  of  workingmen  are  wont  to  attend  public  worship." 

Belfast  is  by  no  means  so  heathenish  as  London,  but  it  is  esti- 
mated that  there  are  seventy-five  thousand  Protestants  who 
attend  no  place  of  worship. 

It  was  to  cope  with  this  white  heathenism  that  we  established 
a  mission  in  Belfast  six  years  ago. 

At  this  late  hour  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  enter  much 
into  detail,  but  let  me  first  give  you  a  few  of  the  axioms  and 
principles  that  have  been  taught  us  by  our  experience,  and  then 
enlarge  on  two  of  these  which  seem  to  be  of  the  most  vital  im- 
portance in  such  work : 

The  power  of  the  Gospel  to  save  the  masses. 

The  power  of  adaptation  to  reach  the  masses. 

The  importance  of  believing  in  every  man. 

The  value  of  constructive  versus  merely  negative  methods; 
social  work  springs  out  of  evangelistic,  and  we  must  make  men 
feel  the  brotherhood  of  man  if  we  are  to  make  them  believe  in 
the  fatherhood  of  God. 

You  may  change  the  environments  and  not  change  the  man. 

That  we  must  educate  and  elevate  as  well  as  evangelize. 

Cultivate  hands,  head,  heart. 

Every  convert  a  missionary.    Saved  to  save. 

Save  the  children. 

Lay  your  hand  upon  a  child's  head,  and  you  often  at  the  same 
time  lay  it  on  the  mother's  heart. 
Learn  from  everybody. 
Do  not  mind  grumblers. 
Turn  a  deaf  ear  to  critics. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


471 


The  power  of  testimony.  Many  will  come  to  see  Lazarus  who 
will  not  come  to  see  Christ. 

Let  me  now  dwell  for  a  little  on  two  of  these  points : 

1.  The  Power  of  Adaptation  to  Reach  the  Masses. 

Some  do  not  like  changes.  They  brand  all  improvements  as 
innovations.    This  arises  from  several  causes. 

First,  they  confound  methods  with  principles.  We  cannot  im- 
prove on  the  beverage  of  the  hills,  but  we  may  improve  the  aque- 
ducts and  pipes  that  bring  it  to  our  homes.  William  Arthur 
says  that  Methodism  ought  to  be  the  most  inflexible  system  in 
the  world  in  its  purpose  to  save  souls,  but  the  most  flexible  in 
the  methods  which  it  adopts  to  secure  that  end. 

Second,  they  failed  to  study  the  times  in  which  we  live. 
Oliver  Goldsmith  with  all  his  genius  was  a  very  simple  man.  Dr. 
Johnson  said  of  him:  "Goldsmith  is  so  ignorant  of  his  country 
that  he  would  bring  home  a  wheelbarrow  as  a  new  and  valuable 
invention."  Many  of  these  men  are  equally  innocent  about  the 
affairs  of  the  world.  They  are  at  home  among  books,  at  sea 
among  men.  Consequently  they  have  no  idea  of  the  necessities 
of  the  times  and  never  attempt  to  adapt  their  methods  to  the 
wants  and  peculiarities  of  the  age.  This  is  one  reason  why  the 
Church  is  crawling  along  so  slowly,  while  the  world  is  moving  at 
electric  pace. 

Third,  the  slavish  worship  of  idols.  Spurgeon  gave  very 
good  advice  to  those  Churches  that  are  living  on  past  traditions 
and  achievements.  "  Smash  your  models."  We  often  quote  John 
Wesley  as  an  authority  when  we  are  sticking  to  some  rusty  usage. 
How  stupid!  John  Wesley  was  a  Pharisee  by  temperament,  and 
therefore  inclined  to  cling  to  precedent  and  tradition.  He  was 
also  a  philosopher,  but  the  philosopher  killed  the  Pharisee  and  made 
him  a  grand  reformer — a  reformer,  not  an  iconoclast.  Methodism 
was  an  evolution,  not  a  revolution.  It  was  an  adaptation  of 
Christian  energy  to  the  wants  of  the  eighteenth  century.  What 
was  open-air  preaching?  A  dangerous  innovation.  What  was 
the  employment  of  cobblers  and  stonemasons  like  Tommy  Oliver 
and  John  Nelson  as  preachers  of  the  Gospel  ?  A  dangerous  inno- 
vation !  In  one  word,  John  Wesley  built  up  a  system  that  was 
as  much  an  anomaly  as  a  geranium  in  the  heart  of  an  iceberg,  so 
that  a  man  who  quotes  John  Wesley  as  an  authority  against 
change  is  simply  an  idiot,  and  is  as  inconsistent  as  the  ancient 
Pharisee  who  built  tombs  to  the  prophets  and  yet  failed  to  learn 
the  lessons  of  their  lives.  "Prove  all  things;  hold  fast  that 
which  is  good."  "  Prove  all  things."  Don'tadopt  methods  be- 
cause they  are  new,  but  do  not  reject  them  for  similar  reasons. 
"  Hold  fast  that  which  is  good."   Mark  you,  "  that  which  is  good." 

u  That  man's  the  true  conservative, 
Who  lops  the  moldered  branch  away." 

Grapple  everything  good,  everything  vital  and  fundamental, 


472 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


with  hooks  of  steel.  While  we  object  to  old  ruts,  we  object  more 
strongly  to  new  gospels.  While  we  plead  for  flexibility  and  free- 
dom in  plan  and  method,  we  plead  with  greater  fear  for  the  old, 
old  story  from  the  old,  old  Book. 

1.  We  have  a  Church  Extension  Society  to  meet  the  cases  of 
one  class  in  the  community. 

2.  We  find,  however,  that  many  people  will  not  come  into  our 
churches.  We  can  build  our  Gothic  vanes  and  classic  temples. 
We  can  invoke  the  aid  of  music,  preach  like  seraphs,  and  scatter 
invitations  like  withered  leaves  in  autumn ;  but  what  do  men  and 
women,  steeped  to  the  very  lips  in  vice,  care  for  such  things  ? 
Nothing  !  naked  nothing !  We  found  that  while  we  could  not 
reach  the  lapsed  masses  in  our  ecclesiastical  buildings,  we  could 
reach  them  in  other  ways. 

We  first  erected  a  tent.  Men  and  women  in  their  working 
clothes  came  in  crowds  and  we  remained  there  until  the  storms 
of  winter  threatened  to  sweep  us  all  away.  Then  we  rented  a 
large  circus  at  the  cost  of  $75  per  week,  and  from  the  very  first 
opening  of  the  circus  we  were  crowded  out — our  congregation  aver- 
aging two  thousand  people.  For  the  next  four  years  we  moved 
from  hall  to  circus,  from  circus  to  hall,  liable  to  eviction  at  any 
time,  for  we  were  only  tenants  at  will.  About  a  year  and  a  half 
ago,  however,  we  took  a  large  plot  of  ground  at  a  cost  of  about 
$24,500,  and  have  built  a  hall,  about  two  thirds  the  size  of  this 
armory.  This  we  find  too  small  for  us  in  the  winter  months,  and  in 
my  absence  the  trustees  are  enlarging  it  to  seat  five  hundred  more. 
Balfour  says  there  are  three  kinds  of  lies  :  First,  lies ;  second, 
thundering  lies;  third,  statistics.  Nowr,  I  am  not  going  to  trouble 
you  with  many  statistics,  but  let  me  give  you  one  or  two  items. 

We  had  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  coins  given  in  the  col- 
lections during  the  last  year,  showing  that  we  reached  five  thou- 
sand souls  every  week.  These  coins  amounted  to  nearly  $5,000, 
showing  how  the  poor  people  appreciate  the  Gospel.  But -while 
we  have  some  who  will  not  enter  a  church,  but  wTill  enter  a  hall, 
we  have  others  who  will  enter  neither  a  church  nor  a  hall. 
What  are  wTe  to  do  ?  How  are  we  to  reach  these  people  ?  Go 
to  them.  "  Go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges."  Many  will 
come  to  a  tent,  a  circus,  or  a  hall  who  will  not  come  to  a  church  ; 
but  many,  many  more  will  be  arrested  by  the  solo  or  sermon  as 
they  are  sauntering  along  the  highway.  Our  open-air  services 
are  where  our  most  splendid  victories  are  gained.  They  are  held 
in  fair  weather  and  foul,  in  the  scorching  sun  and  drizzling  rain, 
summer  and  winter  alike  ;  and  I  believe  it  has  been  often  our 
privilege  to  reach  in  various  wTays  ten  thousand  souls  in  a  single 
week  with  the  story  of  the  cross. 

2.  The  Power  of  the  Gospel  to  Save  the  Masses. 

It  is  the  Gospel  that  draws  the  crowd.  We  have  no  band.  We 
have  no  orchestra.  We  do  not  spend  more  than  one  hundred  dol- 
lars per  year  in  the  musical  services  of  the  Sabbath.  I  simply  state 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


473 


a  fact,  and  make  no  reflection  upon  the  policy  of  others.  We  de- 
pend upon  the  preaching  of  the  cross.  This  we  believe  is  the 
preaching  that  draws  and  holds  the  crowd.  What  was  the  magnet 
that  drew  the  struggling  crowds  to  Spurgeon's  Tabernacle  for 
thirty  years?  Mr.  Spurgeon  answers  in  the  words  of  Christ:  "  And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  Men  never  tire  of 
the  crocus  of  spring,  the  rose  of  summer,  the  sear  and  yellow  leaf 
of  autumn;  and  they  never  tire  of  the  old,  old  story.  "Age  can- 
not wither  it,  nor  custom  stale  its  infinite  variety."  Why?  Be- 
cause it  is  the  very  counterpart  and  complement  of  the  human 
soul.  On  one  occasion  Lord  Tennyson  was  walking  with  a  friend, 
when  that  friend  ventured  to  ask  him:  "What  think  ye  of 
Christ?"  Pointing  to  a  daisy,  Lord  Tennyson  said:  "  What  the 
sun  is  to  that  flower  Christ  is  to  me."  Yes,  what  beauty  is  to 
the  eye,  what  music  is  to  the  ear,  what  air  is  to  the  lungs,  what 
sunshine  is  to  the  flower,  Christ  is  to  the  soul  of  man. 

Let  me  give  you  one  or  two  instances  of  the  power  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  our  midst.  We  have  over  one  hundred  workers  who  go 
down  into  the  slums  every  Sunday  afternoon.  One  Sunday  as 
one  of  our  deaconesses  sang  a  solo  one  of  the  poor  girls  living 
in  those  regions  of  sin  and  shame  joined  in  the  chorus  as  she 
stood  in  the  doorway  of  the  house  in  which  she  lived.  Her  mis- 
tress heard  her  voice,  and,  coming  out  in  a  rage,  caught  her  by 
the  hair  of  the  head,  and  dragging  her  into  the  house  said,  "  If 
you  want  to  sing  those  songs  you  must  leave  this  house."  The 
following  Saturday  she  wandered  out  through  the  city  to  en- 
deavor to  find  out  some  member  of  our  mission.  Going  up  the 
Shankhill  Road,  she  met  one  of  our  members.  Accosting  him, 
she  expressed  a  desire  to  lead  a  better  life.  He  told  her  to  come 
to  the  open-air  at  Percy  Street  that  night,  and  she  would  meet 
either  Mr.  Johnson  or  Miss  Shannon.  I  was  not  present,  but 
Miss  Shannon  came  to  my  study  after  ten  o'clock  that  night  to 
tell  me.  Alas!  we  have  no  refuge  of  our  own,  and  are  often  at 
our  wits'  end  to  find  shelter  for  such  penitents.  After  consid- 
ering the  matter  for  a  little  I  suggested  that  possibly  two  mem- 
bers of  our  own  would  give  her  shelter  for  a  day  or  two.  They 
generously  responded  to  our  appeal,  opened  their  door,  and  kept 
this  poor  girl  for  weeks.  On  the  Monday  morning  she  came  to 
my  house,  and  I  found  out  some  particulars  of  her  history.  She 
had  been  a  Sunday  school  scholar  in  one  of  our  Belfast  Methodist 
Sunday  schools;  had  been  married  to  the  son  of  an  English 
Methodist  preacher;  had  lived  for  some  time  in  Manchester,  till 
drink  cursed  her  home.  On  leaving  her  husband,  and  coming 
to  Belfast,  she  gravitated  to  the  lowest  depths  of  vice.  I  cannot 
tell  you  the  whole  tragedy.  She  was  a  lady  in  her  manners  and 
speech.  Alas!  her  bones  were  full  of  the  sins  of  her  youth,  and 
although  only  twenty-one  her  days  were  in  the  yellow  leaf;  the 
worm,  the  canker,  and  the  grief  were  gnawing  life  away.  We 
wrote  to  her  husband,  but  his  heart  was  stone.  We  pleaded 
with  relatives  at  home,  but  pleaded  in  vain.    O,  sirs!    When  a 


474 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


man  falls  be  finds  it  hard  to  rise;  but  when  a  woman  falls  it  is 
almost  impossible.  What  though  she  is  more  sinned  against  than 
sinning,  what  though  she  weeps  tears  of  blood?  As  well  might  the 
lamb  look  for  mercy  in  the  jaws  of  the  wolf  as  the  poor  woman 
who  is  a  sinner  look  for  tenderness  from  her  fellow-man. 

One  Sunday  as  we  sat  at  dinner  I  received  a  message  from 
the  Lock  Ward  Hospital  of  the  Union  Workhouse  to  come  at 
once,  as  she  wanted  to  see  me  before  she  died.  My  wife  and  I 
went  immediately,  and  found  the  poor  girl  a  loathsome  mass  of 
disease.  While  we  stood  at  her  bedside  Miss  Shannon  joined  us, 
and  sang  softly: 

"  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  nearer  waters  roll, 

"While  the  tempest  still  is  high ! 
Hide  me,  0  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past ; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 

0  receive  my  soul  at  last !  " 

Her  eye  and  ear  were  almost  dull  in  death,  but  when  my  wife 
asked  her  to  press  her  hand,  as  Miss  Shannon  sang,  if  she  could 
trust  in  Christ,  she  pressed  it  most  unmistakably.  We  buried 
her  a  few  days  afterward  in  the  mocking  sunlight,  but  confi- 
dently committed  her  to  the  mercy  of  the  Friend  of  publicans 
and  sinners. 

"  For  the  love  of  God  is  broader 

Than  the  measure  of  man's  mind ; 
And  the  heart  of  the  Eternal 

Is  most  wonderfully  kind." 

Ruskin  says  that  the  constituents  of  London  mud  are  soot,  clay, 
and  sand.  We  know  if  these  are  crystallized  they  give  us  the 
diamond,  the  topaz,  and  the  opal.  Grace  can  perform  more  won- 
derful miracles  than  nature,  and  make  the  foulest  men  and  women 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  God  Almighty. 

Neander  said  on  one  occasion,  "  I  see  that  the  sky  is  crimson, 
but  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  the  crimson  of  the  evening  or 
of  the  dawn."  We,  sir,  also  see  that  the  sky  is  crimson  in  our 
native  land,  but  we  have  no  doubt  as  to  whether  it  is  sunrise  or 
sunset. 

Ireland  a  Religious  Nation. 

Ireland,  let  me  say,  is  a  religious  nation.  Max  Miiller  tells  us 
that  the  religious  instinct  is  the  indestructible  granite  of  the 
human  soul.  Go  where  you  will  you  find  that  granite,  if  }rou 
only  go  down  deep  enough.  It  lies  very  near  the  surface  in  Ire- 
land. We  have  practically  no  skepticism  there;  we  have  su- 
perstition. The  sacred  shrines,  the  holy  wells,  the  uplifted  cru- 
cifixes, the  splendid  churches  that  stud  the  land — all,  all  show 
how  deeply  the  religious  instinct  is  implanted  in  the  Irish  heart. 
The  Irish  people  may  be  opposed  to  Protestantism;  but,  let  me 
say,  they  are  not  opposed  to  Christianity,  and  if  we  can  only  con- 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


475 


vey  to  them  the  blessed  Gospel  without  the  offense  and  bitterness 
of  controversy,  they  will  respond  to  it  as  the  ears  of  their  fore- 
fathers responded  to  "  The  harp  that  once  through  Tara's  halls." 
Ireland  will  yet  be  saved.  Among  the  stones  on  the  breastplate 
of  the  high  priest  we  read  that  there  was  an  "emerald."  That 
means,  Ireland  is  on  the  heart  of  Christ.  Let  me  plead  with  you 
to-day  for  my  four  million  countrymen,  for  my  beautiful  land; 
let  me  with  tears  entreat  you  to  give  Ireland  a  place  in  your 
thoughts,  in  your  sympathies,  and  in  your  prayers,  and 

"  The  star  of  the  West  will  yet  rise  in  her  glory, 
And  the  land  that  was  darkest  be  brightest  in  story." 

5. — Report  of  the  Fraternal  Delegate  to  the  Methodist 
Church  of  Canada.    Journal,  page  283. 

To  the  Bishops  and  Members  of  the  General  Assembly  : 

Having  been  designated  to  bear  the  fraternal  greetings  of  our 
beloved  Church  to  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  I  beg  leave 
to  report  that  I  was  received  with  the  utmost  cordiality,  and  en- 
tertained in  a  manner  to  excite  my  lifelong  gratitude. 

The  General  Conference  wras  held  in  the  city  of  London 
September  1,  1894,  and  an  evening  was  set  apart  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  British  delegate  and  your  own  representative.  The 
occasion  was  truly  inspiring.  Dr.  Carman  was  in  command  of 
the  great  host,  and  although  he  and  others  had  hoped  for  the 
coming  of  one  of  your  Bishops,  they  nobly  waived  their  prefer- 
ences, welcomed  me  with  a  zest  and  enthusiasm  which  betokened 
the  profoundest  regard  for  our  American  Methodism,  and  en- 
couraged me  by  the  most  generous  tokens  of  approval  to  give 
full  expression  to  fraternal  sentiment  and  the  facts  indicating  the 
status  and  progress  of  our  Zion.  In  no  possible  way  could  our 
Canadian  brethren  have  been  more  considerate  and  courteous. 
They  invited  your  representative  to  a  seat  on  the  platform,  in- 
troduced him  to  the  General  Conference,  and  also  gave  him  an 
opportunity  to  preach  before  that  body  on  Sabbath  evening. 

I  have  only  the  best  words  to  speak  concerning  our  co-workers 
in  the  Dominion.  They  are  an  educated,  devoted,  and  highly 
efficient  body  of  men,  an  honor  to  world-wride  Methodism,  and  in 
many  respects,  especially  in  their  benevolences,  an  example  unto  us. 

I  am  happy  to  state  that  their  representative  to  this  body,  the 
Rev.  John  J.  Lathern,  is  or  has  been  a  brother  editor,  greatly 
esteemed  by  his  colleagues,  and  well  qualified  to  entertain  you 
with  a  presentation  of  the  interests  of  his  great  and  united 
Church.  James  H.  Potts. 

6. — Address  of  Dr.  J.  J.  Lathern,  of  the  Methodist 
Church  of  Canada.    Journal,  page  255. 

Honored  Fathers  and  Brethren:  Bringing  to  you  the 
greetings  of  Canadian  Methodism,  I  feel  how  appropriate  are  the 


476 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


words  of  ancient  salutation:  "  We  give  thanks  always  for  you 
all,  making  mention  of  you  in  our  prayers;  remembering  with- 
out ceasing  your  work  of  faith,  and  labor  of  love,  and  patience  of 
hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  our 
Father;  knowing,  beloved  brethren,  your  election  of  God." 

Four  years  ago,  as  fraternal  representative  to  your  august  body, 
the  Canadian  Conference  sent  our  beloved  and  honored  General 
Superintendent,  Rev.  Dr.  Carman,  a  man  mighty  in  speech, 
mightier  still  by  the  right  divine  of  the  gift  of  ruling  as  moder- 
ator of  assemblies,  a  man  of  apostolic  spirit  and  labors,  as  much 
a  Bishop  in  the  New  Testament  sense  as  any  man  in  Christen- 
dom, and,  therefore,  preeminently  qualified  for  his  mission  to 
this  Conference. 

You  sent  to  us  at  our  London  Conference  your  esteemed  and 
gifted  Dr.  Potts,  who,  by  the  charm  of  his  spirit  and  eloquence, 
won  our  love  and  admiration.  In  the  pulpit  he  expounded  with 
unction  and  power  the  great  doctrinal  and  experimental  themes 
and  verities  in  which  we  all  delight;  while,  for  affluence  of  dic- 
tion, splendor  of  coloring,  chasteness,  and  balance  of  style,  as  well 
as  for  oratorical  force  and  fire,  his  fraternal  address  could  not  be 
well  surpassed. 

And  now,  honored  fathers  and  brethren,  I  come  to  you  from 
the  rank  and  file  of  our  ministry,  bearing  no  insignia  of  office, 
more  accustomed  to  speak  from  the  floor  of  Conference  than 
from  the  platform,  and  somewhat  wondering  what  the  man  shall 
do  that  cometh  after  the  king.  But  there  is  a  maxim  that  with 
the  office  of  a  bishop  comes  the  spirit  of  a  bishop,  and  it  may  be 
hoped  that  the  same  thing  holds  true  in  a  measure  in  regard  to 
this  business  of  fraternal  representation.  At  any  rate,  I  cannot 
forget,  standing  on  this  platform,  that  I  speak  for  Canadian 
Methodism — a  Church  numbering  2,000  ministers,  over  250,000  of 
communicants,  and  well  on  to  1,000,000  of  adherents. 

While  looking  on  this  vast  assembly  the  thought  returns  of  a 
former  visit  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  held  at  that  time  in  Brooklyn.  It  was  upon  that 
occasion  that  Dr.  Morley  Punshon,  to  whom  I  had  listened 
frequently  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  gave  what  I  have  since 
regarded  as  his  unrivaled  address,  one  which  "  thrilled  as  if  an 
angel  spoke." 

Dr.  Punshon  claimed  to  know  something  of  your  work.  He 
had  gone  through  your  borders  from  Maine  to  California,  from 
where  the  father  of  waters  leaves  the  fair  city  of  St.  Louis  to 
where  the  dark  forests  of  the  far  North  wave  on  Puget's  Sound — 
had  seen  you  everywhere  engaged  in  the  same  holy  toil,  planting 
the  same  blessed  civilization,  uplifting  the  same  consecrated  cross 
— had  chronicled  your  marches  and  successes,  the  munificence  of 
a  zeal  which  had  crossed  the  continent  and  made  the  world  a 
neighborhood;  and  his  heart  had  throbbed  with  thanksgiving 
that  God  had  ever  raised  you  up  to  be  such  a  power  in  the  land. 

In  touching  strain  a  tribute  was  paid  to  the  recently  sainted 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


477 


dead  of  your  Church — Baker,  the  distinguished  jurist,  Clark,  the 
able  administrator,  Thomson,  of  golden  speech,  Kingsley,  dying 
with  the  consecration  of  apostolic  travels  upon  him,  and  Cookman, 
who  went  home  like  the  plumed  warrior,  for  whom  the  everlast- 
ing doors  were  lifted,  and  who  had  nothing  to  do  at  the  last  but 
to^mount  the  chariot  of  Israel  and  go  sweeping  through  the 
crates  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Punshon  and  Wiseman, 
of  that  English  deputation,  Bishop  Simpson  and  other  Bishops 
who  occupied  the  chair  alternately  at  that  Conference,  Dr. 
Harris,  who  was  at  the  Secretary's  table,  Dr.  Douglass,  the 
Nestor  of  our  Canadian  Conference,  and  so  many  men  of  light 
and  leading  from  every  section  of  our  common  Methodism,  have 
parsed  away.  But  they  have  bequeathed  to  us  a  sacred  trust, 
and  their  names  and  memories  are  still  an  inspiration  for  conse- 
crated service.  It  is  well  known  that  the  men  of  Athens  and  of 
Sparta  felt  that  they  had  a  nobler  character  to  sustain  and  a 
grander  destiny  to  work  out  after  the  battles  of  Marathon  and 
Thermopylae.  And  one  of  the  highest  things  we  can  covet  for 
our  Church  is  that  the  spirit  and  holy  heroism  of  our  fathers  and 
founders  may  ever  stand  forth  in  our  ranks: 

"  Strive  we,  in  affection  strive  ; 

Let  the  purer  flame  revive, 

Such  as  in  the  martyrs  glowed, 

Dying  champions  for  their  God." 

Before  coming  to  Cleveland  I  had  heard  much  of  its  location 
and  unrivaled  beauty.  What  does  impress  me  in  regard  to  this 
city  is  its  position  as  a  geographical  center.  It  seems  to  com- 
mand the  outlook  of  the  whole  vast  continent. 

A  few  days  ago  I  left  my  home  in  the  British  provinces,  the 
surf -beat  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  tidal-deeps  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 
For  fifteen  hundred  miles  I  have  traveled  on  to  this  city,  never 
far  away  from  the  frontier  nor  conscious  of  crossing  the  line  but 
for  customhouse  search.  Westward  the  boundary  line  runs  on 
over  lake  and  prairie,  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  to  the 
Pacific,  over  twenty-two  hundred  miles  more.  From  this  center, 
with  a  base  line  stretching  from  Plymouth  Rock  to  the  Golden 
Gate,  looking  away  to  the  south  far  as  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  continent,  bounded  by  two  great  oceans, 
we  have  the  peerless  territory  of  the  United  States  with  all  its 
magnificence  of  mountain  and  valley,  lake  and  river,  its  great 
commercial  cities,  its  vast  and  varied  national  resources,  its 
enormous  lines  of  travel,  its  over  sixty  millions  of  people,  its  ter- 
ritory sufficient,  as  Dr.  Potts  told  us,  without  taking  water 
surfaces,  to  give  one  and  a  third  acres  of  land  to  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

Looking  in  the  direction  across  Lake  Erie,  almost  within 
-peaking  distance  of  its  farther  shore,  is  the  city  of  London, 
where  the  General  Conference  of  Canada  was  held  in  1894.  All 
that  continent  to  the  north,  which  with  far  more  than  poetic 
license  some  patriotic  orator  has  said  is  bounded  on  the  south 


478 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


by  the  United  States,  on  the  east  by  the  stormy  Atlantic,  on  the 
west  by  the  setting  sun,  on  the  north  by  the  aurora  borealis, 
with  the  exception  of  Alaska,  forms  the  territory  of  Canada,  and 
with  the  addition  of  Newfoundland  and  Bermuda,  the  territory 
of  Canadian  Methodism.  I  sometimes  think  that  the  name  of 
that  northern  nation  is  a  prediction  of  future  and  destined  glory. 
He  shall  have  dominion  also  from  sea  to  sea,  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  rivers  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  from  the  mighty  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
regions  of  the  north  pole,  literally  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

May  we  not  hope  that  between  these  two  countries,  having 
close  geographical  relations,  there  may  be  continual  growth  of 
intercommunication  and  maintenance  of  a  policy  which  shall  pro- 
mote a  progressive  civilization  until  battle  flags  be  furled  in  the 
parliament  of  man,  the  federation  of  the  world  ?  May  the  banner 
of  this  Union  with  its  bright  stars,  the  emblem  of  God's  great  and 
glorious  work  in  creation,  and  the  red  cross  of  the  emblem  of 
God's  great  and  glorious  work  in  redemption,  wave  and  blend  in 
undisturbed  harmony  until  their  splendor  and  the  beneficence  of 
Anglo-Saxon  race  unity  shall  mingle  with  the  brightness  of 
millennial  day! 

There  is  one  matter  that  I  should  like  to  speak  of  with  all 
possible  emphasis;  that  is,  the  indebtedness  of  early  Canadian 
Methodism,  east  and  west,  to  the  Methodism  of  this  Church  and 
of  this  country.  In  one  of  our  principal  parliaments,  in  which 
men  of  expansive  ideas  are  found,  an  honorable  member  assured 
the  House  that  he  should  not  take  up  much  of  their  time  in  pre- 
liminaries, but  he  would  just  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  subject 
from  the  creation  of  the  w^orld  to  the  present  time.  I  shall  not 
go  back  to  ancient  history.  But  I  may  remind  you  as  a  great 
missionary  Church  that  a  century  ago  you  had  but  one  mission, 
and  that  was  in  Nova  Scotia,  now  the  eastern  province  of 
Canada.  Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  several 
English  families,  some  of  them  Wesleyans,  came  out  to  the 
British  provinces  to  occupy  lands  occupied  by  the  exiled 
Acadians.  There  were  few  churches  then,  but  the  settlers  held 
prayer  meetings  in  private  houses.  At  one  of  these  gatherings, 
one  of  their  number,  William  Black,  about  nineteen  years  of 
age,  recently  out  from  England,  was  thoroughly  converted  to 
God.  As  in  the  case  of  St.  Paul,  Luther,  Wesley,  and  others 
whose  hearts  have  been  strangely  warmed,  that  experimental 
fact  of  conversion  held  in  it  the  germ  of  a  great  spiritual  move- 
ment, and  over  an  otherwise  inexplicable  life  threw  the  luminous 
light  of  heavenly  law. 

He  began  to  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist.  His  first  sermon 
in  Nova^Scotia,  and  the  first  Methodist  sermon  in  what  is  now 
the  territory  of  Canada,  was  from  the  text,  "I  determined  not  to 
know  anything  among  you  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified  " — 
the  first  text  also  of  Francis  Asbury  on  this  continent.  William 
Black  wrote  at  once  to  John  Wesley.    The  original  of  one  of 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


479 


Wesley's  letters  in  reply,  dated  October,  1784,  is  in  ray  posses- 
sion. Two  bits  of  advice  are  noteworthy.  It  was  suggested  that. 
Nova  Scotia  (then  including  New  Brunswick)  and  the  colony  of 
Newfoundland  were  sufficient  for  one  circuit  ;  he  would  not  advise 
taking  in  any  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  Then 
as  a  condition  of  obtaining  preachers  it  is  urged  that  there  ought 
to  be  a  closer  connection  between  the  British  provinces  and  the 
societies  under  Francis  Asbury's  care.  Accordingly  William 
Black  made  his  way  to  Baltimore,  and  was  present  at  your  his- 
toric Christmas  Conference  of  1784.  Two  men  of  that  Confer- 
ence, Freeborn  Garrettson  and  a  brother  from  the  South,  were 
appointed  and  ordained  for  mission  work  in  the  British  provinces. 
The  heroic  Garrettson  tells  us  in  his  journal  of  pioneer  work  of 
Nova  Scotia;  how  he  traversed  mountains  and  valleys,  with  his 
knapsack  at  his  back;  how  he  threaded  Indian  paths  up  and  down 
through  the  great  wilderness  of  unbroken  woods;  how  he  had 
waded  through  vast  morasses;  how  he  satisfied  hunger  from  his 
knapsack,  drank  of  the  brook  by  the  way,  and  at  night  rested  his 
weary  limbs  upon  a  bed  of  forest  leaves.  But  there  was  a  side 
of  compensation,  and  when  two  years  later  he  returned  to  his  own 
Conference  he  reported  a  membership  of  three  or  four  hundred 
for  the  Northern  Mission.  In  1791,  the  year  of  John  Wesley's 
death,  no  less  than  six  preachers  were  sent  from  the  New  York 
Conference  to  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick,  and  the  supply 
was  continued  on  to  the  last  year  of  the  century. 

This  is  not  all.  In  that  same  year,  1791,  Garrettson  was  pre- 
siding elder  of  New  York  State,  and  pushed  the  workup  through 
the  great  wilderness  to  the  borders  of  Canada.  Under  his  direc- 
tion that  year  Losee  pushed  across  the  lines  into  Ontario,  and 
organized  the  first  Methodist  circuit.  He  was  followed  by 
Dunham,  Coleman,  Bangs,  and  a  host  of  others,  as  intrepid  and 
consecrated  a  band  of  pioneer  itinerants  as  ever  the  sun  looked 
down  upon.  One  of  the  most  telling  passages  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Potts's  speech  at  the  London  Conference  was  a  tribute  in  original 
verse  to  the  heroes  of  early  Methodist  itinerancy,  containing 
the  following  lines: 

"  For  godliness  in  Canada  to  them  great  praise  is  due, 
To  Losee,  Dunham,  Coleman,  and  Martin  Ruter,  too ; 
With  gratitude  to  Asbury,  to  Nathan  Bangs  and  Boehm, 
And  other  early  worthies  our  songs  must  ever  teem." 

Ontario  remained  for  many  years  a  part  of  the  territory  of  New 
York  Conference,  until  the  formation  of  the  Genesee  Conference, 
and  later  the  Conference  in  Canada. 

And  now,  after  a  century,  I  am  here  to  speak  of  the  worth  of 
the  work  our  fathers  wrought;  here  to  report  that  the  Metho- 
dism planted  by  your  preachers  in  Canada,  east  and  west,  in  the 
provinces  by  the  sea  and  in  Ontario,  has  grown  with  the  growth 
and  strengthened  with  the  strength  of  the  country  until,  with 
gratitude  and  amazement,  we  exclaim,  What  hath  God  wrought! 

It  may  be  well,  at  this  point,  to  give  a  few  statistics,  and  you 
31 


480 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


can  read  between  the  lines.  Returns  at  the  last  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada  showed  a  ministerial 
roll  of  1,196,  a  membership  of  260,953,  with  seating  capacity  in 
our  churches  for  nearly  800,000  adherents.  We  had  at  that  date 
252,546  scholars  in  our  Sunday  schools.  The  missionary  income 
was  $249,000.  Book  and  publishing  houses  property  was  valued 
at  $342,196,  and  college  property  was  estimated  to  be  worth 
$13,194,973. 

At  the  London  General  Conference,  as  a  way  mark  of  progress, 
attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  ten  years  had  passed  away 
since  the  consummation  of  the  union  of  Methodists  in  the 
Dominion.  Originally  there  had  been  several  branches  of  the 
Methodists  in  Canada,  Episcopal  Methodist,  Wesleyan  Methodist, 
Primitive  Methodist,  New  Connection,  and  Bible  Christian,  in 
addition  to  some  minor  bodies.  In  London,  the  seat  of  Confer- 
ence, there  had  been  but  a  few  years  before  no  less  than  five 
Methodist  denominations,  few  of  them  self-sustaining,  all  com- 
peting for  public  patronage,  too  often  manifesting  an  unhallowed 
rivalry,  and  threatening  to  be  a  question  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest.  Now  they  are  one  body,  with  a  dozen  splendid  churches, 
3,000  members,  and  10,000  adherents. 

The  union  wave  which  swept  over  Canada  in  1883  resulted  in 
the  unification  of  Methodism  in  Canada,  and  its  consolidation 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific;  the  movement  took  legal  effect 
in  July,  1884,  just  about  ten  years  before  the  date  of  the  last 
General  Conference. 

The  review  of  ten  years  was  found  to  be  full  of  inspiration  and 
hope.  It  showed  an  increase  of  over  90,000  members,  being  over 
9,000  each  year,  after  making  up  for  all  losses.  Sunday  school 
statistics  showed  an  increase  of  nearly  100,000  during  the  same 
period.  According  to  the  census  returns  of  1891  the  Methodist 
population  of  Canada  numbered  847,469,  the  only  religious  de- 
nomination credited  with  a  percentage  of  increase  above  that  of 
the  population  during  the  ten  years. 

Union  is  strength.  We  all  feel  it  to  be  so  after  the  experience 
of  a  decade  of  years.  Now  Methodism  is  one  in  Canada.  "All 
one  body  we."  One  in  name  and  organization,  one  in  doctrine 
and  discipline,  one  in  fellowship  and  spiritual  enterprise,  one  in 
glorious  hymnody  and  blessed  fellowship,  one  in  resolve  to 
spread  scriptural  holiness  through  the  land,  one  in  loyalty  to  the 
crown-rights  of  the  Redeemer;  yes,  one  in  the  magnificent  unity 
of  our  Canadian  Methodism. 

With  reference  to  a  broad  Protestant  federal  union,  embracing 
also  the  Anglican  Church  in  Canada,  negotiations  were  on  foot 
for  some  time,  and  very  harmonious  meetings  were  held  with 
representatives  of  the  Anglican  and  Presbyterian  Churches. 
Union  for  a  time  seemed  to  be  in  the  air.  But  negotiations  led 
to  no  practical  result.  It  was  resolved  at  the  London  Conference 
that  for  further  action  in  the  same  direction  a  scriptural  episco- 
pate should  be  substituted  for  the  historic  episcopate,  or  that  there 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


481 


should  be  a  definition  of  the  historic  episcopate  of  the  Lambeth 
resolutions  that  would  in  our  view  be  in  harmony  with  New  Testa- 
ment teachings  on  the  subject. 

It  may  be  that  we  can  never  in  this  world  attain  to  unanimity, 
oneness  of  doctrinal  belief;  but  to  uniformity,  oneness  in  sympathy 
and  cooperation.  Then  we  shall  have  the  oneness  for  which  the 
Redeemer  prayed  on  the  eve  of  his  passion:  "  As  thou  Father  art 
in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us." 

A  burning  question  of  the  last  General  Conference  in  Canada, 
one  on  which  much  eloquence  was  expended  and  in  which  lay- 
men and  ministers  manifested  an  equal  interest,  was  the  time 
limit  of  the  itinerancy.  It  was  the  lament  of  Burke  in  his  day 
that  the  age  of  chivalry  was  over,  and  in  the  minds  of  some 
heroic  deeds,  such  as  signalized  the  early  history  of  Methodism, 
are  inseparable  from  the  maintenance  of  the  time-honored  itiner- 
ancy on  its  old  lines.  Others  believe  that,  following  in  the  steps 
of  our  founder,  we  shall  do  wisely  to  adapt  our  methods  and 
agencies  to  the  changed  conditions  of  the  times  in  which  we  live, 
and  so  keep  pace  with  modern  progress.  It  was  astonishing  as 
the  debate  went  on  what  a  flood  of  light  came  in  from  the  ex- 
perience of  Methodism  in  the  United  States,  especially  of  the 
New  England  charges,  and  facts  and  opinions  were  adduced  with 
about  equal  appositeness  and  weight  on  each  side  of  the  argument. 
The  Wesleyan  fraternal  delegate,  a  shrewd  observer,  expressed 
surprise  that  in  so  able  a  debate  he  had  heard  nothing  new,  the 
opinions  for  and  against  a  new  departure  being  very  much  the 
same  as  those  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed  in  the  English 
Conference. 

We  in  Canada  are  bound  by  the  basis  of  union  not  to  destroy 
the  plan  of  our  itinerant  system,  and  perhaps  we  shall  do  well  to 
make  haste  slowly.  And  it  may  be  well  to  remember  that  what- 
ever modifications  of  the  itinerancy  may  be  adopted  in  the 
various  sections  of  our  world-wide  Methodism  the  system  has 
an  element  of  perpetuity  in  it,  and  in  the  future  it  may  be 
needed  in  centers  and  metropolitan  charges  as  in  the  past  it  has 
been  of  decided  advantage  in  rural  charges  and  new  settlements. 
The  case  was  well  put,  on  a  memorable  occasion,  by  Rev.  William 
Arnot,  a  sagacious  Scotch  minister.  He  claimed  that  with  the 
growing  culture  of  city  congregations  a  demand  would  be  made 
on  the  intellectual  resources  of  the  pulpit  to  which  no  minister 
ought  to  be  subjected  without  relief  from  a  time  limit  of  incum- 
bency. He  thought  that  in  the  Methodist  Church  removals  were 
too  frequent,  and  that  an  ideal  of  appointment  would  be  five 
years.  Not  unlikely,  after  some  experiments  in  legislation,  we 
shall  settle  down  to  a  five  years'  time  limit. 

It  goes  without  saying  that,  as  in  other  parts  of  Christendom, 
we  in  Canada  are  confronted  by  the  problems  of  modern  biblical 
criticism,  and  have  a  few  men  among  us  with  requisite  qualifications 
and  appliances  for  the  work  of  higher  criticism.  But  there  is  a 
growing  feeling  that  we  may  have  too  much  even  of  a  good  thing. 


482 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Questions  such  as  the  Deutero-Isaiah  and  cognate  subjects  had 
better  be  reserved  for  scholars  and  settled  in  the  theological  hall 
or  through  the  press  rather  than  in  the  pulpit.  The  great  car- 
toonist of  Canada,  Mr.  Bengough,  in  a  recently  published  book, 
has  a  word  for  the  higher  critics.    Speaking  of  the  pew  he  says: 

"  I  have  no  quarrel  with  learning — wise  doctors  have  their  place — 
But  the  scalpel  of  the  scholar  cannot  dissect  God's  grace. 
Adieu,  sir,  I  must  hasten ;  Heaven  bless  all  critics  true, 
But  with  the  rock  on  which  I  build  their  task  has  naught  to  do." 

One  of  the  most  cultured  of  English  ex-presidents  accounts  for 
the  limited  spiritual  power  and  results  of  the  British  Wesley  an 
pulpit  on  the  ground  that  too  much  of  absorbing  thought  is 
given  to  questions  of  modern  criticism.  He  recommends  a  return 
to  Puritan  works,  such  as  those  of  Baxter  and  Bunyan,  that 
stimulate  the  conscience,  satisfy  the  heart,  and  that  glow  with- 
out celestial  fire.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  cherish  the  convic- 
tion that  inspired  truth  has  nothing  to  fear  from  searching  and 
critical  investigation,  that  as  the  result  some  chaif  may  be  blown 
away,  some  dross  consumed,  and  that  certain  fallacious  vagaries 
of  critics — fashionable  for  an  hour — shall  vanish  as  the  morning 
mist  from  the  mountain  brow.  But  firm  the  word  of  God  re- 
mains. The  Scriptures  are  indissoluble,  cannot  be  broken. 
Marvelous  indeed  is  the  accumulation  of  evidence  in  our  times 
attestive  of  the  inspiration  of  the  word  of  God.  But  as  master 
minds  of  the  age  carry  on  their  investigations  in  the  land  of  the 
Bible,  amidst  the  ruins  of  old  cities,  with  the  telescope  scanning 
the  heavens,  the  microscope  searching  after  the  lower  forms  of 
life,  in  the  laboratory  and  the  library,  deciphering  hieroglyphical 
records  and  cuneiform  inscriptions,  collecting  and  collating 
ancient  manuscripts,  or  seeking  by  unwearied  experiments  to 
wrench  from  the  grasp  of  Nature  her  long-kept  secrets — while 
doing  and  daring  all  this,  unbribed  and  unseduced  from  pure 
1  ve  of  truth,  they  return  from  their  most  patient  investigations 
a  id  most  brilliant  discoveries  to  deepen  our  solemn  conviction 
taat  the  word  of  God  is  truth.  John  Kitto,  the  biblical  scholar 
of  his  day,  when  he  had  but  one  book,  a  plain  copy  of  the  Bible, 
put  his  mark  over  against  a  passage  in  Isaiah,  "  I  am  the  Lord  ; 
they  that  wait  for  me  shall  not  be  ashamed  ;  "  and  later  in  life,  his 
library  full  of  books  and  manuscripts  on  sacred  and  scholarly 
themes,  he  kept  the  time-worn  copy,  the  mark  still  there,  in  ac- 
cord with  his  sense  of  the  truth  of  the  word,  for  he  said,  "I  can 
write  probatum  est  over  against  that  symbol  of  my  ancient  faith. 
I  believed  it  then,  but  I  know  it  now."  So  we  put  our  mark 
against  every  page  of  the  book. 

The  cause  of  missions  is  deeply  enshrined  in  the  heart  of 
Canadian  Methodism.  In  some  measure  we  are  striving  to  re- 
alize the  moral  grandeur  of  the  missionary  enterprise,  believing 
that  of  the  glories  of  the  nineteenth  century  none  are  greater 
than  those  of  Christian  missions.  The  income  of  our  Missionary 
Society,  including  that  of  the  Woman's  Auxiliary,  is  nearly 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


483 


8300,000  annually,  and  in  addition  to  domestic  and  Indian  mis- 
sions we  have  missions  in  Japan  and  western  China.  Canadian 
Methodism  has  its  missionary  heroes  and  heroines.  We  revere 
the  names  of  our  McDougall,  Young,  Crosby,  Eby,  Macdonald, 
and  others,  who  count  not  their  lives  dear  unto  them,  so  that  they 
may  fulfill  their  course.  Not  a  few  of  our  consecrated  Christian 
women,  a  devoted  sisterhood,  have  gone  to  the  front  in  mis- 
sionary enterprise.  It  is  worthy  of  record  that  when  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  had  been  completed  across  the  continent, 
and  a  line  of  ocean  steamers  connected  Canada  with  Japan  and 
other  populous  empires  of  the  East  the  first  through  passenger 
from  Halifax  to  Vancouver  and  to  Yokohama  was  a  lady  mis- 
sionary sent  out  from  Nova  Scotia.  Taking  the  train  at  Halifax 
she  swept  up  through  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  across  the 
Province  of  Ontario,  breaking  the  silence  of  Lake  Huron  waters, 
traversing  the  broad  plains  and  prairies  of  Manitoba  and  the 
Northwest,  piercing  the  Rockies,  on  to  British  Columbia,  thence 
by  steamship  across  the  great  ocean  to  Yokohama.  It  seemed  as 
if  through  this  incident  God  in  his  providence  was  marking  out 
that  great  thoroughfare  of  trafiic  and  travel  for  other  than 
merely  commercial  purposes,  designed  to  promote  the  best  in- 
terests of  high  Christian  civilization — till  all  the  ends  of  the  earth 
shall  see  his  salvation. 

Thank  God  for  this  missionary  outlook  !  Christianity  is  not  a 
mere  wave  on  the  restless  ocean  of  human  thought.  The 
allegiance  of  the  world  belongs  to  Jesus.  Essential  majesty  is 
the  Redeemer's  most  radiant  crown.  It  was  his  before  the  world 
was,  ere  the  white  wing  of  the  first  created  angel  had  stirred  the 
pure  ether  of  illimitable  space  ;  before  the  morning  stars  sang  to- 
gether for  joy,  even  from  everlasting.  A  diadem  of  mediatorial 
right  has  also  been  purchased  by  the  Savior's  cross.  The  very 
thought  of  regal  triumphs  is  full  of  rapture,  and  there  is  ample 
warrant  for  anticipation.  Every  purpose  connected  with  the 
exaltation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  demands  an  ultimate  and  ackno  1- 
edged  supremacy:  "For  to  this  end  Christ  both  died,  and  ro  e, 
and  revived,  that  he  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  the 
living." 

Far  away  back  in  the  eighth  century  St.  Benedict  dreamed  a 
dream.  He  thought  he  saw  the  whole  dark  world  brightene'd 
by  a  single  sunbeam.  What  was  merely  a  beautiful  vision  of 
the  old  Italian  saint  shall  become  for  the  Church  of  the  future  a 
glorious  reality.  "  The  beam  that  shines  from  Zion's  hill  shall 
lighten  every  land." 

A  department  of  work  to  us  of  supreme  importance  and  in- 
terest is  that  of  denominational  education,  the  maintenance  of 
our  universities  and  higher  schools  of  learning.  We  have  no 
sympathy  with  the  miserable  adage  of  mediaeval  times,  "Ignorance 
is  the  mother  of  devotion."  The  college  sustains  a  close  relation 
to  the  Church,  and  must  be  regarded  as  a  molding  influence  of 
the  religious  life  of  our  times.    I  was  forcibly  reminded  of  this 


484 


Journal of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


fact  a  few  years  ago  in  a  visit  to  Oxford,  the  venerable  university 
of  England.  There  were  memorials  at  that  seat  of  learning  not 
only  of  education,  but  of  great  religious  movements:  of  Wyclif, 
the  morning  star  of  the  Reformation ;  of  the  reformers  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  who  lighted  a  candle  in  that  England  of  theirs 
which  by  the  grace  of  God  has  never  been  put  out;  of  Wesley 
and  the  revival  of  the  last  century;  and  at  Keble  College,  else- 
where, of  the  modern  ritualistic  movement,  still  in  the  ascendency 
in  that  land.  We  may  expect  that  history  will  repeat  itself. 
The  Church  of  the  future  will  be  one  that  strengthens  its  educa- 
tional position.  Confronted  as  we  are  on  this  continent  by  an 
aggressive,  audacious,  uncompromising,  and  splendidly  equipped 
Roman  Catholicism,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  Methodist 
students  and  especially  our  rising  ministry  should  have  all 
requisite  advantages  for  obtaining  competent  scholarship,  and 
that  during  college  life  they  should  be  imbued  with  the  spirit, 
traditions,  theology,  and  flaming  evangelism  of  their  own  Church. 

It  was  my  privilege  some  time  ago  to  visit  the  heights  above 
Washington,  commanding  a  prospect  of  unrivaled  magnificence; 
the  site  of  a  great  university  which  shall  be  monumental  of  the 
genius,  sanctified  sagacity,  and  educational  enterprise  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  to  the  halls  of  which  students 
shall  throng  from  this  and  other  lands.  We  study  also  the 
statistics  of  your  Boston,  Drew,  Wesleyan,  Syracuse,  North- 
western, and  other  universities,  with  their  grand  enrollment  and 
splendid  facilities  for  educational  work. 

In  Canada  we  have  come  to  realize  very  thoroughly  that  our 
universities  and  colleges  are  a  right  arm  of  strength  to  the 
Church.  At  Mount  Allison  we  have  university  buildings  of 
which  any  country  might  be  proud,  and  a  ladies'  college  which 
holds  the  very  first  rank.  A  new  college  at  Winnipeg  worthy  of 
its  promoters  promises  to  become  an  influential  institution  of  the 
great  Northwest.  Wesley  College  at  Montreal,  affiliated  to 
McGill,  has  a  finely  equipped  theological  staff.  Victoria,  re- 
moved to  Toronto,  is  now  located  in  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
structures  on  the  continent.  Of  the  two  thousand  students 
in  our  denominational  colleges  over  two  hundred  are  taking  a 
theological  course  in  preparation  for  the  Christian  ministiy. 

Following  out  the  policy  established  by  our  founder — in  this 
as  in  other  beneficent  movements  far  in  advance  of  his  time — and 
feeling  the  stimulus  of  your  magnificent  enterprise,  we  in  Canada 
attach  great  interest  to  our  book  and  publishing  interests.  The 
press  of  this  age  is  more  potent  than  the  artillery  of  kings  and 
may  well  be  utilized  for  the  spread  of  religious  intelligence  and 
for  promoting  in  many  ways  the  cause  of  Christianity.  We  have 
a  Book  Room  at  Halifax,  which  for  over  half  a  century,  with 
slender  resources,  has  rendered  noble  service  in  the  diffusion  of 
Christian  literature. 

The  Toronto  Book  and  Publishing  House  occupies  one  of  the 
most  splendid  and  spacious  structures  in  the  Queen  City.  Its 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


485 


presses  often  run  day  and  night  throwing  off  their  enormous 
issues.  Both  in  regard  to  finance  and  publications  the  publishing 
house  in  the  West  has  achieved  a  phenomenal  success,  and  has  no 
rival  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Our  Church  papers,  East  and 
West,  are  well  abreast  of  the  times,  and  can  always  be  depended 
upon  in  the  advocacy  of  things  that  work  for  righteousness. 
Both  our  papers,  the  Christian  Guardian  at  Toronto  and  the 
Wesleyan  at  Halifax,  have  passed  under  new  and  effective  man- 
agement. 

One  other  matter  may  be  referred  to.  An  important  project 
entertained  at  the  union,  the  publication  of  a  hymn  and  tune 
book  for  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  has  at  last  become  an 
accomplished  fact.  A  long-felt  want  of  the  Church  is  now  sup- 
plied. The  object  is  to  promote  efficient  congregational  singing. 
We  believe  in  a  little  of  the  old-time  Methodist  choral  thunder. 
Even  some  of  the  repeat  tunes  enable  people  to  sing  out  the  full 
power  of  the  hymn  and  might  possibly  be  retained  to  advantage, 
grander  at  times  than  a  cathedral  chorus.  Our  glorious  hymns 
are  for  us  a  rich  denominational  heritage. 

More,  perhaps,  than  Wesley's  evangelical  sermons,  than 
Fletcher's  unrivaled  polemics,  than  Benson's  and  Clarke's 
erudite  commentaries,  than  Watson's  Institutes  or  Pope's  Com- 
pendium, these  hymns,  full  of  Christ,  have  molded  our  theology 
and  determined  the  doctrinal  belief  of  our  people.  But  do  we 
sing  as  in  the  ancient  days  ?  It  is  said  that  the  statue  of  Memnon, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  was  silent  and  impressive  while  the  dark 
and  cold  shadows  of  night  rested  upon  it.  But  when  struck  by 
the  bright  warm  beams  of  the  morning  light  the  marble  breathed 
and  gave  forth  its  mystic  harmonies  of  sound.  So  in  days  of 
spiritual  declension  devotion  dies  and  hosannas  languish  upon 
the  lips  of  the  Church.  But  revival  power  and  the  fullness  of 
spiritual  life  are  at  once  manifest  in  song,  and  congregations 
exult  to  praise  the  Lamb  who  died  for  all — the  great  Saviour  of 
mankind. 

As  with  you,  our  young  people's  societies  have  received  a  grand 
impetus  and  solidarity  of  action  through  the  organization  of  the 
Epworth  League.  About  four  months  after  the  formation  of  the 
Ep worth  League  Society  in  Cleveland  in  1889  our  first  league 
was  formed  in  Canada,  and  a  year  later  the  society  was  in- 
corporated with  the  constitution  of  Canadian  Methodism.  As 
reported  in  London,  1894,  the  chain  of  leagues  stretched  from 
Trinity  Bay  on  the  far  East  to  British  Columbia  on  the  Pacific, 
with  a  membership  of  fifty  thousand.  Being  national  and  inter- 
national, as  well  as  denominational,  it  is  not  too  much  to  hope 
that  this  growing  organization  shall  constitute  a  bond  of  union 
for  the  Methodism  of  this  continent.  Epworth  Leaguers  look  to 
the  twentieth  century  in  the  spirit  of  their  motto,  the  words  of 
Bishop  Simpson:  "  We  live  to  make  our  Church  a  power  in  the 
land,  and  we  live  to  love  all  who  exalt  our  Christ." 

With  the  temperance  cause  in  Canada  our  Church  is  closely 


4S6 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


identified,  always  at  the  van  of  the  movement.  We  regard  the 
liquor  traffic  as  the  worst  scourge  of  humanity.  It  is  the  source 
of  a  large  proportion  of  the  indolence,  crime,  and  poverty  that 
curse  the  land,  especially  our  cities.  We  have  adopted  the 
phrase  formulated  by  your  court  of  Bishops  and  indorsed  by  the 
General  Conference,  "  that  to  legalize  the  liquor  traffic  is  sin." 
We  are  a  unit  in  the  belief  that  what  is  morally  wrong  can  never 
be  politically  right.  But  prohibition  can  be  won  only  at  the 
polls.  The  stage  now  reached  in  this  movement  of  moral  reform 
demands  that  the  Church  should  seek  to  carry  conviction  to  the 
minds  of  voters  of  the  responsibility  involved  in  the  right  of 
franchise.  We  have  government  for  the  people,  from  the  people, 
and  by  the  people.  The  ballot  represents  authority  and  execu- 
tive action.  In  depositing  a  ballot  at  the  polls  the  voter  passes 
over  to  his  representative  the  right  of  government.  Conscience 
should  therefore  go  with  the  ballot.  It  should  be  cast  in  loyalty 
to  our  cause,  our  country,  our  God,  and  for  tried  and  trusted 
men. 

"  Our  country  wants  men — statesmen 

Who  shall  struggle  in  the  solid  ranks  of  truth, 

And  clutch  the  monster  evil  by  the  throat, 

And  blot  the  era  of  oppression  out 

And  lead  a  nobler  freedom  in." 

I  like  to  say  in  a  closing  word  that  it  has  given  'me  intense 
satisfaction  to  be  with  you  at  this  Conference  of  1896,  the  last 
of  your  General  Conferences  in  this  marvelous  nineteenth  century. 
About  two  months  after  your  first  General  Conference  at  Balti- 
more John  Wesley  wrote:  "Dr.  Coke  is  now  visiting  the  flock 
in  the  Middle  Provinces  of  America  and  settling  them  on  the 
New  Testament  plan,  to  which  they  willingly  and  joyfully  con- 
form; being  all  united,  as  by  one  spirit,  so  in  one  body."  That 
one  phase,  "the  New  Testament  plan,"  speaks  volumes  in  regard  to 
your  past  history,  and  it  points  and  paves  the  way  for  still  more 
triumphant  marches  and.  successes.  Conforming  to  that  plan,  to 
use  Wesley's  phrase  in  regard  to  his  deed  of  chancery,  Methodism 
rests  on  a  foundation  on  which  it  will  remain  as  long  "  as  the  sun 
and  moon  do  endure." 

There  is  an  exquisitely  sculptured  marble  tablet  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  bearing  a  triple  inscription  that  could  not  well  be 
duplicated.  The  first  is  expressive  of  world-wide  evangelism: 
"  The  world  is  my  parish ; "  the  second  suggestive  of  dependence 
upon  God  :  "  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us  ;  "  and  the  third 
significant  of  ministerial  succession  :  "  God  buries  his  workmen, 
but  carries  on  his  work."  Yes,  God  carries  on  his  work,  and 
the  results  are  marvelously  and  magnificently  out  of  proportion 
to  the  agencies  employed.  We  can  still  say  with  exulting  grati- 
tude, " The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us!" 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


487 


7.  — Report  of  Fraternal  Delegates  to  the  Methodist  Epis- 

copal Church,  South.    Journal,  page  155. 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  The  undersigned,  having  been 
appointed  to  bear  the  fraternal  greetings  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  Gen- 
eral Conference  assembled  during  the  month  of  May,  1894,  beg 
leave  to  report  that  officially  and  privately  your  representatives 
were  the  recipients  of  the  most  delicate  courtesies  and  generous 
consideration. 

At  a  special  session  of  the  General  Conference  held  for  that 
purpose  Thursday  evening,  May  10,  we  presented  your  greetings, 
and  the  sentiments  of  loyalty  to  our  common  Lord,  and  the  fra- 
ternal regards  we  expressed  were  kindly  received  and  heartily 
reciprocated. 

Action  was  taken  by  their  General  Conference  looking  toward 
strengthening  the  fraternal  relations  between  the  more  than  four 
million  members  of  these  two  great  Methodist  branches  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  which  doubtless  will  be  presented  officially  by 
the  distinguished  delegates  appointed  by  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  to  bear  its  fraternal  greetings  to  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church.    Respectfully  submitted, 

John  F.  Goucher, 

Cleveland,  May  4,  1896.  Henry  Wade  Rogers. 

8.  — Address  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Morris,  of  the  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church,  South.    Journal,  page  252. 

Mr.  President  and  Brethren:  I  have  been  deputed  by  the 
Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  pursuance 
of  a  resolution  of  the  General  Conference,  to  bear  to  you  a 
fraternal  message  from  the  Methodism  which  we  represent,  and  I 
come  with  sincere  pleasure  to  discharge  the  duty.  I  hope  I  do 
not  need  to  assure  you  that  my  visit  is  not  a  mere  official  func- 
tion. It  is  not  a  matter  of  diplomatic  etiquette.  I  shall  talk  to 
you  unreservedly,  because  we  are  brethren,  having  a  common 
parentage,  a  common  name,  one  symbol  of  faith,  and  we  are 
seeking  to  do  the  same  work  in  the  world. 

Personally,  I  am  in  sympathy  with  every  man  under  the  sky 
who  loves  the  Lord  Jesus,  whoever  he  may  be,  Catholic  or 
Protestant.  But  while  I  love  all,  I  have  a  special  tenderness  for 
you. 

Besides,  in  the  course  of  my  itinerant  life  I  have  come  into 
close  heart-touch  with  some  of  you.  In  Kentucky  I  knew  and 
lov^d  Chadwick  and  Holmes;  in  Denver  I  knew  and  loved  De  La 
Matyr,  David  H.  Moore,  and  others,  and  enjoyed  the  cordial 
hospitality  of  Bishop  Henry  W.  Warren,  realizing  in  my  spirit 
that  these  two  branches  of  Methodism,  though  "  distinct  as  the 
waves,"  are  yet  "  one  as  the  sea."    And  my  mind  reverts  vividly 


488 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


to  an  occasion  long  ago  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  when  the  Methodists 
of  the  Falls  held  a  fraternal  jubilee.  We  talked  together,  we 
prayed  together,  we  knelt  at  the  Lord's  table  together;  and  at 
the  closing  service,  when  all  hearts  were  aglow,  our  Kavanaugh 
and  our  Foster  embraced  each  other  and  wept  for  joy.  So  I 
have  great  reason  to  rejoice  at  this  hour. 

But  while  these  memories  are  precious,  there  are  things  in  my 
thought  which  swell  far  out  beyond.  I  see  here  to-day  the 
representative  gathering  of  the  largest  body  of  Methodists  in  the 
world  standing  for  so  much  in  the  religious  history  of  the  past 
and  in  the  great  struggles  of  the  future. 

Holding  the  same  doctrines,  having  the  same  ecclesiastical 
economy,  and  observing  the  same  usages,  we  rejoice  in  what  you 
are  doing — the  work  which  covers  the  whole  field  of  Christian 
enterprise,  and  is  reaching  out  to  all  continents.  It  would  be 
"to  carry  coals  to  Newcastle"  to  speak  to  you  of  your  work.  It 
will  suffice  to  say  that  you  are  vindicating  before  the  world  the 
claim  of  Methodism  to  a  scriptural  faith  and  an  apostolic  work. 

Nor  do  I  need  to  bring  you  again  the  statistical  details  of  our 
work.  My  predecessor  in  this  office  presented  these  in  masterly 
form,  and  in  the  four  years  which  have  since  elapsed  there  has 
been  continued  enlargement  by  the  good  hand  of  our  God. 

New  Things  in  Our  Work. 

There  are,  however,  two  things  which  I  mention  in  detail  be- 
cause they  are  new  in  our  work.  At  our  last  General  Conference 
there  was  created  a  Board  of  Education,  consisting  of  fifteen 
members,  to  be  elected  quadrennially  by  the  General  Conference, 
the  purposes  of  which  are  thus  set  forth :  "  The  Board  shall 
gather  statistics,  and  shall  prepare,  publish,  and  distribute  tracts 
and  other  documents  calculated  to  advance  the  cause  of  Christian 
education,  and  shall  have  control  of  all  our  work  on  behalf  of 
the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America.  It  shall, 
through  its  officers  and  members,  or  other  agents,  seek  to  in- 
crease endowments  and  otherwise  to  strengthen  our  existing 
institutions  in  harmony  with  the  general  educational  policy  of 
the  Church,  to  correlate  and  systematize  the  work  now  being 
done,  and  to  originate  new  institutions  where  they  can  be 
judiciously  established  and  maintained." 

By  means  of  this  Board  we  hope  to  do  something  worthy  in 
giving  unity  to  the  work  of  education,  and  by  a  vigorous  con- 
nectionalism  to  secure  instruction  for  our  young  people  that  will 
be  distinctively  Christian  according  to  Methodist  interpretation. 
The  same  General  Conference  made  the  Epworth  League  a  part 
of  the  Church's  organization.  Our  people  have  entered  into  the 
work  with  a  zeal,  and  it  gives  promise  of  the  fulfillment  of  all 
our  hopes  concerning  it. 

Here  in  Cleveland,  the  cradle  of  this  movement,  I  may  recall 
the  International  Conference  of  Epworth  Leagues  held  last  J une 
in  historic  Chattanooga,  where  Lookout  Mountain  and  Missionary 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


489 


Ridge  looked  down  upon  twelve  thousand  young  Methodists  gath- 
ered from  Canada  and  the  United  States.  Those  days  were  like 
the  days  of  old,  and  Chattanooga  for  the  time  became  to  us  a 
heavenly  Hermon. 

Things  in  Common. 

It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  bring  to  your  attention  the  action  of 
oar  General  Conference  touching  things  which  we  hope  are  to 
bring  us  as  Methodists  into  truer  cooperation  in  our  work. 

First,  with  reference  to  the  American  University,  which,  under 
the  wise  leadership  of  Bishop  John  F.  Hurst,  is  growing  into  pro- 
portions of  strength  and  beauty.  There  in  the  generations  to 
come  Methodist  children  are  to  be  polished  "  after  the  similitude 
of  a  palace,"  and  the  Church  which  was  born  under  the  shadow 
of  classic  walls  over  the  sea  is  to  solve  the  problem  of  higher 
education  with  all  its  branches  coordinated  under  the  paramount 
wisdom  of  the  word  of  God.  With  reference  to  this  enterprise 
the  General  Conference  passed  these  resolutions: 

"  Whereas,  A  movement  has  been  set  on  foot  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  establishment  of 
a  great  Protestant  university  in  the  capital  city  of  our  nation ; 
and, 

"  Whereas,  It  becomes  all  Protestants,  and  especially  all  Metho- 
dists, to  give  encouragement  to  this  important  enterprise; 

"Resolved,  That  we  heartily  approve  and  indorse  the  undertak- 
ing of  the  trustees  of  the  American  University  to  establish  in 
Washington  City  a  great  university  for  postgraduate  study  and 
original  research,  under  the  influence  of  Protestant  Christianity 
and  the  auspices  of  American  Methodism." 

Another  act  of  that  General  Conference  which  looks  to  a 
closer  and  more  effective  cooperation  of  the  great  bodies  of 
American  Methodism  was  embodied  in  the  following  resolutions. 
After  citing  the  action  of  the  Second  Ecumenical  Conference 
upon  the  subject  of  Methodist  Federation,  the  Conference  says: 

"Resolved,  1,  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  now  in  session,  That  while  we  do  not  in 
the  least  recognize  the  Ecumenical  Conference  as  having  any 
legislative  power,  the  Bishops  be  requested  to  appoint  a  Commis- 
sion on  Federation,  consisting  of  three  Bishops,  three  ministers, 
and  three  laymen,  and  that  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  notify 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
this  action,  and  to  request  it  to  appoint  a  similar  commission. 

"2.  That  this  commission  shall  have  power  to  enter  into  negoti- 
ations with  said  similar  commission  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  if  one  be  appointed,  and  with  similar  commissions  from 
other  Methodist  bodies,  with  a  view  to  abating  hurtful  competi- 
tions and  the  waste  of  men  and  money  in  home  and  foreign  fields. 

"3.  That  any  arrangements  which  such  commission  may  make 
shall  be  reported  to  the  next  General  Conference  for  adoption, 
alteration,  or  rejection." 


490 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Without  a  prophet's  ken  we  may  confidently  expect  out  of 
these  things  a  day  of  deeper  sympathies  and  heartier  cooperation. 

Bishop  Haygood. 

On  the  19th  day  of  January  last,  Bishop  Atticus  Greene 
Haygood,  of  our  Church,  was  called  from  abundant  and  useful 
labors  to  rest  and  reward.  A  simple  estimate  of  his  character 
you  will,  I  am  sure,  receive  with  brotherly  appreciation. 

Bishop  Haygood  was  a  man  of  great  worth.  He  had  a  vig- 
orous intellect,  which  worked  along  straight  lines.  There  was 
nothing  sinister  there,  nothing  uncertain.  His  moral  character 
was  pure,  unselfish,  and.  replete  with  Christian  virtues.  He  had 
a  robust  faith  in  God,  and  that  made  him  an  optimist  and  gave 
the  base  line  upon  which  his  whole  life  was  triangulated. 

He  wTas  a  man  of  large  and  varied  activities.  He  occupied 
successively  many  responsible  places — was  President  of  Emory 
College,  Editor  of  the  Sunday  School  Publications  of  the  Church, 
the  General  Agent  of  the  Slater  Fund  for  the  education  of  col- 
ored youth  in  the  Southern  States,  Editor  of  the  Wesley  an  Chris- 
tian Advocate;  and  all  the  time  he  was  a  busy  preacher  and 
writer  of  books.  In  all  these  he  was  a  workman  who  needed  not 
to  be  ashamed. 

Bishop  Haygood  was  a  bold  and  fearless  advocate  of  his  con- 
victions, not  afraid  to  stand  alone  on  any  field.  He  was  a  great 
preacher,  at  times  having  large  measures  of  natural  fervor  and 
tenderness  impassioned  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  During  the  last  year 
of  his  life  he  had  a  preternatural  power;  the  wick,  the  oil,  and 
the  very  lamp  itself  were  all  ablaze  at  once. 

Atticus  Greene  Haygood  was  as  wise,  true,  and  helpful  a  friend 
as  the  colored  man  ever  had.  Our  Brother  in  Black  demon- 
strated that  fact,  and  showed  that  he  possessed  the  qualities 
wmich  fitted  him  to  speak  as  a  prophet  of  delicate  matters  at  a 
critical  time  when  not  many  men,  South  or  North,  have  the  wise 
common  sense,  the  loving-kindness  of  heart,  and  the  justness  of 
spirit  to  speak  with  profit.  And  the  selection  of  this  son  of  the 
South  to  administer  the  fund  for  the  education  of  colored  young 
men  in  the  South  was  a  just  and  beautiful  expression  of  the  con- 
fidence of  the  men  of  the  North  in  him  as  the  Negro's  friend. 

He  has  served  his  generation  and  fallen  on  sleep,  and  the 
Church  weeps  for  him  as  a  mother  weeps  at  the  death  of  a 
noble  son. 

A  Discussion — Methodism  axd  Christian  Experience. 

This  duty  discharged,  I  ask  your  indulgence  while  I  discuss  a 
theme  of  common  interest  to  us  as  Methodists.  I  mean  Meth- 
odism and  Christian  experience — the  relation  which  the  Wes- 
ley an  movement  in  its  history  has  sustained  to  that  work  which 
is  consciously  wrought  in  the  spirit  of  a  true  believer  by  the 
power  of  God,  in  accordance  with  the  Scriptures,  by  which  he  is 
made  a  child  of  God  and  realizes  the  Christlike  character. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


491 


I  do  not  presume  to  think  that  I  can  bring  to  you  anything  new 
on  such  a  subject.  It  is  not  desirable  that  I  should.  "  For  no 
man  having  drunk  old  wine  straightway  desireth  new:  for  lie 
saith  the  old  is  better."  I  only  wish  to  talk  with  you  of  things 
which  we  all  know  full  well — things  which  constitute  our  family 
history — in  the  hope  that  our  hearts  may  burn  within  us  as  our 
Lord  makes  himself  known  to  us  by  the  way. 

Back  of  all  religion  there  lies  the  idea  of  personality — essential 
being,  in  which  inheres  the  power  to  know,  to  love,  and  to  act. 
In  all  definitions  of  religion  a  divine  personality  is  assumed,  and 
religious  systems  have  vigor  just  in  proportion  to  the  distinctness 
of  this  conception.  When  that  fails,  or  is  weak,  there  is,  of  ne- 
cessity, a  corresponding  indistinctness  in  the  religious  thought. 
Nirvana  is  the  unavoidable  corollary  to  pantheistic  Buddhism ; 
and  agnosticism,  which  resolves  God  into  the  unknowable,  cannot 
believe  in  conscious  immortality. 

These  definitions  involve  relations  of  knowledge  and  obedience. 
God  has  made  man  in  his  own  likeness.  As  to  essential  nature, 
the  spirit  of  man  is  like  the  Spirit  of  God.  In  this  primal  fact  lie 
all  the  possibilities  involved  in  religion.  Man  may  know,  love, 
and  obey  God.  There  are  not  wanting  those  to  whom  the  rela- 
tivity of  man's  knowledge  constitutes  a  fatal  barrier  to  any 
knowledge  of  God.  Of  course,  all  our  knowledge  is  exceedingly 
limited.  The  knowledge  of  things  in  their  essence  we  cannot 
have;  but  the  apprehension  we  have  of  things,  though  very  im- 
perfect when  compared  with  the  fullness  of  truth,  may  yet  be  real 
knowledge,  corresponding  so  far  to  reality. 

My  dog  knows  me,  distinguishes  me  from  the  multitude,  knows 
where  I  live,  knows  my  habits  of  life,  can  read  my  moods  in  my 
face,  understands  much  that  I  say  to  him.  Of  the  me  which  lies 
away  within,  the  thinking  self  in  which  my  powers  and  capacities 
inhere,  he  has  no  conception,  can  have  none.  But  what  he  knows  is 
as  correct  in  its  measure  as  my  knowledge  of  myself  is  in  its  measure. 

God  has  made  himself  known  to  men.  He  "  who  hath  at 
sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spoke  in  times  past  unto 
the  fathers,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son." 
The  organon  of  this  revelation  is  the  written  word  given  to 
us  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit,  holy  men  of  God  speaking  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  revelation  consists 
of  a  large  body  of  external  historic  facts  which  constitute  the 
granite  bottom  of  all.  They  are  public  and  notorious,  so  that 
revealed  religion  has  an  exact  latitude  and  longitude,  and  can  be 
as  definitely  located  in  time  and  place  as  any  other  historical  oc- 
currence. 

In  these  facts  are  embodied  and  illustrated  great  moral  prin- 
ciples which  are  for  guidance  to  the  world's  conduct.  Beyond 
these  there  lies  a  system  of  spiritual  truth  which  is  for  the  sal- 
vation of  the  inner  life;  doctrines  concerning  God's  grace  and 
promises  made  to  man  by  which  he  may  become  partaker  of 
the  divine  nature. 


492 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


The  ultimate  and  demonstrative  seal  of  this  system  of  salva- 
tion is  personal  experience  vouchsafed  to  penitent  faith.  When 
Jesus  spoke  these  spiritual  truths  he  offered  to  every  honest  heart 
a  proof  with  power  that  they  were  of  God:  "If  any  willeth 
to  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  he  shall  know 
of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  my- 
self." Here  is  the  doctrine  of  Christian  experience — the  truth 
realized  in  the  human  spirit  by  the  Spirit  of  God  and  divinely 
attested  to  the  consciousness. 

What  Methodism  Contends  For. 

For  this  element  of  the  Christian  life  Methodism  has  made  a 
conspicuous  and  most  earnest  contention.  Other  epochal  move- 
ments in  the  sphere  "of  religion  have  wrought  in  the  direction  of 
doctrine  and  for  ecclesiastical  reforms  ;  but  what  there  was  new 
in  this  movement  had  reference  to  doctrine  only  as  embodied  and 
illustrated  in  Christian  experience.  Dr.  Stevens  has  well  said : 
"  Methodism  reversed  the  usual  policy  of  religious  sects,  which 
seek  to  sustain  their  spiritual  life  by  their  orthodoxy  ;  it  has  sus- 
tained its  orthodoxy  by  devoting  its  chief  care  to  its  spiritual 
life." 

The  two  all-important  points  about  which  Mr.  Wesley  exer- 
cised himself  and  around  which  he  organized  his  work,  were  con- 
scious assurance  of  acceptance  with  God,  and  sanctification,  or 
Christian  perfection.  I  invite  you  to  a  study  of  beginnings  in 
Methodist  history  with  reference  to  these. 

Mr.  Watson  says  it  would  be  difficult  to  fix  upon  a  more  inter- 
esting and  instructive  moral  spectacle  than  that  which  is  pre- 
sented by  the  progress  of  Mr.  Wesley's  mind  through  its  deep 
and  serious  agitations,  doubts,  difficulties,  hopes,  and  fears  from 
his  earliest  religious  awakenings  to  the  moment  when  he  found 
that  steadfast  peace  in  his  conversion.  He  had  been  religious 
from  a  child.  At  college,  as  a  leader  of  the  "  Holy  Club,"  he 
was  the  most  austere  of  ascetics,  the  most  tireless  of  religious 
workers  ;  he  was  a  man  of  prayer  and  close  Bible  study  ;  he  had 
been  for  two  years  and  a  half  a  missionary  to  the  Indians  in 
America.  And  yet,  after  ten  years  of  such  life  as  an  ordained 
minister,  he  had  no  assurance  that  he  was  a  child  of  God. 

His  Journal  begins  October  14,  1735,  and  at  once  he  confesses 
the  most  painful  and  tormenting  fear  of  death.  When  one  spoke 
to  him  of  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  he  says  :  "  I  was  surprised  and 
knew  not  what  to  answer."  In  a  letter  to  a  friend  he  wrote: 
"  Does  the  Spirit  bear  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  children 
of  God  ?    Alas  !  with  mine  he  does  not." 

A  writer  in  the  London  Quarterly  (1868)  says:  "We  have 
before  us  a  number  of  unpublished  sermons  of  John  Wesley  at 
Oxford  during  the  ten  years  following  his  ordination.  In  not 
one  of  them  is  there  any  view  whatever,  any  glimpse  afforded,  of 
Christ  in  any  of  his  offices.  His  name  occurs  in  the  benediction; 
that  is  about  all."    He  says  of  himself:  "Many  years  after  I 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


493 


was  ordained  a  deacon  I  was  utterly  ignorant  of  the  nature  and 
condition  of  justification,  ignorant  of  saving  faith,  apprehending 
it  to  mean  no  more  than  firm  assent  to  all  the  propositions  con- 
tained in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments." 

This  seems  quite  strange,  but  we  must  remember  that  the  great 
body  of  the  Church  was  dead  to  spirituality.  The  doctrine  of 
the  new  birth  had  shriveled  into  baptismal  regeneration.  The 
sum  of  religion  consisted  in  harmlessness,  using  the  means  of 
grace  and  almsgiving.  Of  the  preaching  generally  it  has  been 
said:  "Beyond  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  and  a  general  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  veracity  of  the  Gospel  narrative,  it  taught 
little  that  might  not  have  been  taught  by  the  disciples  of  Socrates 
and  Plato." 

In  1740  Mr.  Wesley  spent  two  days  in  looking  over  the  letters 
he  had  received  in  sixteen  or  eighteen  years  then  just  past,  and 
he  writes:  "How  few  traces  of  inward  religion!  I  found  but 
one  of  all  my  correspondents  who  declared  that  God  had  shed 
abroad  his  love  in  his  heart."  And  then  he  adds  this  bit  of  sad 
history.  This  one,  who  made  the  profession,  was  for  this  ex- 
pelled from  his  society  as  a  madman,  and,  being  disowned  by  his 
friends  and  despised  and  forsaken  of  all  men,  lived  obscure  and 
unknown  for  a  few  months  and  died. 

The  witness  to  the  Spirit  and  instantaneous  conversion  were 
looked  upon  as  utterly  unreasonable.  And  when  Mr.  Wes- 
ley first  heard  these  things  talked  by  Peter  Bohler  he  says  he 
could  not  understand  them  at  all ;  and  when  he  began  to  preach 
them  the  churches  were  closed  against  him.  In  writing  to  a 
friend  in  1745  he  says:  "About  seven  years  ago  we  began  preach- 
ing present  inward  salvation  as  attainable  by  faith  alone.  For 
preaching  this  doctrine  we  were  forbidden  to  preach  in  the 
churches.  For  this  many  of  the  clergy  preached  and  printed 
against  us  as  heretics  and  schismatics.  Several  of  the  bishops 
began  to  speak  against  us.  Several  of  the  clergy  stirred  up  the 
people  to  treat  us  as  outlaws  and  mad  dogs." 

Even  Mr.  Wesley's  mother,  who  was  so  wise  in  spiritual  things, 
said  a  little  while  before  her  death  that  till  then  she  had  scarce 
ever  heard  such  a  thing  mentioned  as  having  forgiveness  of  sins 
now,  or  God's  Spirit  bearing  witness  with  our  spirit,  much  less 
did  she  imagine  that  this  was  the  common  privilege  of  all  be- 
lievers. She  only  came  into  this  experience  about  three  years 
before  her  death,  when  she  was  seventy  years  of  age. 

From  all  this  it  is  evident  that  every  condition  about  his  life 
was  unfavorable  to  the  last  degree  to  Mr.  Wesley's  apprehension 
of  the  doctrine.  It  was  separated  from  the  spirit  of  the  age  "by 
the  whole  diameter  of  the  sphere."  Brought  up  in  such  an 
atmosphere,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  came  to  be  ten  years  a 
preacher  without  so  much  as  knowing  there  was  such  a  thing  as 
assurance  of  Christian  standing  with  God. 

But  through  all  these  years  he  had  been  feeling  about  for  the 
truth,    reading  spiritual  books   and  speaking   with  spiritual 


494 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[189G. 


men.  Like  Apollos,  though  a  mighty  man,  he  was  willing  to  sit 
at  the  feet  of  any  Aquila  or  Priscilla,  who  was  acquainted  with 
God.  At  last,  on  March  5,  1738,  after  an  interview  with  his 
friend  and  spiritual  adviser,  Peter  Bolder,  he  says :  "  I  was 
clearly  convinced  of  unbelief,  of  the  want  of  that  faith  whereby 
alone  we  are  saved,  the  simple  faith  which  is  sealed  by  the 
Spirit."  When  he  saw  this  he  was  minded  to  quit  preaching, 
but  Bolder  said:  "No,  preach  faith  till  you  have  it,  and  then 
you  will  preach  it  because  you  have  it."  So  he  continued  ;  and 
on  Monday,  March  6,  1738,  he  preached  for  the  first  time  present 
conscious  salvation  by  faith  to  a  prisoner  who  was  under  sentence 
of  death. 

Preaching  this  truth  and  praying  for  the  experience,  he  came 
to  Wednesday,  May  24,  1738.  He  rose  early,  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  upon  going  out  of  the  house  he  opened  his 
Testament  on  these  words:  "Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom 
of  God."  All  the  day  he  sought  the  Lord  with  most  diligent 
care.  Here  is  his  record  of  the  coup  de  grace:  "In  the  evening 
I  went  unwillingly  to  a  society  in  Aldersgate  Street,  where  one 
was  reading  Luther's  Preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romons. 
About  a  quarter  before  nine,  while  he  was  describing  the  change 
which  God  works  in  the  heart  through  faith  in  Christ,  I  felt  my 
heart  strangely  warmed.  An  assurance  was  given  me  that  he 
had  taken  away  my  sins,  even  mine,  and  saved  me  from  the  law 
of  sin  and  death." 

A  memorable  night  that  was!  It  was  the  Bethel  for  that 
Jacob  who  for  thirteen  long  years  had  been  wrestling  for  the 
blessing.  Now  the  day  has  come,  and  with  it  enfranchisement. 
His  feet  are  on  the  rock;  a  new  song  is  in  his  mouth, 'even  praises 
to  our  God.  Now  we  may  write  a  new  line  in  that  biography. 
John  Wesley,  born  after  the  flesh  at  Epworth,  June  17,  1703, 
and  born  after  the  Spirit  by  the  power  of  an  endless  life  in 
Aldersgate  Street,  London,  a  quarter  before  nine  o'clock,  Wednes- 
day evening,  May  24,  1738. 

His  brother  Charles  had  come  into  the  joy  of  this  life  but  a 
few  days  before,  and  now  together  they  can  sing  : 

"  My  God  is  reconciled  ; 

His  pardoning  voice  I  hear : 
He  owns  me  for  his  child  ; 
I  can  no  longer  fear : 
With  confidence  I  now  draw  nigh, 
And,  4  Father,  Abba,  Father,'  cry." 

The  First  Point  Settled. 

Now  we  have  reached  the  first  point  settled  in  the  distinctive 
position  of  Methodism — salvation  assured  to  the  spirit  of  the 
penitent  believer  by  a  direct  personal  witness  of  the  divine  Spirit 
that  he  is  a  child  of  God.  From  that  time  a  baptism  of  power 
was  upon  the  Church,  and  it  will  abide  until  the  ages  fail.  All 
over  England  and  Ireland  the  work  spread  like  forest  fire. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


495 


America  is  soon  ablaze,  and  the  "  Holy  Club"  becomes  a  religious 
movement  which,  under  God,  is  to  girdle  the  globe  and  stand 
in  the  forefront  of  the  agencies  that  are  to  convert  the  world. 

Through  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  in  city  churches,  country 
meeting  houses,  log  cabins,  humble  homes,  at  primitive  camp 
meeting  altars,  at  the  mourner's  bench,  under  all  skies  and  in  all 
lands,  the  world  has  felt  the  touch  of  its  divine  power,  and  it  has 
grown  into  a  vast  multitude.  There  are  to-day  seven  millions  of 
Methodists  in  the  world  doing  service  in  every  branch  of  Chris- 
tian activity.  They  are  in  the  vanguard  of  every  army  enlisted 
for  the  enfranchisement  of  man  and  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  world. 

And  then  I  look  beyond,  and  behold  an  apocalyptic  multitude 
which  no  man  can  number,  out  of  every  nation,  and  of  all  tribes, 
peoples,  and  tongues,  standing  before  the  throne  and  before  the 
Lamb,  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  palms  are  in  their  hands. 
"  Behold  what  God  hath  wrought !  " 

Another  Question  Raised. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  there  came  another  question  into 
Mr.  Wesley's  religious  life.  For  a  while  all  was  as  bright  as  a 
morning  of  unclouded  spring,  and  he  could  say :  "  I  have  free- 
dom from  sin,  not  one  unholy  thought."  Yet  soon  he  becomes 
conscious  that  something  was  lacking.  He  says:  "On  Wednes- 
day, May  31  (just  one  short  week  after  that  happy  experience), 
I  grieved  the  Spirit  of  God  especially  by  speaking  with  sharp- 
ness of  one  not  sound  in  the  faith.  God  hid  his  face,  and  I 
was  troubled."  Sometimes  his  expressions  are  pathetic.  He 
says:  UI  felt  a  soreness  in  my  heart,  so  that  I  found  my  wound 
was  not  fully  healed." 

There  came  to  him  a  most  humiliating  revelation  of  defects 
and  failures  of  which  he  had  not  before  been  conscious.  He 
talks  much  of  "inbred  sin,"  "inward  corruption,"  and  "salvation 
unto  inward  holiness."  He  seems  even  to  depreciate  conversion. 
Speaking  of  certain  members,  he  distinguishes  "  One  born  again 
in  the  full  sense  of  that  word,  that  is,  found  a  thorough  inward 
change;"  while  of  others  he  says:  "Most  of  them  were  only 
born  again  in  a  lower  sense,  that  is,  received  the  remission  of 
their  sins." 

He  retired  into  Germany  that  he  might  inquire  of  his  friends, 
the  Moravians,  of  these  things,  and  he  spent  weeks  in  closest 
conversation  with  them  about  the  work.  He  writes:  "Here  I 
continually  met  with  what  I  sought  for — living  proofs  of  the 
power  of  faith,  persons  saved  from  inward,  as  well  as  outward, 
sin." 

Upon  further  and  closer  investigation  he  found  among  this 
people  things  which  he  could  not  accept.  They  held  that  sin 
remains  in  the  soul  as  long  as  it  remains  in  the  body.  This  he 
sharply  rejected,  holding  and  teaching  that  "  there  was  a  work  of 
divine  grace  by  which  the  soul  of  the  believer  Was  thoroughly 
32 


496 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


cleansed  and  the  kingdom  of  heaven  completely  and  victoriously 
set  up  within,  bringing  all  things  into  the  obedience  of  Christ." 

He  contended  for  a  distinct  work  subsequent  to  conversion, 
and  says,  "I  believe  justification  to  be  wholly  distinct  from 
sanctification,"  of  which  he  says:  "I  believe  it  to  be  an  inward 
thing,  namely,  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man,  a  participation 
of  the  divine  nature,  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ,  or  the  renewal 
of  the  heart  after  the  image  of  him  that  created  us." 

So  he  preached.  In  January,  1740,  he  writes:  "I  continually 
warned  all  who  had  tasted  the  grace  of  God  to  press  forward 
for  the  prize  of  their  high  calling,  even  a  clean  heart,  thoroughly 
renewed  after  the  image  of  God  in  righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness." 

"  Where  are  the  perfect  ones  ?  "  Maxfield  and  Bell,  by  their 
extravagances,  had  brought  the  very  expression  "  Christian  per- 
fection "  into  contempt,  and  had  wantonly  alienated  the  Church 
from  him.  The  preachers  were  scared  away,  and  he  writes: 
"  The  fearful  stories  from  London  had  made  all  our  preachers  in 
the  North  afraid  even  to  mutter  about  Christian  perfection." 

About  this  time  Mr.  Wesley  wrote  some  pathetic  letters  to  his 
brother  Charles.  In  1772  he  says:  "I  find  almost  all  our  preach- 
ers, in  every  circuit,  have  done  with  perfection.  What  is  to  be 
done  ?  Shall  we  drop  it  ?  "  Yet,  in  the  midst  of  discourage- 
ment and  oppositions  and  persecutions  he  still  holds  on  serenely 
to  the  truth,  and  in  1790,  when  he  was  eighty-seven  years  old — 
just  one  year  before  that  wonderful  life  closed — he  solemnly 
writes:  "This  doctrine  is  the  grand  depositum  which  God  has 
lodged  with  the  people  called  Methodists ;  "  and  for  the  sake  of 
propagating  this  chiefly  he  appears  to  have  raised  them  up. 

The  Present  Status. 

Since  Mr.  Wesley's  day  much  has  been  written  upon  the  vari- 
ous aspects  of  this  question.  Some  have  veered  away  completely 
from  the  position  for  which  he  so  strenuously  contended.  Yet, 
speaking  broadly,  we  may  confidently  say  that  after  a  century 
and  a  half  of  discussion  Methodism  still  holds  intact  the  substance 
of  what  he  taught ;  and  when  we  bring  the  great  expounders  of 
Methodist  faith  side  by  side  we  find  unity  and  continuity  in  the 
teaching.  Wesley,  Fletcher,  Watson,  Pope,  Raymond,  Miley, 
Summers,  and  Ralston  are  at  one  in  this.  So  our  fathers  have 
preached.  So  every  individual  of  the  generations  of  traveling- 
preachers  in  Methodism  have  declared  their  faith  as  they  have 
stood  at  the  bar  of  their  respective  Conferences  and  answered  the 
questions:  "Are  you  going  on  to  perfection  ?  Do  you  expect  to 
be  made  perfect  in  this  life  ?    Are  you  groaning  after  it  ?  " 

So  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  have  declared  again  and  again  in 
official  deliverances.  In  the  last  Episcopal  Address  to  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  South,  are  these  words:  "The  privilege 
of  believers  to  attain  unto  the  state  of  entire  sanctification,  or 
perfect  love,  and  to  abide  therein,  is  a  well-known  teaching  of 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


497 


Methodism.  Witnesses  to  this  experience  have  never  been  want- 
ing in  our  Church.  Among  them  have  been  men  and  women  of 
beautiful  consistency  and  seraphic  ardor,  jewels  of  the  Church. 
Let  the  doctrine  be  proclaimed  and  the  experience  still  be  testi- 
fied." 

The  hymns  of  the  Church  are  bearing  witness  to  the  doctrine 
in  their  tuneful  harmonies.  And  many  happy  hearts  there  are 
round  the  world  in  which  abides  a  perpetual  Pentecost,  the  bap- 
tism of  fire  and  tongue. 

Nonessential  Elements. 

I  wish  to  speak  of  some  elements  of  this  subject  which,  though 
not  essential,  have  been  the  battle  ground  of  much  spirited,  not 
to  say  acrimonious,  discussion. 

First,  it  is  not  of  the  essence  of  the  doctrine  that  we  make  a 
complete  philosophical  description  of  the  work.  Revelation  of 
saving  truth  does  not  extend  to  such  arabesque  tracery  in  mat- 
ters of  psychology.  The  knowledge  of  God  and  his  grace  de- 
pends upon  moral,  rather  than  intellectual,  conditions;  and 
Jesus's  heart  was  stirred  to  the  point  of  spiritual  rapture  as  he 
uttered  the  thanksgiving:  "I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth,  because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the 
wise  and  prudent  and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes."  A 
humble  believer,  though  very  ignorant,  may  arrive  at  imperial 
heights  of  gracious  experience  and  yet  be  wholly  unable  to  locate 
himself  by  any  of  the  theological  reckonings  of  the  schools. 
Where  the  Scriptures  have  not  spoken  we  need  not  speak.  It  is 
enough  to  contend  for  the  perfect  love  which  destroys  sin. 

Second,  it  is  not  essential  that  we  hold  the  work  done  to  be 
the  extirpation  or  destruction  of  any  power,  or  susceptibility,  of 
the  soul.  The  evil  is  simply  perverted  function;  all  evil  is  per- 
verted good,  the  good  put  to  wrong  use.  What  we  call  inbred 
sin,  the  old  Adam,  is  not  a  foreign,  objective  entity,  which  is  to 
be  rooted  up  and  destroyed  as  a  noxious  weed.  These  names 
merely  represent  the  perversion  of  faculties  and  powers  which 
only  need  to  be  purged  and  brought  to  their  proper  use.  With 
the  same  tongue  "bless  we  God,  even  the  Father;  and  therewith 
curse  we  men,  which  are  made  after  the  similitude  of  God.  Out 
of  the  same  mouth  proceedeth  blessing  and  cursing."  Mr. 
Wesley  therefore  makes  the  alternative  statement:  "  Whether 
sin  is  suspended  or  extirpated,  I  will  not  dispute." 

Third,  it  is  not  vital  that  we  hold  the  work  done  instantane- 
ously. We  need  not  set  such  limitations  to  the  work  of  the 
Spirit,  or  make  such  Procrustean  tests  of  God's  operations.  If 
gome  fleet-footed  Ahimaaz  in  a  moment  of  high  illumination  by 
a  supreme  act  of  faith  clear  the  whole  distance  at  a  leap,  shall 
this  discount  the  progress  and  final  accomplishment  of  one  who, 
from  a  thousand  conditions  which  we  cannot  appreciate,  slowly 
but  steadily  presses  on  until  he  comes  to  a  prepared  and  adequate 
faith  ?    It  mattered  nothing  that  that  other  disciple  outran  Peter 


498 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


to  the  sepulcher  when  he  followed  on  and  a  little  later  stood  by 
his  side  at  the  empty  tomb.  And  so  Mr.  Wesley  writes  in  his 
sermon  on  Patience:  "It  may  be  inquired,  In  what  manner  does 
God  work  this  entire,  this  universal  change  in  the  soul  of  a  be- 
liever? Does  he  work  it  gradually,  by  slow  degrees,  or  in- 
stantaneously, in  a  moment?  The  Scriptures  are  silent  upon 
the  subject,  because  the  point  is  not  determined,  not  in  express 
terms  in  any  part  of  the  oracles  of  God.  Every  man,  therefore, 
may  abound  in  his  own  sense,  provided  he  will  allow  the  same 
liberty  to  his  neighbors,  provided  he  will  not  be  angry  with  those 
who  differ  from  his  opinion,  nor  retain  hard  thoughts  concerning 
them." 

Fourth,  it  is  not  essential  that  a  man  make  a  specific  profes- 
sion of  the  experience.  It  seems  from  the  word  of  God  that  some 
things  in  our  religious  lives  are  to  remain  unspoken  secrets  with 
God.  To  certain  whom  Jesus  healed  he  gave  strict  charges  that 
they  should  say  nothing  about  it.  The  world  does  not  appre- 
ciate the  high  things  of  the  Christian  life,  the}r  are  foolishness 
unto  them;  neither  can  they  know  them,  "because  they  are 
spiritually  discerned."  Such  professions  often  invite  ridicule 
and  hinder  the  work  of  saving  men. 

Besides,  for  this  experience  the  Scriptures  promise  no  specific 
divine  witness.  The  abiding  Spirit  of  Adoption  is  the  only  wit- 
ness promised. 

So  at  the  Conference  in  1747  this  subject  was  carefully  con- 
sidered, and  this  memorandum  was  adopted:  "The  inspired 
writers  very  rarely  speak  either  of  or  to  those  who  are  wholly 
sanctified;  therefore  it  behooves  the  public,  at  least,  rarely  to 
speak  in  full  and  explicit  terms  concerning  entire  sanctification." 
And  Mr.  Wesley,  in  view  of  the  facile  and  voluble  expressions  of 
many,  felt  called  upon  to  say  to  them:  "Do  not  talk  much. 
Be  particularly  careful  in  speaking  of  yourself." 

And  who  that  has  sought  nearness  to  God  has  not  felt  the  fit- 
ness of  this  advice  ?  As  we  get  nearer  we  realize  such  an  in- 
finite difference  between  us  and  him  that  we  cannot  help  feeling 
humbled  and  dumb.  We  sympathize  with  the  great  apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  whose  self-depreciation  marks  the  progress  of  that 
saintly  experience.  He  begins  by  calling  himself  "  the  least  of 
the  apostles ; "  next  he  says,  "  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all 
saints ; "  and  at  last  he  calls  himself  the  chief  of  sinners. 

There  is,  however,  one  witness  which  we  are  authorized  and 
urged  to  give  in  every  public  place,  upon  the  housetop  and  on 
the  street  corner  :  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they 
may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  And  so  the  Conference  in  1747  exhorted  the  people 
"to  speak  more  loudly  and  convincingly  by  their  lives  than  they 
can  do  by  their  tongues."  Against  such  profession  there  is  no 
law. 

Fifth,  the  fact  that  there  have  been  many  extravagances  of 
enthusiasm  attending  the  preaching  and  profession  of  this  ex- 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


499 


perience  ought  not  to  discount  the  doctrine.  The  Methodists 
have  been  an  ardent  people  from  the  beginning.  Mr.  Wesley- 
was  a  phlegmatic  man  in  regard  to  his  own  religious  life,  but  his 
people  were  full  of  demonstrative  zeal.  But  this  extravagance  is 
not  confined  to  those  who  preached  and  professed  sanctification. 
Such  attended  the  work  of  Whitefield,  Edward  Irving,  Jonathan 
Edwards,  and  Thomas  Finney,  as  well  as  that  of  Mr.  Wesley ; 
and  it  is  still  true  that  those  who  reach  out  after  singular 
spiritual  attainments  often  fall  into  the  most  foolish  and  hurtful 
weaknesses. 

Bat  for  all  this  we  cannot  relax  our  hold  on  high  spiritual 
truth,  because  some  who  profess  to  have  attained  are  wild  and 
weak.  Mr.  Wesley  saw  this  danger.  He  says:  "I foresaw  that 
the  devil  would  try  by  Thomas  Maxfield  and  company  to  drive 
perfection  out  of  the  kingdom."  But  he  still  stood  for  the  truth, 
and  writes:  "  I  never  staggered  at  the  reveries  of  George  Bell." 
Rising  far  above  these  vapors  into  the  clear  sunlight,  he  says  : 
".Blessed  be  God!  though  we  set  aside  a  hundred  enthusiasts,  we 
are  still  encompassed  with  a  cloud  of  witnesses  who  have  testi- 
fied and  do  testify  in  life  and  in  death  that  perfection  which  I 
have  taught  these  forty  years." 

The  best  corrective  of  these  irregularities  is  that  every  Metho- 
dist itinerant  shall  be  a  preacher  of  holiness,  teaching  the  truth 
according  to  the  word  of  God,  and  never  leaving  so  distinctive 
and  important  a  tenet  of  our  faith  to  the  work  of  specialists. 

It  is  Scriptural. 

My  brethren,  this  position  of  Methodism  is  no  product  of  a 
man-made  theology.  It  is  not  a  tenuous  thread  spun  from  the 
brain  of  a  mystic.  It  is  a  divine  revelation — the  plainest  and 
most  insistent  teaching  of  the  word  of  God.  It  is  the  logical 
sequent  of  all  the  Scripture  deliverances  concerning  the  nature  of 
man  and  the  love,  purpose,  and  power  of  God. 

The  initial  statement  of  revelation  is,  "  God  created  man  in  his 
own  image,"  and  the  psalmist,  borne  on  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  de- 
clares :  "Thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  and 
hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor."  And  the  incarnation  of 
Christ  gives  the  divine  comment  on  these  statements.  This  hu- 
man nature  there  furnished  a  competent  medium  by  which  God 
■could  be  manifested  to  the  world.  This  required  a  great  instru- 
ment. A  jew's-harp  could  not  by  any  possibility  be  made  to  ex- 
press the  transcendent  measures  of  Handel's  "Messiah."  No 
master,  however  great,  could  interpret  "  Hamlet,"  or  "  Paradise 
Lost,"  in  the  patois  of  a  savage.  But  human  nature  has  embodied 
God.  A  man  born  of  woman,  flesh  and  blood  as  we  are,  who 
suffered  and  died,  your  brother  and  mine,  has  embodied  God; 
"for  in  him  dwelt  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily." 

Man  is  great — the  image,  the  asymptote,  the  child  of  God. 
Chrysostom  is  right,  "  the  true  Shekinah  is  man."    Yes,  every 


500 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


man  and  any  man;  for  in  the  words  of  our  Lord  himself — and  "  the 
diapason  closes  full"  on  this — "  Likewise,  I  say  unto  you,  There  is 
joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth;"  and  the  great  apostle  appropriates  it  and  cries  out: 
"  The  Son  of  God  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me."  And 
towering  yet  higher,  like  the  stars  above  the  cathedral  cross  and 
mountain  tops  and  highest  clouds,  is  that  astonishing  climax  of  the 
Saviour's  prayer :  "  That  the  world  may  know  that  thou  hast 
loved  them,  as  thou  hast  loved  me." 

Brethren,  we  have  heard  so  much  of  man  being  "  a  worm  of 
the  dust "  that  we  can  hardly  believe  these  things  when  we  read 
them;  but  we  are  reduced  to  the  alternative  to  believe  them  or  to 
deny  the  truthfulness  of  God.  We  must  expect  some  great  pur- 
pose of  God  in  man,  and  here  it  is.  Peter  says  there  "are 
given  to  us  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  that  by  these 
ye  might  be  partakers  of  the  divine  nature."  And  Paul  declares 
that  God  did  predestinate  us  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son,  and  to  be  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory. 

I  freely  confess  I  do  not  know  what  these  things  mean.  "Such 
knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me;  it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  to 
it."  They  baffle  all  efforts  at  definition  in  the  forms  of  reason. 
"  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him.  But  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit ;  '* 
and  he  is  "  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we 
ask  or  think."  And  all  the  resources  of  the  Godhead  are  pledged 
to  effect  this  purpose  of  his  grace.  "  It  is  God  that  vvorketh  in  us 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure,"  and  to  faith  it  is 
given  to  know  "what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his  power 
to  us  ward  who  believe,  according  to  the  working  of  his  mighty 
power,  which  he  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from  the 
dead, and  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand,  far  above  all  principal^, 
and  power,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is 
named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come." 

Surety  with  such  provisions  of  divine  love  and  power  for  its 
attainment  the  Church  is  authorized  and  required  to  preach  and 
contend  for  a  high  salvation.  That  the  ideal  is  generally  unreal- 
ized I  readily  admit.  With  sincere  sorrow  we  recognize  that  be- 
lievers live  far  below  this  plane.  But  we  will  not  limit  God's 
grace  by  our  unfaithfulness.  No  one  but  God  can  say  what  a 
soul  unreservedly  consecrated  to  him  and  working  with  him  fully 
at  his  best  may  accomplish,  to  what  heights  it  may  attain.  We 
do  know  that  God  has  not  left  this  truth  without  living  witness 
in  any  age,  from  Abel  and  Enoch  to  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth, 
Anna  and  Simeon,  John  and  Paul.  And  to  this  day  there  are 
holy  men  and  women  who,  like  these,  "  are  righteous  before  God, 
walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord 
blameless." 

Methodism  says  that  these  are  not  extraordinary  miracles  of 
grace,  exceptional  marvels  of  sanctified  chai-acter  and  life.  They 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


501 


simply  represent  that  measure  of  experience  which,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  is  the  privilege  of  every  man,  and  for  the  promotion  of 
which  he  has  laid  every  worthy  instrumentality  in  heaven  and  on 
earth  under  contribution. 

To  this  position  every  one  of  the  forty-five  thousand  traveling 
preachers  of  Methodism  is  personally  committed  by  the  most 
solemn  tokens.  If  there  be  one  who  does  not  hold  them,  "  tell 
it  not  in  Gath;  publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon ! "  For 
that  was  his  most  solemn  declaration  when  he  asked  authority  to 
preach  among  us  ;  and  his  profession  of  a  deep  hunger  and  thirst 
for  the  experience  was  one  of  the  specific  conditions  upon  which 
he  was  received. 

Brethren,  I  greet  you,  the  representatives  of  the  largest  body 
of  Methodists  in  the  world,  who  have  received  these  apostolic 
truths  from  our  fathers  and  have  contended  for  and  maintained 
them  with  fidelity  to  this  good  day.  It  is  with  unspeakable  joy 
that  I  look  into  the  faces  of  men  from  America,  Europe,  Asia, 
Africa,  Australia,  and  the  islands  of  the  sea,  and  realize  that  you 
are  conserving  the  unity  and  continuity  of  Methodist  teaching 
upon  the  subject  of  Christian  experience.  You  are  holding  and 
teaching  the  same  things  which  we  hold  and  teach — the  things 
which  are  "  the  honored  heirlooms  of  our  ancestors."  And  in 
this  I  see  the  promise  and  potency  of  future  Methodism.  The 
solidarity  of  the  Methodist  family  in  this  respect  is  of  first  im- 
portance. It  does  not  matter  so  much  that  we  attain  organic 
unity.  So  long  as  we  are  not  alienated  in  heart  or  divided  by 
unbrotherly  strifes  we  can  afford  to  live  within  separate  ecclesi- 
astical lines,  and  leave  the  good  providence  of  God  to  bring 
about  the  end  he  may  desire.  The  great  point  is  already  gained 
when  we  are  speaking  the  same  things  in  love  concerning  the 
issues  around  which  the  Methodist  movement  was  organized. 
From  the  official  centers  out  to  the  last  outpost  in  our  mission 
fields  we  preach  salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  assured  to 
every  penitent  believer  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  Christian  per- 
fection— the  perfection  of  loving  God  with  the  whole  heart  and 
serving  him  with  the  whole  life,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  sin  ;  and 
upon  these  sunlit  peaks  we  stand  together  keeping  the  unity  of 
the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace. 

And  then,  when  I  think  of  our  brethren  beloved  in  Canada  and 
beyond  the  seas  holding  and  preaching  the  same  truths  round  the 
world,  my  soul  rejoices,  for  I  see  there  ariseth  a  little  cloud  out 
of  the  sea  like  a  man's  hand,  and  I  hear  the  sound  of  the  abun- 
dance of  rain. 

9. — Address  of  Hon.  G.  B.  Perkins,  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South.    Journal,  page  255. 

As  a  fraternal  delegate,  I  come  from  one  branch  of  a  common 
family,  to  bring  its  greetings  to  the  grand  council  of  another.  I 
would  that  these  greetings  might  be  beneficial  to  both;  that  they 
might  remove  something  that  prevents  harmonious  intercourse, 


502 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


and  might  increase  brotherly  cooperation  in  labors  which  will 
advance  the  common  cause.  But  I  fear  that  I  am  not  competent 
to  present  such.  In  fact,  I  have  been  much  troubled  to  under- 
stand why  the  selection  fell  upon  me.  The  Church  South  has 
many  able  and  experienced  laymen  who,  in  my  estimation,  would 
have  been  much  better  qualified  to  discharge  the  responsibility. 
But  the  great  and  good  men  who  were  authorized  to  make  the 
selection  chose  me.  The  reasons  for  it  I  know  not.  They  may 
have  been  influenced,  in  part,  by  the  same  motive  that  actuated 
an  old  Arkansas  friend  of  mine  on  a  similar  occasion.  He  was 
a  widower  and  owned  a  plantation  on  the  Mississippi  River,  and 
was  the  father  of  numerous  children.  There  was  a  widow  who 
owned  a  large  plantation,  and  was  possessed  of  a  larger  family, 
in  the  county  just  north  of  him.  The  same  levee  along  the  river 
front  protected  both  plantations  from  overflow.  She  was  charm- 
ing as  only  a  wealthy  widow  in  the  prime  of  mature  woman- 
hood can  be  charming.  She  was  related  to  the  widower,  but  not 
in  the  degree  prohibiting  matrimony.  She  sent  him  an  invitation 
to  bring  his  family  and  pay  her  a  visit  during  the  holidays. 
Some  gentlemen,  similarly  situated,  will  fully  appreciate  how 
great  was  his  disappointment  when  circumstances  arose  which 
prevented  his  accepting  the  invitation.  But,  as  the  best  substi- 
tute he  could  make,  he  called  two  of  his  sons  and  said  to  the 
elder,  "  William,  you  are  a  minister,  and  can  talk  of  the  beautiful 
and  the  unseen.  Besides,  widows  always  feel  kindly  toward 
preachers.  You  must  go."  He  said  to  the  younger,  "  John,  you 
are  a  lawyer,  and  if  anybody  on  earth  can  tell  the  plain  truth 
in  a  plain  way  it  is  a  lawyer.  You  go,  and  if  you  get  to  talking 
about  family  matters  tell  things  just  as  they  are;  so  that,  if  so  be 
we  should  ever  get  to  be  any  closer  kin  than  we  are  now,  there 
will  be  nothing  to  complain  of." 

In  a  family  so  large  as  the  Methodist  it  is  impossible  for  all  to 
know  the  lineage  of  each.  You  will  pardon  me,  therefore,  a  word 
as  to  myself.  My  father  was  a  traveling  preacher  in  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church.  When  the  separation  came  he  went  with 
his  home  people  and  served  them  until  he  passed  to  the  better 
land.  In  my  grandfather's  family  there  have  been  fifty-two 
preachers,  and  when  my  great-grandmother  ended  her  pilgrimage 
she  left  seven  hundred  and  forty-two  descendants,  all  of  whom 
were  Methodists  in  belief  and  most  in  fact;  so,  whatever  I  may 
say  of  Methodists  and  Methodist  preachers,  you  will  understand 
that  I  am  speaking  of  my  own  people,  and  will  make  due  allow- 
ance for  partiality. 

You  are  of  the  North;  we,  of  the  South.  The  words  have 
stood  for  much;  true  men  have  used  them  for  good,  bad  men  for 
evil.  With  them  some  have  aroused  patriotism;  others  have 
fanned  the  fire  of  sectionalism.  Whence  came  this  power?  It  is 
not  inherent  in  the  words  themselves.  Back  of  them  there  is,  or 
has  been,  something  greater;  something  not  the  product  of  the 
day,  but  of  the  ages.    There  is  always  something,  originating 


1896.J 


Fraternity. 


503 


somewhere,  coming  down  from  some  time,  that  gives  cast  and 
bent  to  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  a  people.  It  is  never  the 
overruling  personality  of  the  individual,  but  is  always  the  com- 
bined forces  of  the  most  powerful  element  in  the  nature  of  each 
individual  composing  the  dominant  class.  It  may  cluster  around 
one  person,  one  sentiment,  one  word.  Thus  combined,  it  be- 
comes the  ideal  of  all.  It  becomes  the  living,  moving,  acting 
force.  If  it  is  common  to  all  the  ruling  class  of  a  nation,  that 
nation  becomes  great.  Thus  it  makes  empires  and  kingdoms 
and  republics.  Thus  arose  Israel,  Greece,  and  Rome.  Break  the 
ideal,  and  the  nation  is  broken.  Thus  have  fallen  all  the  nations 
that  have  lost  empire. 

The  Americans  are  only  a  branch  of  the  great  composite  Eng- 
lish-speaking people;  that  people  which  for  centuries  has  stood  as 
the  bulwark  of  Protestant  civilization  and  Christianity.  They 
differ  from  all  other  branches.  Among  themselves  they  have 
been  essentially  different.  It  is  with  diffidence  that  I  attempt  to 
trace  this  difference  to  its  source;  yet,  if  it  can  be  done,  it  might 
be  of  value. 

The  conflict  of  all  the  forces  of  good  and  evil,  for  cycles  upon 
cycles,  produced  twro  classes  of  Englishmen.  History  designates 
them  as  Puritan  and  Cavalier.  The}r  were  of  the  same  material, 
but  molded  in  such  different  molds  that  they  seemed,  and  were 
in  fact,  utterly  dissimilar — the  Puritan  outwardly  cold,  hard, 
inflexible,  yet  within  a  consuming  fire  ;  the  Cavalier  outwardly 
joyous,  free,  and  easy,  but  within  unchangeable.  A  band  of 
those  Puritans,  fleeing  from  the  oppression  of  a  superior  class, 
landed  upon  the  rock-bound  and  inhospitable  New  England  coast. 
They  thought  they  believed  in  the  equality  of  all  men.  They 
did  believe  that  men  should  become  equal  by  coming  to  their 
standard.  Their  watchword  was  freedom  of  conscience.  In  the 
new  land  they  proceeded  to  put  this  in  practice  by  attempting  to 
shape  all  men's  consciences  in  accordance  with  their  peculiar  be- 
liefs. The  natural  products  were  witch -burning  and  the  blue 
laws.  Then,  as  their  horizon  widened,  and  freedom  began  to 
breathe,  there  arose  a  people  cool,  calculating,  shrewd,  self-willed, 
persevering  unto  persistence;  a  people  much  dominated  by  a  de- 
si  re  for  material  prosperity,  and  whose  conception  of  a  future 
state  was  largely  that  of  a  place  where  labors  were  rewarded. 

Many  Cavaliers  landed  upon  the  luxurious  Southern  coast,  some 
with  princely  grants,  others  fleeing  from  the  oppression  of  their 
inferiors  in  rank.  They  thought  they  believed  that  all  men  were 
born  free  and  equal.  They  did  believe  in  the  superiority  of 
their  race,  their  people,  and  themselves.  Their  watchword  was 
dominion.  They  proceeded  to  put  that  in  practice  by  taking 
possession,  in  the  king's  name,  of  the  land  and  all  that  was  upon 
it,  and  establishing  themselves  as  the  governing  class.  The 
natural  product  was  the  local  aristocrat  and  the  champion  of  the 
slave  holder's  right.  Then,  when  the  king's  power  became  op- 
pressivc  and  was  overthrown,  and  the  wealth  and  luxury  of  the 


504 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


cotton  and  rice  plantations  became  manifest,  there  arose  a  people 
proud,  chivalrous,  hospitable,  generous,  impetuous  unto  rashness; 
a  people  much  influenced  by  a  desire  for  the  establishment  of 
family  name,  with  princely  homes  and  possessions,  and  whose 
conception  of  the  future  state  was  largely  that  of  a  place  of  per- 
fect rest,  rendered  more  delightful  by  the  soft  melody  of  celestial 
music. 

From  these  causes,  under  these  circumstances  and  conditions, 
were  established  two  ideals,  represented  by  the  words  North  and 
South;  two  American  types,  aggressive,  antagonistic,  irreconcil- 
able. They  dwelt  in  the  same  land,  under  the  same  flag,  one 
with  growing  strength  and  prestige  in  the  North,  the  other  with 
increasing  power  in  the  South;  yet  each,  by  individual  influence 
and  communication,  permeating  every  section  of  the  country. 
Turmoil  and  strife  between  them  was  inevitable.  From  this 
families  were  estranged,  communities  torn  into  factions,  Churches 
rent  asunder  on  geographical  lines,  all  culminating  finally  in  one 
of  the  greatest  wars  of  modern  times.  A  war,  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  reason,  utterly  inexcusable,  uncalled  for,  and  inde- 
fensible, but  a  war  unparalleled  in  the  courage  and  bravery  of 
the  combatants.  Its  results,  as  seen  of  all  men,  are  devastation 
of  a  large  section  of  our  land,  the  wreck  of  the  entire  business 
fabric  of  the  Southern  States,  the  accumulation  of  a  national 
debt  appalling  in  its  magnitude,  unnumbered  widows  and  or- 
phans, maimed  heroes  struggling  home  from  many  a  scene  of 
carnage,  thousands  of  unmarked  graves  where  sleep  the  country's 
bravest  sons.  From  a  surface  view,  we  call  this  conflict  the  war 
between  the  States.  You  call  it  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  Was 
it  either?  I  think  not,  for  there  were  differences  of  opinion 
among  the  population  of  all  the  States,  and  many  of  those  who 
followed  the  banner  which  at  Appomattox  was  furled  forever 
loved  this  Union  as  truly  as  any  who  died  in  its  service.  Neither 
do  I  think  it  was  wTaged  to  determine  whether  the  African  should 
be  bond  or  free.  Men  of  a  great  race  do  not  cut  each  other's 
throats,  burn  each  other's  homes,  devastate  each  other's  land, 
and  imperil  their  own  civilization  for  the  sole  purpose  of  deter- 
mining the  status  of  an  inferior  race.  No,  it  was  a  single  com- 
bat of  ideal  gladiators.  The  champions  were  brothers,  twin 
brothers,  for  whom  the  compass  of  the  mighty  world  was  too 
small  for  a  dwelling-place  for  both.  So  they  girded  themselves 
for  the  final  contest.  Reason  and  love,  arguments  and  prayers, 
were  interposed  as  barriers,  and  snapped  like  reeds  in  the  path  of 
a  tornado.  With  hushed  breath  and  blanched  face  the  world 
looked  on  in  awe  as  they  closed  in  the  death  struggle.  Our  na- 
tion tottered  and  trembled  on  its  throne,  as  over  it  rolled  and 
reverberated  the  thunder  of  battle,  while  ever  and  anon  sounded 
the  shrieks  and  groans  of  the  dying.  At  last  the  onlookers  saw, 
or  thought  they  saw,  through  the  death-dark  mist,  the  towering 
form  of  the  Cavalier,  bleeding  at  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
sand wounds,  exhausted  fall  upon  the  extended  plain,  and  above 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


505 


him  stooped  the  victor  Puritan.  There  went  up  a  mighty  shout 
of  victory,  and  its  echo  was  a  wail  and  a  funeral  dirge.  Then 
a  storm  burst  upon  the  land.  It  lingered  many  days,  then 
ceased.  The  morning  sun  rose  in  all  its  splendor  on  a  land  from 
which  the  blood-stains  had  been  washed  with  tears. 

In  the  light  of  that  day  we  look  over  the  field  for  the  gladi- 
ators and  see  them  not.  Where  are  they?  Dead,  buried  in  the 
tomb  of  the  civil  war.  Grand  was  their  funeral  pyre.  Glorious 
was  their  passing,  as  fitted  their  ancient  descent  and  royal  lineage. 
Peace  be  to  their  ashes.  They  are  our  dead.  Their  history  is 
ours.  We  are  the  joint  heirs  of  all  their  renown.  Yes,  whether 
it  is  the  wisdom  of  a  Jefferson  or  an  Adams;  the  eloquence  of 
a  Webster  or  a  Clay;  the  military  genius  of  a  Grant  or  a  Lee; 
the  executive  ability  of  a  Lincoln  or  a  Davis;  whether  it  was  love 
of  hearth  and  home  and  native  State,  or  love  of  hearth  and  home 
and  imperishable  Union,  that  inspired  the  soul  of  the  hero,. it  is 
all  our  inheritance.  A  priceless  inheritance  it  is;  jewels  and 
precious  stones  and  the  gold  of  Ophir  will  not  compare  with  it. 
What  will  we  do  with  it?  Will  we  waste  it  in  riotous  living? 
Will  we  fritter  it  away  in  idle  controversy  and  litigation  about 
which  of  us  shall  have  the  lion's  share  of  the  inheritance?  Or 
shall  we  rather  use  it  in  fulfillment  of  its  great  destiny?  What 
is  that  destiny?  The  production  of  a  typical  American,  the  cre- 
ation of  a  national  ideal.  When  the  Puritan  and  the  Cavalier 
passed  they  left  a  vacancy.  That  vacancy  will  be  filled.  Shall 
it  be  filled  by  a  native  product,  one  worthy  of  our  name  and 
of  our  civilization?  If  so,  you  would  best  gird  up  your  loins 
for  a  superhuman  struggle.  For  I  say  unto  you,  all  is  not  well 
in  this  land  of  ours.  There  is  discontent  and  dissatisfaction 
everywhere.  There  is  bitter  strife  and  contention,  growing  in 
volume,  until  it  sounds  like  the  roar  of  an  angry  sea.  Intermin- 
gling in  this  great  volume  of  sound,  many  voices  may  be  distin- 
guished :  the  voice  of  labor  proclaiming  the  oppression  of  the 
poor  wage- worker  ;  the  voice  of  the  property  owner  calling  for 
the  protection  of  vested  rights;  the  voice  of  the  inferior  races 
alleging  that  they  are  not  accorded  the  privileges  to  which  they 
are  entitled  ;  the  treble  voice  of  the  "  new  woman "  declaring 
that  she  has  the  sovereign  right  to  rule  in  society,  in  business,  in 
the  Church,  and  in  the  State.  All  these  voices  are  echoed  in  the 
press,  in  literature,  from  the  platform,  and  sometimes  from  the 
pulpit.  But  they  are  only  sounds,  the  explosion  of  fireworks. 
They  do  not  even  indicate  the  activity  or  the  purpose  of  Amer- 
ican life.  That  life  is  not  stagnant,  is  not  dormant.  It  lives  and 
moves;  it  is  pressing  forward.  What  is  its  goal?  Wealth  and 
the  power  that  wealth  gives  to  its  possessor.  For  ages  the  ac- 
quisitive propensity  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  has  been  growing.  In 
their  native  isle  this  has  always  been  divided  with  the  ambition 
for  class  distinction;  the  ambition  to  rise  to  the  charmed  circle 
of  the  nobility.  With  us  there  has  been  no  such  division  of  inter- 
est ;  at  least  none  such  in  these  latter  days.   Amidst  the  turmoil 


506 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


and  the  confusion  surrounding  the  breaking  of  the  old  ideals, 
and  during  the  period  of  readjustment  that  followed,  some  men 
became  possessed  of  fabulous  wealth.  From  obscure  persons, 
they  suddenly  became  national  and  international  characters. 
From  simple  citizens,  battling  for  the  sustenance  of  themselves 
and  families,  they  were  at  once  elevated  to  a  position  where 
their  acts  and  declarations  affected  the  well-being  of  thousands. 
Thus,  it  was  not  only  wealth  they  gained,  but  power.  The  rest 
of  our  people,  seeing  this,  American-like  proceeded  to  put  forth 
their  exertions  to  obtain  the  same  position.  Every  branch  of 
industry  awoke  to  new  life.  Science  became  the  handmaiden  of 
labor;  invention  followed  invention;  discovery  followed  discov- 
ery. The  tools  and  implements  of  yesterday  became  the  junk 
and  scrap  iron  of  to-day.  Westward  the  tide  of  empire  rushed. 
The  wilderness  and  plain  of  yesterday  became  the  city,  the  ham- 
let, the  world's  granary  of  to-day.  Commerce,  once  so  slow  and 
simple,  threw  aside  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  made  the  light- 
ning's flash  bear  its  messages.  Travel,  once  a  recreation  and  a 
pleasure,  became  a  sweep  across  the  continent,  with  a  glimpse  of 
a  fleeing  country.  Go  a  step  higher.  Intellectual  culture,  once 
so  rare,  became  common.  But  what  is  its  object.  It  is  largely 
that  of  a  "business  education;"  a  quick  method  of  qualifying 
one  to  engage  in  the  contest  for  material  advancement.  Social 
intercourse  became  a  factor  in  forming  "business  connections." 
Who  is  to  be  met,  whose  acquaintance  to  be  formed,  that  will 
advance  my  worldly  position  ? — this  is  the  principal  question.  In- 
dividual exertion  is  now  expended  in  the  attempt  to  gain  more 
wealth,  more  power,  for  me  and  mine.  Municipal  effort  is  to  gain 
more  people,  more  aggregate  wealth,  more  prestige  for  my  city 
or  town.  National  ambition  is  to  get  more  population,  more 
wealth,  more  power,  for  America. 

Through  all  this  material  development,  this  intellectual  culture, 
this  discharge  of  social  duties,  this  individual,  municipal,  national 
exertion,  there  is  a  method,  a  rule,  a  mechanical  regularity, 
monotonous  in  its  sameness.  And  the  whole  vast  machine  is 
working,  grinding,  inexorably,  to  produce  what?  The  typical 
American.  Unchecked,  what  will  the  product  be?  A  priest  of 
Mammon,  exact  in  his  intellectual  training,  perfect  in  his  physical 
development,  great  in  his  power,  gorgeous  in  his  splendor,  yet 
the  creature  of  a  day,  a  cog  in  the  wheel  of  time. 

In  view  of  these  things,  what  is  the  Church  doing — the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  the  Church  South,  and  all  the  other  or- 
ganized Churches?  Are  they  not  falling  into  the  same  habits  of 
thought,  the  same  methods  of  action?  Look  a  moment.  A  place 
is  discovered  in  our  country  where  the  Gospel  is  needed.  A 
council  is  held;  a  plan  is  adopted;  funds  are  raised;  forces  are 
"  organized."  To  the  sound  of  trumpets  a  descent  is  made  upon 
that  place.  There  may  be  one  already  laboring  under  these  ad- 
verse circumstances.  He  may  know  the  county  and  the  people. 
His  belief  may  be  such  as  would  admit  him  to  membership  with. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


507 


those  who  come.  He  is  a  neighbor  and  needs  help.  But  they 
come  not  to  work  under  his  guidance,  nor  to  assist  him  in  build- 
ing. They  come  rather  to  start  a  new  building,  form  a  new  con- 
nection*  establish  a  new  Church.  Or  a  foreign  nation,  that  knows 
no  God,  is  the  field.  We  may  see  there  many  men,  consecrated 
to  their  work,  men  ready  to  undergo  hardship  and  death,  if  need 
be,  for  its  sake,  yet  each  called  by  a  different  name,  working  on 
a  different  "plan,"  directed  by  different  leaders,  announcing  dif- 
ferent administrative  views.  Are  not  confusion  and  discord  the 
result?  Again,  one  Church,  where  there  are  two  or  more,  an- 
nounces its  "  protracted  meeting,"  its  "  series  of  services."  The 
other  waits.  One  battalion  goes  into  action,  the  other  rests  upon 
its  arms  and  watches.  If  the  result  is  victory,  the  one  in  action 
claims  the  spoils;  if  the  result  is  defeat,  the  watchers  then  try 
their  "plan,"  and  their  "method,"  while  the  defeated  sulk  in 
their  tents.  Thus  the  campaign  goes  on.  Sometimes  Churches 
have  their  champions  of  their  peculiar  tenets,  men  of  muscular 
intellects,  who  have  gone  through  a  course  of  training.  Two  of 
them  sign  articles  for  a  contest,  under  parliamentary  rules,  with 
an  umpire  and  backers.  A  large  crowd  assembles  to  see  it  "  pulled 
off."  The  intellectual  sparring,  passing,  feinting,  and  ducking 
will  go  on  for  many  rounds.  Finally  both  sides  go  away  claim- 
ing the  "  knock-out."  The  world  has  prohibited  a  fight  to  a 
finish  between  its  champion  pugilists.  The  Church  might  do 
worse. 

At  least  they  might  do  as  much  as  the  old  Texas  ranchman 
did.  I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  industrial  education.  He 
said  he  had  sent  two  of  his  boys  off  to  another  State  to  get  that 
kind  of  ,an  education.  When  they  returned  he  sent  them  down 
about  seventy-five  miles  to  his  sheep  ranch  to  see  about  the 
sheep,  which  were  reported  to  be  dying,  and  in  about  three  days 
he  went  down  to  see  how  they  were  doing.  He  found  those 
boys  with  their  books  discussing  the  best  method  of  dipping 
sheep,  one  contending  for  dipping  them  head  and  the  other  feet 
foremost,  and  the  sheep  dying  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  a  day. 
I  asked  him  what  he  did.  He  said  he  made  the  hands  hold  those 
boys  while  he  did  some  fancy  work  with  his  cow  whip. 

Then  what  of  your  Conferences,  your  Presbyteries,  your  Associ- 
ations, your  Councils  ?  Are  they  not  becoming  too  largely  business 
meetings?  Does  not  the  "  material  interest "  of  the  Church 
monopolize  too  much  of  the  time  and  attention?  Are  you  not 
given  too  much  to  statistics?  Your  statistical  reporter  can  tell 
you  the  number  and  cost  of  your  churches  and  other  buildings, 
the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  money,  the  number  of  mem- 
bers at  the  beginning  of  a  year  or  quadrennium,  and  the  num- 
ber of  additions  during  the  period;  and  he  can  calculate  for  you 
how  much  each  of  these  sons  of  God  have  cost.  I  heard  of 
a  layman  who  said  they  were  costing  too  much,  and  that  with 
proper  business  method  the  cost  per  head  could  be  reduced. 

I  do  not  contend  that  these  conclusions  are  a  just  summary  of 


508 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


the  situation.  They  are  taken  from  one  point  of  view.  But  do 
they  not  indicate  a  dangerous  tendency?  Is  it  not  true  that  the 
danger  of  the  Church  in  all  ages  has  been  the  tendency  to  be 
influenced  by  the  prevailing  thought  of  the  world  ?  It  has  been 
so  in  our  land.  In  former  days  the  Church  North  was  influ- 
enced by  the  extreme  abolitionist,  the  Church  in  the  South  by 
the  extreme  advocate  of  human  slavery.  These  were  harmless 
compared  with  the  danger  of  both  being  influenced  by  the  demon, 
love  of  money.  And  is  there  not  danger  that  the  desire  to  get 
more  members,  build  more  churches,  gain  more  prestige  and  power 
for  my  Church  will  lead  to  and  strengthen  and  build  up  that  love 
which  is  the  root  of  all  evil?  This  individual,  social,  municipal, 
national  Church  tendency  is  the  menace  to  our  civilization.  Who 
is  doing  battle  against  it  ?  Many,  doubtless,  but  in  a  vague  and 
uncertain  way  :  some  by  establishing  libraries,  schools,  and  uni- 
versities ;  some  by  political  agitation  and  organization ;  some  by 
combinations  of  labor  or  of  capital. 

What  of  the  Christian  ministry?  Are  they  pitching  their 
tents  over  against  this  enemy  ?  You,  and  those  who  sent  me, 
will  excuse  one  layman  for  saying  something  from  our  stand- 
point. We  expect  you  to  point  out  the  dangers  that  threaten 
us.  Is  it  not  possible  that  some  things  may  be  seen  by  us  that 
you  do  not  fully  realize?  You  are  the  pilots;  we  are  the  crew. 
Is  it  not  possible  that  we  may  see  the  hidden  rock  where  you 
only  see  smooth  water?  We  have  no  right  to  seize  the  helm,  but 
may  we  not  warn  the  helmsman  ? 

You  know  that  human  philosophy  has  never  devised  a  panacea 
for  the  ills  from  which  we  suffer.  You  know  that  the  consensus 
of  individual  opinions,  and  the  aggregation  of  individual  ideals, 
form  public  opinion  and  the  national  ideal.  You  know  that  no 
good  can  come  to  a  nation  that  does  not  first  come  to  its  indi- 
vidual citizens.  Therefore  the  responsibility  rests  upon  you  as 
•the  teachers  of  the  individual.  To  each  you  have  a  message,  and 
only  one  message.  When  it  is  taught  and  learned  all  things 
else  shall  be  added  thereto,  but  not  by  you.  Why,  then,  should 
you  be  troubled  and  careful  about  many  things  ?  Only  one  thing 
is  needful.  Let  me  beg  of  you,  be  not  drawn  away  from  this 
by  the  prevailing  current.  This  is  the  day  of  regulation,  of 
reformation,  organization.  It  is  the  day  of  small  men  with  small 
remedies,  the  patent  medicine  day.  It  is  the  day  of  high-sound- 
ing resolutions,  that  proclaim  many  things  and  accomplish  noth- 
ing. It  is  the  day  of  political  platforms,  where  the  alluring 
promise  is  held  out,  "  Go  with  us,  and  we  will  build  you  up."  It 
is  the  day  of  legislative  enactments,  which  are  warranted  to  cor- 
rect all  evil  tendencies.  It  is  the  day  of  the  demagogue,  who 
denounces  his  brother  for  some  supposed  shortcoming,  and  thereby 
produces  sectional  or  denominational  strife.  It  is  the  day  of  the 
sensationalist,  who  lays  bare  and  gloats  over  political,  municipal, 
and  social  evil.  It  is  preeminently  the  day  of  the  man  with  a 
hobby,  and  religion  is  not  exempt  from  it.    Some  have  baptism, 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


509 


some  repentance,  some  regeneration,  some  faith,  some  works,  some 
sanctification,  some  the  law,  some  cry  "  Lo  here,"  others,  "  Lo 
there."  But  I  dare  say  that  none  of  these  things  are  for  you. 
When  you  expend  energy  upon  them  it  is  energy  wasted.  When 
you  give  them  of  your  time  it  is  time  lost.  It  you  are  what  you 
claim  you  are  far  above  them  all. 

I  grant  you  that  the  minister  retains  his  rights  as  a  citizen. 
Those  rights  are  not  incompatible  with  his  calling.  His  patriot- 
ism is  not  destroyed,  but  is  extended  so  that  it  recognizes  every 
land  as  the  land  of  his  King.  His  love  of  family,  kindred,  and 
race  is  not  contracted,  but  is  expanded  until  it  embraces  the  peo- 
ple of  every  clime.  But  he  is  subject  to  the  temptation  to  rely 
upon  worldly  weapons,  worldly  methods,  worldly  influence,  and 
to  engage  in  worldly  contests  ;  to  rely  upon  a  political  platform, 
or  a  political  party,  for  great  moral  reform ;  to  rely  \xpon  the 
legislative  assembly,  by  its  enactment,  to  stop  the  violation  of  the 
divine  law  ;  to  rely  upon  his  skill  in  portraying  the  details  of 
individual,  social,  and  political  evil,  to  gather  and  influence  a 
crowd.  He  is  subject  to  the  temptation  to  speak  wTith  sarcasm 
or  in  tones  of  sanctimonious  remonstrance  of  some  act  or  omission 
of  a  brother  who  sees  through  different  glasses  ;  to  illustrate 
his  teaching  by  referring  to  some  mean  thing  that  some  other 
fellow  or  some  other  fellow's  ancestor  has  done  ;  to  proclaim 
some  "  ism  "  or  some  new  "  soothing  syrup  "  as  a  complete  rem- 
edy for  sin.  The  world  thinks  that  there  are  those  who  yield 
to  these  temptations.  I  fear  me  the  world  is  correct,  though 
it  seems  strange  that  it  should  be.  For  said  not  Pie  whose  Gos- 
pel you  preach  that  "I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
me  ?  "  And  when  he  had  triumphed  over  the  grave  said  he  not, 
"All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye 
therefore  and  teach  all  nations.  And  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world?"  Is  this  great  proclamation 
true,  true  in  all  its  fullness?  Does  it  mean  all  power?  Does  it 
mean  ever  present  ?  Is  it  to  be  accepted  without  qualification  ? 
Then  why  should  one  who  has  heard  the  command  to  go  encum- 
ber himself  with  the  armor  of  Saul  and  gather  around  him  the 
forces  of  the  world  ?  He  is  led  by  One  having  all  power.  Being 
so  led,  he  can  afford  to  leave  all  and  follow.  He  can  afford  to 
go  without  making  worldly  preparations.  Going  thus  will  he 
conquer?  If  not,  the  Scriptures  are  a  fable  and  your  preaching 
is  vain.  But  they  are  not  a  fable,  and  it  shall  not  be  vain.  Let 
the  ambassadors  realize  their  true  missions.  They  are  not  re- 
formers, but  they  may  bring  to  each  person  that  power  which 
will  enable  him  to  reform  his  evil  practices.  They  are  not  states- 
man, but  they  may  bring  to  the  statesman  that  wisdom  which  will 
enable  him  to  formulate  laws  and  administer  governments  so  that 
all  men  may  have  equal  and  exact  justice.  They  are  not  wage- 
workers,  but  they  may  bring  to  the  wage-worker  the  message  that 
the  wages  of  sin  is  death.  They  are  not  financiers,  but  they  may 
bring  to  the  wealthy  the  knowledge  of  the  true  purposes  and 


510  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


objects  of  wealth.  It  is  not.  theirs  to  create  a  land  of  perfect 
bliss,  but  they  may  bring  a  balm  for  every  wound  and  a  solace 
for  every  sorrow.  Yes,  let  them  realize  that  theirs  is  the  mission 
of  all  missions,  the  bringing  to  each  of  a  new  life.  It  is  one 
thing,  and  one  thing  only,  that  they  offer.  It  cannot  be  adulter- 
ated. It  should  not  be  intermingled  with  the  dross  of  this  world. 
If  so  its  po wer  is  lessened.  If  a  web  has  been  woven  over  it, 
that  may  be  rent  asunder.  If  dust  from  the  ages  obscures  it, 
that  may  be  brushed  away.  But  it  cannot  be  rendered  more 
luminous  by  man's  exertion,  for  it  is  the  light  of  the  world.  It 
cannot  be  sharpened  by  man's  grindrock,  for  it  is  the  sword  of 
truth.  It  cannot  be  added  to  by  man's  labor,  for  it  extends  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  It  cannot  be  made  merchandise 
of,  for  it  is  without  money  and  without  price.  It  cannot  be  em- 
bellished by  the  most  sublime  artist,  for  when  the  cry  went  up, 
"  It  is  finished,"  it  stood  forth  perfect  in  beauty,  perfect  in  love. 
If  only  "the  one  thing  needful"  was  presented,  the  cry  that 
"  The  world  is  sadly  in  need  of  a  new  philosophy  and  a  new 
philosopher  "  will  be  hushed.  Shall  that  cry  be  hushed  ?  Upon 
the  ministry  rests  the  responsibility.  The  Master  placed  it  there 
when  he  said,  "  Go,  teach."  The  task  appears  laborious,  and  al- 
most unattainable.  But  the  power  to  accomplish  it  is  with  them. 
Let  the  weights  that  retard  progress  be  cast  off.  Let  the  errors 
of  the  past  sleep  in  the  tomb  of  the  past,  where  they  lie  buried. 
Let  the  goodness,  the  truth,  and  the  light  which  have  traveled 
thus  far  be  the  goodness,  the  truth,  and  the  light  of  the  present. 
Over  the  graves  of  those  errors,  and  the  issues  buried  with  them, 
scatter  flowers  and  erect  monuments,  if  need  be  ;  not  in  com- 
memoration of  that  which  is  dead,  but  in  honor  of  that  which 
lives.  Then  let  the  ministry  of  the  two  great  branches  of  Metho- 
dism together  meet  the  living  issues  of  to-day ;  meet  them,  not 
they  two  alone,  but  locking  shields  with  all  that  carry  the  same 
banner  and  obey  the  same  Commander-in-Chief;  meet  them,  not 
relying  upon  their  own  strength,  resources,  and  numbers,  but 
ever  and  always  trusting  in  the  power  that  cannot  fail.  Let 
this  be  done,  and  the  wrong  tendency  of  the  Church,  if  it  exists, 
will  cease.  The  social,  industrial,  political,  municipal,  national 
tendency  will  be  checked.  Let  Christian  America,  led  by  the 
Christian  ministry,  rise  to  the  plane  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  real 
use  of  our  inheritance  will  have  begun.  The  accomplishment  of 
our  destiny  will  then  be  only  a  question  of  time  and  labor.  And 
is  that  accomplishment  not  worthy  of  this  land  of  ours  ? 

Think  of  it :  America,  the  home  of  the  greatest  number  of 
that  people  who  have  achieved  so  much;  America,  the  land 
where  the  theory  of  liberty  was  first  put  to  the  test;  America, 
the  nation  that  first  recognized  the  fact  that  all  earthly  power 
rested  with  the  people  ;  America,  that  has  made  such  mighty 
strides  in  a  single  century.  And  then  think  of  America,  with 
her  wondrous  prosperity,  struggling  to  attain  the  life  which  is 
love  and  the  love  which  is  life — not  struggling  among  them- 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


511 


selves  for  precedence  or  place  or  power,  but  each  striving  for 
the  good  of  all ;  each  citizen  with  an  ideal,  not  the  creature  of 
his  own  intellect  or  of  his  possessions,  but  the  ideal  of  perfection. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  will  it  be  permitted  unto  the  poet  and 
the  orator  to  paint,  in  words  that  glow  and  thoughts  that  burn, 
the  portrait  of  a  national  ideal  and  a  typical  American,  worthy 
of  the  name  and  the  fame  of  our  land. 

These  greetings  I  offer,  not  by  way  of  information  or  instruc- 
tion. In  this  presence  I  would  not  assume  that  role.  1  know 
that  there  are  assembled  here  those  endowed  by  nature,  culture, 
and  experience  with  wisdom  and  piety  which  enable  them  to 
look  far  beyond  the  horizon  that  limits  my  view.  But  I  offer 
them*  as  a  rough  sketch  of  the  field  as  it  appears  to  me.  It  is 
done  under  the  belief  that  many  who  are  in  the  midst  of  the  mad 
rush  of  American  business  life  have  much  the  same  view.  If  the 
view  presented  is  of  value  to  even  one  of  this  assembly,  then  the 
pleasure  is  mine. 

10. — Address  of  Rev.  C.  H.  Phillips,  of  the  Colored  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church.    Journal,  page  198. 

Bishops,  Fathers,  and  Brethren:  I  have  the  honor  to  bear 
to  you  the  fraternal  greetings  and  hearty  good  will  of  the  Col- 
ored Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America.  I  appreciate  the 
honor  conferred  and  fully  realize  the  responsibility  of  my  mis- 
sion. The  duty  imposed  is  no  less  agreeable  than  responsible. 
To  come  in  touch,  as  I  now  do,  with  the  largest  Protestant  legis- 
lative body  in  the  world  is  not  only  an  agreeable  prerogative, 
but  at  once  an  inspiration  and  a  benediction.  The  visit  of  the 
Queen  of  Sheba  from  the  happy  Arabia  of  the  ancients  to  Jerusa- 
lem called  forth  those  words  of  our  Saviour:  "  She  came  from 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon." 
She  traveled  over  mountains,  unbridged  rivers,  wide  trackless 
deserts,  where  the  lion  prowled,  the  serpent  hissed,  the  scorpion 
stung,  and  the  simoom  swept  in  scorching  power;  where  clouds 
and  pillars  of  sand  threatened  the  traveler,  and  where  fierce  rob- 
bers hovered  around.  All  these  things  she  considered  inferior  to 
the  accomplishment  of  her  heart's  desire  ;  to  see  for  herself  how 
much  truth  there  was  in  the  rumors  concerning  the  acts  and  wis- 
dom of  the  great  Hebrew  king.  She  found  that  the  half  had  not 
been  told  her,  and  that  the  men  and  servants  who  heard  his  wis- 
dom were  happy.  My  journey  to  Cleveland  has  been  less  peril- 
ous, the  distance  less  great,  the  transportation  vehicle  a  little 
more  comfortable.  I  crossed  rivers,  but  they  were  bridged.  I 
came  through  tunnels  and  around  mountains,  but  at  no  inconven- 
ience  to  myself.  I  have,  however,  come  far  enough  to  show  that 
the  Church  which  I  represent  is  desirous  of  strengthening,  as 
well  as  maintaining,  the  friendly  relations  now  existing  between 
ii-  by  sending  at  each  recurrence  of  your  General  Conference  a 
fraternal  messenger.  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  the  fate  of  the 
Queen  of  Sheba  has  not  been  mine ;  and  since  I  have  seen  you  as 
33 


512 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


you  are,  there  is  enough  spirit  left  within  me  to  prevent  my  going 
into  a  swoon.  I  am  glad  to  be  here,  not  because  of  what  I  may 
say,  but  because  of  what  I  have  seen,  heard,  and  felt ;  because  of 
the  stimulus  that  comes  to  me  as  I  come  in  contact  with  this  great 
legislative  body,  and  because  of  the  impetus  I  shall  have  received 
for  my  work  when  I  have  left  these  pleasant  environments. 

First  of  all,  I  want  to  assure  you  that  the  Colored  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  rejoices  in  the  success  which  has  crowned  your 
Methodism ;  in  the  conversion  of  souls  and  large  increase  of  your 
Church  membership;  in  the  prosperity  of  your  vigorous, benevolent 
institutions  ;  in  the  number  of  your  schools  and  colleges;  in  the  long 
line  of  your  highly  cultured,  consecrated  men  and  women;  in  the 
exuberance  of  your  literature,  and  in  all  the  forces  and  agencies 
that  are  being  utilized  to  develop  and  extend  your  multifarious 
enterprises.  We  especially  rejoice  in  the  beneficent  labors  of  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  The  schools 
of  your  planting  in  our  Southland,  manned  by  faithful  men  inter- 
ested in  the  development  of  the  Negro,  have  always  aimed  to 
cultivate  those  moral,  religious,  intellectual,  and  social  principles 
which  are  the  glory  of  the  spiritual  nature. 

When  your  teachers  came  South,  just  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
they  found  the  Negro  crude  and  thoughtless,  consequently  thrift- 
less and  indolent.  Every  note  he  sang  was  as  merry  as  a  moun- 
tain lark's.  He  glided  his  frail  bark  over  the  sea  gay  as  the 
morn,  his  sky  grew  bright  and  clear,  hope  swelled  the  canvas  of 
his  frail  bark,  and  warm  passion  steered  his  course.  Upon  the 
wheels  of  vehement  desire  he  rode  from  hope  to  hope,  from  pleas- 
ure to  pleasure,  not  stopping  to  realize,  as  he  should,  that  the 
first  step  toward  civilization  was  to  learn  forethought  and  self- 
denial.  The  civilization  that  had  come  to  him  was  the  result  of 
a  contact,  not  with  books,  but  with  persons  who  were  his  intel- 
lectual superiors.  He  possessed  an  eloquent  tongue,  but  his  un- 
skillful mode  of  communication  showed  that  he  was  wanting  in 
clearness,  grace,  and  force  of  utterance.  Music  that  might  have 
charmed  Calypso  and  her  nymphs  was  his;  but  its  only  outlet  was 
upon  some  inferior  instrument  or  evidenced  in  plaintive  cadences 
in  a  voice  attuned  to  song.  These  are  the  conditions  which  con- 
fronted the  first  seventy-five  teachers,  who,  at  the  behest  of  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  came  to  our  section  in  1866.  The  work 
of  reformation  has  been  going  on  ever  since  ;  and  the  result  is  so 
magnificent,  the  transformation  so  great,  that  one  must  be  a 
pessimist  after  the  order  of  a  certain  distinguished  Southerner 
who  will  say  that  the  Negro  is  not  far  removed  from  where  he 
was  thirty  years  ago.  When,  under  the  touch  of  Bishop  Taylor 
and  others  who  are  to  succeed  him,  the  camp  fires  of  Christianity 
shall  have  blazed  over  the  dark  bosom  of  Africa ;  when  it  shall 
be  said  in  truth  and  in  reality,  "  Ethiopia  stretches  out  her  hands 
unto  God,"  then  it  will  be  known  to  what  extent  your  Church  ac- 
celerated that  glorious  consummation.  Until  then  may  "  peace 
be  within  thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces." 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


513 


Coming  to  our  own  affairs,  you  will  be  glad  to  know  that  God 
has  been  with  us.  He  is  still  with  us,  and  will  be  to  the  end. 
True  to  the  traditions  of  Methodism,  we  have  not  gone  out  after 
strange  doctrines,  but  have  adhered  to  those  tenets  and  principles 
which  have  so  generally  distinguished  its  ecclesiastic)  sm.  The 
purpose  and  genuine  spirit  of  Methodism,  its  evangelical  life  and 
missionary  spirit,  its  congregational  singing,  fervent  prayers,  and 
loud  hallelujahs  we  devotedly  maintain.  Our  people  are  emo- 
tional. If  we  are  less  ethical  and  liturgical  in  our  worship  we 
are  no  less  consecrated  to  the  cause  of  our  Christ  than  yourselves. 
We  pray  that  the  time  may  never  come  when  a  cold,  rigid  for- 
mality will  prevent  our  people  from  praising  God  as  did  the  early 
Methodists  when  they  heard  the  burning  sermons  of  John  Wes- 
ley and  the  eloquent  discourses  of  George  Whitefield,  John  Nel- 
son, Robert  Newton,  and,  if  you  please,  Henry  Evans,  "Black 
Harry,"  and  others.  Dr.  Rush  called  Harry,  the  servant  of 
Asbury,  "the  greatest  orator  in  America,"  and  Dr.  Coke  styled 
him  "  one  of  the  best  preachers  in  the  world." 

We  love  Methodism  because  of  its  itinerant  system  and  its 
adaptation  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people;  because  of  its  diffu- 
sive spirit  and  the  genius  of  its  institutions.  From  the  time  that 
Mr.  Wesley  took  special  pains  to  instruct  two  Negro  lads  on 
shipboard,  when  returning  from  Georgia  to  England,  from  the 
time  of  his  first  African  convert  at  Wandsworth  in  1758,  the  race 
with  which  I  am  identified  has  sustained  some  relation,  however 
remote,  to  the  Methodist  family.  The  Colored  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  organized  in  1870,  is,  as  you  well  know,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  We  are  not 
ashamed  of  our  origin;  nor  do  we  regret  the  relation  which  we 
sustain  to  that  Church.  We  are  not  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  the 
Christianity  and  Methodism  which  our  fathers  enjoyed  were 
largely  due  to  the  zeal  and  labors  of  Southern  Methodist  pioneers. 
The  first  labors  of  Bishop  John  Early  were  among  the  slaves  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  in  Bedford  County,  Virginia.  Bishop  Capers 
deserves  to  be  called  the  "  Founder  of  the  Missions  to  the  Slaves." 
James  O.  Andrew,  ninth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  whose  history  is  pretty  well  known  to  these  two 
great  bodies  of  Methodism,  frequently  rose  to  superhuman  heights 
of  eloquence  when  pleading  for  the  religious  training  of  the 
enslaved  Negro.  Since  emancipation  no  Southerner  has  done 
more  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  freedman  than  the  author 
of  Our  Brother  in  Black.  Bishop  Haygood,  by  his  unselfish 
labors,  reflected  himself  upon  the  current  of  the  ages  as  the  moun- 
tain mirrors  itself  in  the  gentle  stream  which  flows  at  its  base. 
These  men,  and  many  others  whom  I  could  mention,  will  ever 
live  upon  the  tablets  of  our  memory. 

The  organization  of  our  Church,  made  necessary  by  reason  of 
changed  conditions  following  emancipation,  was  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  the  sentiments  and  feelings  of  all  concerned.  We 
were  no  more  desirous  of  being  formed  into  a  separate  and  inde- 


5U 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896.. 


pendent  ecclesiastical  body  than  was  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  willing  that  it  should  be  done.  For,  as  soon  as 
we  were  born,  "our  mother"  hastened  to  don  us  in  long  gar- 
ments, told  us  that  we  were  of  age,  and  charged  us  with  all  the 
responsibility  arising  out  of  our  new  Church  relation. 

Thus,  with  a  very  limited  machinery  our  bark  was  launched 
in  Jackson,  Tenn.  Beneath  her  was  many  a  shoal,  above  her  the 
cradle  of  many  a  storm,  but  she  was  seaworthy.  Her  spars  were 
tall,  her  timbers  strong;  her  log-book  revealed  a  navigable  speed 
and  her  register  showed  two  Bishops,  who  have  since  died. 
Clouds  gathered;  waves  of  slander  flung  their  foam  against  our 
craft,  and  sea  dragons  lashed  in  its  phosphorescent  track,  but  our 
Emanuel  was  at  the  wheel;  and  as  her  invulnerable  keel  cleaved 
the  briny  waves  she  acquired  a  momentum  which  has  kept 
her  in  constant  motion  for  a  quarter  of  a  century;  and, 
unless  attracted  by  some  other  body  offering  overtures  for 
organic  union,  according  to  the  laws  of  physical  dynamics 
or  the  laws  of  inertia,  she  must  keep  in  motion  forever. 
From  the  outset  we  realized  the  importance  of  institutions  of 
learning  and  were  quick  to  see  that  our  pulpits  had  to  be  filled  as 
rapidly  as  possible  with  men  who"*  possessed  culture  and  training, 
as  well  as  piety.  After  struggles  that  need  not  be  recounted 
here  we  have  succeeded  in  organizing  five  schools,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  are  Paine  and  Lane  Institutes.  Already  the  in- 
fluence of  these  schools  is  potent  for  good ;  and  their  usefulness 
will  be  greatly  enhanced  when  some  Southerner  will  honor  him- 
self and  bless  the  cause  of  Christian  education  by  giving  them 
the  endowment  they  so  much  need.  The  former  of  these  schools 
is  largely  supported  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 
Haygood  Seminary  at  Washington,  Ark.,  Texas  College  at  Tyler, 
and  Homer  Seminary  at  Homer,  La.,  though  of  recent  origin, 
have  assumed  tangible  form  and  present  possibilities  of  which  we 
are  proud. 

The  fires  of  the  missionary  spirit  burn  upon  our  altars.  Under 
our  present  financial  plan  each  member  is  assessed  five  cents  for 
missions.  If  this  assessment  seems  small  the  result  for  1895  was 
very  encouraging.  We  have  no  foreign  missions,  but  hope  to 
establish  one  in  Africa  in  the  near  future.  At  present  we  are 
trying  to  develop  as  best  we  can,  and  to  the  fullest  possible  ex- 
tent, our  work  in  the  United  States.  We  congratulate  ourselves 
on  being  one  Methodist  denomination  whose  missionary  depart- 
ment is  not  in  debt. 

It  may  be  of  interest  for  me  to  tell  you  that  the  itinerant  sys- 
tem has  lost  none  of  its  charm  for  us.  We  regard  it  as  one  of 
the  precious  traditions  of  Methodism,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
powerful  agencies  for  spreading  scriptural  holiness  in  all  these 
lands.  No  serious  friction  has  yet  resulted  from  its  execution  by 
our  Bishops.  Our  preachers  go  where  they  are  sent.  With  them 
the  privilege  to  hope  is  a  great  stimulus.  An  old  preacher  in 
Kentucky  expresses  the  relation  of  hope  to  the  appointments  in 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


515 


this  peculiar  but  unique  aphorism:  "If  we  strike  a  streak  of  lean 
this  year  in  the  way  of  a  poor  appointment,  we  hope  to  strike  a 
streak  of  fat  the  next  in  the  way  of  a  good  appointment." 

At  the  last  General  Conference  the  time  limit  was  changed 
from  four  to  six  years,  peculiar  exigencies  and  certain  conditions 
making  the  enactment  of  the  law  a  necessity.  Few  of  our  preach- 
ers, however,  will  remain  or  have  a  desire  to  stay  the  full  time 
in  any  one  appointment.  We  believe  in  a  changeableness  and 
not  a  fixedness  of  the  appointments.  Changes  occur  in  our  pul- 
pits, on  an  average,  every  two  years,  preacher  and  people  gener- 
ally crying  "  Enough  "  at  the  end  of  that  limitation. 

Perhaps  no  question  has  made  more  favorable  advance  among 
us  than  the  one  which  relates  to  the  province  of  our  women. 
When  an  effort  was  made  in  the  General  Conference  of  1882  to 
create  the  office  of  stewardess  the  resolution  was  immediately 
tabled  and  its  promoter  ridiculed  for  what  was  termed  his  "  un- 
warranted liberalism."  No  further  effort  was  made  until  1890, 
when,  after  a  long  contest,  it  was  again  defeated.  In  1894  the 
resolution  passed  with  perfect  unanimity,  and  the  result  has  shown 
the  wisdom  of  the  General  Conferences.  Women  are  forces  that 
we  do  not  ignore  in  our  Church  work.  The  Woman's  Missionary 
Society,  a  new  appendix  to  our  machinery,  opened  a  new  door  for 
her  wider  usefulness  for  Christ  and  the  Church,  and  in  her  wake 
our  regular  missionary  funds  will  be  greatly  augmented. 

On  all  the  great  moral  questions  affecting  the  weal  or  woe  of 
the  people  we  are  on  the  right  side — on  God's  side.  In  every 
General  Conference  the  attitude  of  the  Church  in  its  opposition 
to  the  open  saloon  and  legalized  liquor  traffic  is  reaffirmed.  We 
believe  in  prohibition,  advocate  teetotal  abstinence  for  the  indi- 
vidual, and  stand  for  God,  home,  and  native  land.  The  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath,  the  race  question,  and  the  question  of  divorce 
are  vital  issues  affecting  the  civil  and  social  fabric  of  our  Chris- 
tian civilization.  We  insist  that  the  Sabbath,,  being  an  antitype 
of  that  rest  which  remains  for  the  people  of  God,  must  always 
have  a  moral  obligation  attached  until  time  shall  be  swallowed  up 
in  eternity.  Theorists  in  all  parts  of  the  country  have  told  you 
how  the  race  question  should  be  solved;  but  the  question  of  di- 
vorce, so  far  as  it  has  bearing  upon  our  ministry,  has  met  a  happy 
solution.  No  man  can  be  licensed  to  preach  and  no  preacher  can 
remain  in  the  itinerant  ranks  who  marries  a  divorced  woman. 
We  aim  to  get  the  ministry  right;  the  minister  is  the  leader  of 
our  people;  and  with  a  pure  ministry  we  hope  to  protect  and 
maintain  the  sanctity  of  the  home. 

In  1895  we  celebrated  our  silver  anniversary.  It  was  an  occa- 
sion of  general  rejoicing.  Appropriate  exercises  were  held 
throughout  the  connection;  a  thanksgiving  offering  of  several 
thousand  dollars  was  raised  for  the  benefit  of  Miles  Memorial 
Church  at  Washington,  D.  C. ;  the  general  funds  were  larger  than 
ever  before  ;  the  circulation  of  the  Christian  Index,  the  Church's 
only  official  organ,  was  greatly  increased;  the  main  building  of 


516 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Lane  Institute,  an  imposing  three-story  brick,  was  duly  dedicated 
and  many  souls  added  to  our  Zion. 

These  were  befitting  results  to  mark  our  twenty-fifth  milestone. 
Indeed,  a  new  era  seemed  to  have  dawned  upon  us. 

In  1873,  when  our  first  published  statistics  appeared,  we  had 
2  Bishoj^s,  10  Annual  Conferences,  635  traveling  preachers,  585 
local  preachers,  and  67,888  members.  In  1896  we  have  5  Bishops, 
24  Annual  Conferences,  1,400  traveling  preachers,  2,500  local 
preachers,  60,000  Sunday  school  scholars,  and  200,000  members. 
When  we  consider  the  obstacles  against  which  we  had  to  con- 
tend, and  the  disadvantages  arising  out  of  our  inexperience  and 
lack  of  necessary  equipments,  our  growth  and  development  will 
challenge  the  admiration  of  our  friends  and  the  respect  of  man- 
kind. 

I  have  already  occupied  enough  of  your  time.  A  few  words 
more  and  I  shall  have  done.  Brethren,  we  may  rejoice  as  we 
look  with  complacency  upon  the  success  which  has  garlanded  our 
common  Methodism ;  as  we  see  young  men  and  women  of  both 
races  leaving  our  schools  to  honor  Methodism  and  to  bless 
humanity ;  as  we  see  prospectively  the  great  American  Univer- 
sity at  Washington  opening  its  doors  to  and  crowding  its  halls 
with  all  races  and  sexes ;  as  we  share  the  wealthy  heritage  of  the 
apostolic  labors  and  traditions  of  the  fathers ;  but  let  it  be  re- 
membered that  Methodism  will  only  be  safe  as  it  continues  to  be 
a  spiritual  revival,  a  living  reality,  and  a  powerful,  aggressive 
form  of  evangelism  ;  and  only  enduring  as  it  follows  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Bible,  crystallizing  all  its  institutions  in  harmony  with 
that  book  which  is  yet  to  become  the  code  of  all  nations,  the 
arbiter  of  all  questions,  and  the  referee  in  all  disputes. 

Retrospecting,  we  may  well  say:  "  What  hath  God  wrought?" 
Looking  down  the  vista  of  coming  ages  and  anticipating  our 
magnificent  possibilities  in  the  light  of  the  East,  we  have  reason 
to  hope  that  the  tidal  waves  of  Methodism  may  roll  on  until  they 
break  on  j^olar  rocks  and  towering  high  envelop  the  world. 

1 1 . — Report  of  J.  W.  E.  Bowen,  Fraternal  Delegate  to 
the  General  Conference  of  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.    Journal,  page  294. 

To  the  Bishops  and  Members  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  : 

Reverend  Fathers  and  Brothers:  By  your  authority  it  be- 
came my  duty  and  honor  to  bear  a  message  of  fraternal  greeting 
and  Christian  salutation  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  now  holding  its  sessions  in  the  city 
of  Wilmington,  N.  C.  I  arrived  at  the  seat  of  the  Conference 
on  May  4,  and  was  received  by  their  special  messenger.  The 
credentials  of  your  representative  were  recognized  and  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Conference  on  May  5,  with  a  dignity  and  open- 
ness of  spirit  that  was  fraternal  in  its  essence. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


517 


That  great  Church  is  the  largest  and  strongest  distinctive 
Methodist  organization  among  Negroes  in  the  world.  Its  history 
is  a  pathetic,  yet  withal  a  glorious,  one.  They  began  in  the  in- 
glorious days  of  this  century,  and  they  have  gradually  worked 
their  way  to  a  glorious  day  of  honor  and  power.  With  more 
than  a  half  million  communicants,  a  missionary  department,  a 
Church  extension  department,  a  Sunday  school  department,  nine 
Bishops,  a  publishing  house,  and  various  other  apparatus  for 
propagation,  they  constitute  an  ecclesiastical  agency  of  no  mean 
proportion. 

Their  contribution  to  the  religious  history  of  America,  while 
surpassed  by  many  other  religious  organizations  of  the  land,  is, 
nevertheless,  a  factor  not  to  be  despised.  It  is  also  to  be  ob- 
served that  they  are  sound  in  the  doctrines  of  Methodism.  Not 
a  doubt  has  come  upon  any  one  of  the  fundamentals  that  are  the 
bedrock  of  our  evangelism.  We  may  safely  say  that  with  them 
our  precious  heritage  is  safe. 

Your  honored  servant  called  attention  to  the  evangelical  spirit 
of  our  Church,  to  her  widespreading  growth  and  power  in  for- 
eign lands  through  her  missionary  agency,  to  her  still  more  glori- 
ous growth  at  home  in  church  building,  in  her  colleges  and 
schools,  in  her  vast  publication  interests,  in  her  school  of  benevo- 
lences that  touch  every  phase  of  our  complex  society,  in  her  in- 
comparable work  among  all  classes  of  this  country,  in  her  dea- 
coness work  at  home,  together  with  the  work  of  the  women 
through  their  home  and  their  foreign  missionary  work ;  in  brief, 
he  called  attention  to  the  mighty  wheels  of  our  Church  filled  with 
the  spirit  of  the  living  creatures  that  direct  their  rapid  and  un- 
surpassed movement  toward  that  consummation  of  all  toil,  tears, 
anxiety,  and  consecration,  when  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall 
"  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ,"  and  when 
all  the  sons  of  men  will  be  able  to  sing: 

"  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys  run." 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  W.  E.  Bo  WEN. 

12. — Address  of  Rev.  J.  A.  Johnson,  or  the  African  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.    Journal,  page  258. 

Mr.  President,  Bishops,  and  Brethren:  As  but  fifteen  minutes 
are  allowed  me  of  your  valuable  time,  much  that  I  had  in  my  heart 
to  say  I  must  refrain  from  uttering,  and  confine  myself  to  the  mere 
outline  of  what  I  had  hoped  to  have  brought  you  as  the  fraternal 
'greetings  from  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  is  in- 
deed a  very  large  privilege  to  convey  to  you  these  greetings,  the 
deep  love  and  respect  of  brethren  who  share  your  faith  and  your 
hope,  and  who  stand  pledged  to  the  same  lofty  allegiance;  who 
endeavor  to  "  walk  by  the  same  rule,  mind  the  same  things."  Yet 
one  cannot  stand  in  this  presence  and  not  feel  a  peculiar  thrill, 


518 


Journal  of  ihe  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


the  magnetism  begotten  of  the  warmth  and  fervent  glow  of  fellow- 
ship with  and  enthusiastic  service  for  Jesus  Christ.  When  a  sur- 
geon was  extracting  a  ball  from  the  breast  of  one  of  Napoleon's 
Old  Guard  the  man  said:  "Sir,  cut  a  little  deeper  and  you  will 
iind  the  emperor."  Go  deep  enough,  and  in  your  hearts  and  in 
ours  will  be  found  one  supreme  and  beloved  name  which  com- 
mands our  purest  love. 

We  have  marked  your  history.  Our  own  faith  has  frequently 
been  stimulated  by  the  magnificent  courage  and  confidence  which 
you  have  displayed.  We  have  admired  the  loyalty  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Master  which  you  have  shown  in  going  unto  all  the 
world  and  preaching  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  until  upon 
every  continent  your  brethren  have  gone.  They  have  gone  to 
confront  privation,  discomfort,  peril,  at  times  death — and  death, 
too,  by  murderous  hands — 'neath  alien  skies;  on  foreign  shores; 
in  the  jungles  of  India;  on  coral  strands;  by  the  river  sides  of 
China;  in  the  great  forests  of  Africa.  They  toil  long  with  very 
meager  signs  of  success.  They  lay  down  their  lives  in  the  service, 
dying  frequently  alone,  or  with  only  the  accent  of  a  foreign  tongue 
falling  upon  their  ears,  until  they  hear  the  sweeter  voice  of  the 
beloved  Master  saying,  "  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  serv- 
ant." This  victorious  joy  amid  privation,  sacrifice,  and  service 
discloses  the  presence  and  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  You  have 
intimately  identified  yourself  with  the  growth  and  life  of  this 
nation.  No  community  in  Christendom  has  spread  sq  widely  and 
securely  as  Wesleyanism,  of  which  you  are  the  largest  representa- 
tive. You  have  given  the  nation  great  scholars,  theologians,  critical 
investigators  of  God's  works;  able  expositors  of  God's  word;  em- 
inent journalists,  and  a  most  advanced  Christian  literature.  We 
recall  the  names  of  scholars  such  as  Strong,  Hurst,  and  Foster ; 
theologians  like  Whedon  and  Buell ;  investigators  like  Winchell 
and  Borden  P.  Bowne  ;  expositors  after  the  type  of  Steele  and 
Terry;  journalists  like  Buckley,  Haven,  and  Kelley;  with  literary 
representatives  such  as  Warren,  Eggleston,  and  Buttz.  But,  above 
all,  you  have  given  the  nation  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  "  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  that  the  nation  must  ultimately  acknowledge  your 
value.  As  men  get  familiar  with  the  Gospel,  imbibe  its  spirit,  the 
kingdom  of  God  will  come  more  and  more.  The  questionings  and 
reservations  of  the  modern  intellect  cannot  be  absolutely  ignored. 
Yet  the  world  is  to  be  won  finally  for  Christ  by  the  simple  preach- 
ing of  his  Gospel,  by  men  in  whose  hearts  he  dwells  supreme,  who 
believe  what  they  preach.  People  must  not  be  allowed  to  starve 
while  "  the  bread  of  life  "  is  being  analyzed.  The  defense  of  the 
Gospel  is  well;  but  too  much  "defense  of  the  Gospel"  has  ren- 
dered it  useless  in  some  cases.  Every  preacher  is  not  a  good  apolo- 
gist. Mr.  Spurgeon  is  credited  with  saying,  "  I  saw  men  armed 
with  clubs  standing  around  a  lion's  cage  to  defend  him  from  his 
tormentors  or  enemies,  and  said:  "You  are  doing  what  is  quite 
unnecessary;  you  just  open  the  cage,  let  the  lion  out,  and  he  will 
defend  himself."    The  best  apology  for  the  Gospel  is  the  Gospel. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


519 


Let  it  loose  upon  the  world's  woe  and  misery  with  its  divine  com- 
passion, its  overmastering  charm,  its  inspiration  and  hope-begetting 
power,  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  will  soon  "  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ." 

We  have  looked  on  with  approval  while  you  have  organized  the 
young  people  of  the  Church,  and  thus  sent  the  voice  of  hope  and 
salvation,  through  the  Ep worth  League,  resounding  through  the 
land  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  o'er  hill  and  vale,  in  city, 
town,  and  hamlet.  And  we  say  to  you,  and  through  you  to  your 
young  people,  continue  the  endeavor,  continue  the  magnificent 
work,  until  every  child  shall  have  learned  Messiah's  name  and 
shall  grow  up  in  his  likeness. 

We  have  felt  with  you,  somewhat,  the  searching  of  heart  that 
has  come  into  Methodism  of  recent  years  with  regard  to  the  time 
limit  of  our  itineracy.  Many  of  us  look  very  kindly  upon  some 
suggestions  that  have  been  made  with  regard  to  it ;  and  yet  we 
all  feel  that  Methodism  will  still  go  on  with  its  relentless  utterance, 
"  Here  we  have  no  continuing  city." 

You  have  a  splendid  history,  a  remarkable  past.  It  is  a  nobler 
thing  to  make  great  traditions  than  to  inherit  them. 

And  now  permit  me  a  word  with  regard  to  the  work  we  have 
in  hand.  While  you  are  to  be  congratulated  that  none  of  your 
bishops  have  been  called  from  this  sphere  of  labor  during  the  past 
four  years,  we  have  sustained  great  loss  during  the  quadrenniuru 
in  the  death  of  four  of  our  chief  pastors,  John  M.  Brown,  T.  M.  D. 
Ward,  Daniel  A.  Payne,  and  A.  W.  Wayman,  each  and  all  of 
whom  were  workmen  that  needed  not  to  be  ashamed ;  men  of 
varied  gifts  and  graces,  each  a  leader  in  an  eminent  sense.  In 
Bishop  Brown  our  Church  had  a  man  of  rare  executive  ability ; 
with  him  Church  extension  was  a  watchword.  Of  Bishop  Ward, 
with  his  peculiar  and  irresistible  eloquence,  it  can  be  truthfully 
said  he  always  "  abounded  in  the  work  of  the  Lord  ;"  a  pioneer 
in  a  unique  sense.  More  than  any  other  man  in  our  Church,  Bishop 
Payne  pleaded  the  cause  of  education,  especially  for  the  ministry, 
at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  Bishop  Wayman,  ever  hopeful  and 
happy,  preached  the  word  as  few  men  among  us  could,  and  he 
was  to  us  what  your  own  Newman  is  to  the  nation.  We  shall 
miss  their  intelligent  leadership,  their  inspiration,  their  moral  tone 
and  support,  while  we  try  to  emulate  their  good  lives. 

As  we  observe  the  encroachments  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
note  how  its  hands  are  going  out  to  our  young  people,  showing 
thorn  brotherly  kindness,  alluring  them  by  school  and  cathedral, 
utilizing  its  strategy  and  organization  to  convert  the  children  of 
our  people  to  antagonism  to  the  Protestant  faith,  we  are  made  to 
feel  deeply  and  painfully  the  weakness  which  is  entailed  by  the 
separation  manifested  in  Protestant  Christendom  by  its  failure  to 
present  a  united  front  to  a  common  foe.  At  the  battle  of  Waterloo 
one  of  the  divisions  of  the  army  under  Lord  Wellington  was  under 
fire  from  the  enemy  for  hours,  with  only  the  command,  "  Be  steady, 
stand  firm."   As  the  scathing  fire  grew  more  and  more  destructive 


520  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


a  request  was  sent  to  Wellington,  who  was  mounted  on  his  charger 
on  a  distant  promontory,  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  charge 
the  enemy ;  but  with  the  cold  sternness  of  a  marble  statue  he  re- 
plied, "  Steady,  stand  firm  ;  "  the  men  meanwhile  suffering  to  ex- 
asperation. At  last,  just  before  nightfall,  Wellington  noticed  in 
the  distance  the  shining  helmets  and  gleaming  bayonets  of  ad- 
vancing troops.  He  saw  it  was  the  army  of  Blucher,  reinforce- 
ments. Then  the  apparently  marble  Wellington  rose  in  his  stirrups 
and  with  a  voice  of  triumph  gave  the  command, "  Let  the  whole 
line  advance."  Victory  came  that  night,  and  Waterloo  was  won. 

We  have  been  under  a  heavy,  well-nigh  decimating  fire  from 
the  enemy ;  partly  because  divided,  partly  because  in  some  re- 
spects differentiated.  We  feel  that  the  time  has  come  for  unity, 
a  drawing  together.  Cooperation  must  substitute  antagonism. 
While  rivalry  or  competition  in  society  and  in  the  Church  may 
remain,  it  should  be  a  competition  in  no  sense  hostile  or  antago- 
nistic, but  a  laudable  strife  to  possess  the  highest  excellence,  pro- 
voking one  another  to  love  and  to  good  works.  John  Wesley 
was  magnificently  catholic,  and  was  desirous  of  establishing  "  an 
alliance  offensive  and  defensive  with  every  true  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Men  call  Church  unity  "  an  iridescent  dream."  So  men 
said  of  the  predicted  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  but  it  fell  and 
delivered  those  whose  lives  were  rendered  burdensome  in  the 
catacombs.  The  same  was  said  of  the  proposition  to  cross  the 
ocean  by  steam  in  fifteen  or  twenty  days,  but  now  we  begin  the 
week  in  New  York  and  end  it  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  "  An 
iridescent  dream "  was  the  sneer  at  the  prediction  that  human 
slavery  would  be  abolished,  but  it  has  gone  from  three  continents; 
and  because  of  these  movements  in  history  in  which  the  divine 
hand  is  so  plainly  seen,  we  look  forward  to  the  triumphs  of  the 
cross  when  "all  shall  be  one." 

Statistics. 

At  the  close  of  1895  we  had  4,365  ministers,  4,575  churches, 
and  594,476  communicants.  Value  of  church  property,  $9,482,580. 

The  astronomer  says,  if  given  three  points  in  the  movement  of 
a  star  he  will  calculate  its  orbit.  The  first  point  in  our  course 
was  the  organization  of  a  society  which  led  to  the  organization 
of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  over  one  hundred 
years  ago  (after  the  unhappy  incident  in  St.  George's  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  on  Fourth  street,  Philadelphia)  in  such  absolute 
feebleness.  Another  point  was  the  abolition  of  slavery  about 
sixty-five  years  later,  when  we  were  permitted  to  organize  our 
people  more  thoroughly  and  take  up  unhindered  the  real  work  of 
Church  development  and  education,  and  give  a  moral  bent  to  the 
life  and  vitalize  the  consciousness  of  personality.  The  third 
point  was  the  organization  of  the  women  of  our  Church  for 
domestic  and  foreign  missionary  endeavor.  Take  these  three 
r<oints  and  you  may  calculate  the  orbit  of  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  and  its  mission. 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


521 


We  believe  in  the  Gospel  as  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
to  every  one  that  believeth."  We  have  implicit  faith  in  its  power 
to  regenerate  the  heart;  to  revolutionize  society;  to  compass  ami 
capture  the  appetites,  tempers,  and  passions  of  all  men,  and  fit 
them  for  the  purest  citizenship  on  earth  and  companionship  with 
"just  men  made  perfect  in  heaven."  It  is  because  we  believe  the 
Gospel  that  we  labor  so  diligently  to  inculcate  the  principles  and 
practice  of  temperance,  abstinence,  social  purity,  and  absolute 
fealty  to  Jesus  Christ  among  our  people  that  will  make  them 
more  and  more  like  him,  and  the  more  effective  colaborers  with 
him  in  the  redemption  of  this  world.  It  was  Plato  in  his  Repub- 
lic^ I  think,  who  gave  rise  to  the  pessimistic  remark  that  "  we  are 
punished  for  our  good  deeds  in  this  world  and  for  our  bad  actions 
in  the  world  to  come." 

We  have  no  desire  to  ignore  the  historical  movement  of  the 
life  of  the  Church,  nor  to  cut  ourselves  loose  from  its  splendid 
triumphs.  We  are  in  no  wise  alarmed  by  its  sufferings.  We  are 
aware  that  the  Church  has  always  been  conservative;  but  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  Christ  is  and  must  always  be  revolutionary,  essay- 
ing to  overthrow  wrong  in  whatever  form  it  may  exist  and  at 
whatever  cost.  A  Sunday  school  teacher,  reviewing  after  the 
study  of  a  period  of  the  Reformation,  asked  a  scholar  if  Luther 
died  a  natural  death,  and  was  amazed  by  the  answer,  "No;  he: 
was  excommunicated  by  a  bull."  We  do  not  fear  either  excom- 
munication or  bull,  but  expect  to  remain  a  part  of  and  factor  in 
the  holy  catholic  Church. 

Education. 

The  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  developed  a 
number  of  secondary  schools  and  higher  institutions  of  learning 
which  are  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the  Annual  Conference, 
an  Episcopal  District,  or  the  general  Church.  In  these  schools 
and  colleges  we  endeavor  to  vitalize  and  direct  the  growth  of  our 
youth.  We  recognize  the  generic  character  of  education.  The 
hand,  the  head,  the  heart — this  trinity  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit, 
thoroughly  trained,  cultured,  developed,  will,  we  think,  give  us 
the  Christian  citizen,  the  redeemed  man.  It  is  to  this  end  we 
labor  in  Wilberforce,  Ohio;  Allen,  South  Carolina;  Morris  Brown, 
Georgia;  Edward  Waters,  Florida;  Paul  Quinn,  Texas,  and 
many  other  of  our  training  schools.  We  have  much  hope  of  the 
future  of  our  youth,  because  of  the  growing  interest  among  our 
people  everywhere  manifest  on  this  important  question. 

The  fact  that  we  have  twenty  effective  universities  and  col- 
leges, with  buildings,  grounds,  and  furniture  valued  at  $756,475, 
attests  our  interest  as  a  Church  in  this  matter  of  education. 

It  may  possibly,  to  many  of  you,  sound  strange  and  yet  inter- 
esting to  hear  of  Church  debts;  and  yet  in  our  present  condition, 
so  far  removed  from  anything  Utopian,  debts  occur,  not  only 
upon  our  publishing  houses,  but  upon  our  churches;  yet  we  feel 
hopeful  of  husbanding  and  liquidating  much  of  this  by  our  Church 


522 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Extension  Society,  which,  while  very  youthful,  is  having  a  moral 
and  healthful  growth. 

We  are  fully  committed  to  missionary  enterprise  by  virtue  of 
our  relation  to  Jesus  Christ;  and,  in  a  way  comparatively  small, 
we  have  endeavored  to  carry  on  a  few  missions  in  other  lands  for 
some  years.  We  began  in  1824,  when  we  sent  Richard  Robinson, 
of  blessed  memory,  to  Hayti ;  and  thus  gave  occasion  and  oppor- 
tunity to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  missions  in  our  people.  The  kind 
of  men  most  serviceable  to  the  kingdom  of  God  are  being  pre- 
pared to  go  afield  and  enter  into  the  labor.  While  as  yet  we 
have  not  donated  largely  to  the  work  abroad,  we  do  not  intend 
to  withhold  our  most  liberal  contribution  to  the  redemption  of 
the  world.  Whatever  concerns  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the  com- 
plete redemption  of  humanity  interests  and  occupies  us.  We 
stand  ready  to  cooperate  with  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  sincerity.  We  pray  for  the  coming  of  God's  kingdom  until 
"  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ "  shall  com- 
pletely prevail;  when  political,  commercial,  and  social  purity  shall 
t)e  a  reality  fully  expressed  in  the  daily  life  of  the  people,  when 
the  life  of  Christ  shall  be  the  light  of  men;  for  in  his  treatment 
of  the  Jew,  Samaritan,  and  Greek  men  see  beautifully  illustrated 
the  common  nature  of  the  common  race. 

Accept  these  greetings  from  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  brethren.  And  now  I  leave  you.  We  are  glad  to  be  re- 
corded as  colaborers  with  you  in  the  common  work  of  our  Master. 
We  bid  you  Godspeed.  We  pray  that  the  blessing  of  God  our 
Father  and  the  grace  of  our  Redeemer  may  be  upon  you  in  all 
your  work  and  labor,  and  that  the  very  best  results  may  accrue 
from  your  legislation  here. 

13. — Address  of  Rev.  J.  J.  Lewis,  of  the  Australia 
Methodist  Church.    Journal,  page  96. 

My  Dear  Bishop  and  Members  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence :  I  regard  it  as  an  unspeakable  privilege  to  meet  this  great 
gathering  and  to  greet  you  in  the  name  of  Australasian  Metho- 
dism. From  my  earliest  years  I  have  been  familiar  with  these 
people.  In  one  of  our  old,  old  hymns  there  is  a  line  that  em- 
bodies the  prayer  for  the  "Dark  America's  Continent."  1  am 
thankful,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  find  that  the  Americans  are  now  not 
only  converted,  but  so  advanced  in  mental  and  spiritual  life  that 
a  day  will  come  when  they  will  stand  on  a  level  with  that  land  of 
sunshine  that  I  now  represent. 

I  know  that  some  regard  the  country  from  which  I  come  as  a 
somewhat  insignificant  one.  At  a  certain  hotel  two  gentlemen 
were  discussing  the  question  as  to  where  New  Zealand  was.  One 
said  that  it  was  in  Norway,  and  another  said  that  it  was  on  the 
coast  of  Greenland.  That  hotel  is  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
consequently  benefits  by  the  weekly  teaching  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Buckley.  But,  however  small  you  may  consider  my  country,  it 
is  ecclesiastically  connected  with  the  Australasian  Wesleyan 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


523 


Methodist  Conference,  and  in  Australia  you  have  a  territory  ex- 
tending 2,400  miles  from  east  to  west  and  1,970  miles  from  north 
to  south.  It  is  a  country  nearly  as  large  as  the  whole  of  Europe, 
and  twenty-five  times  the  size  of  the  United  Kingdom.  While 
that  is  the  fact,  we  are  not  too  proud  to  shake  hands  with  the 
representatives  of  tiny  little  countries  like  that  which  has  sent 
the  Rev.  W.  L.  Watkinson  to  this  platform. 

In  Australasian  Methodism,  it  must  be  remembered  that  we 
speak  on  behalf  of  a  sparsely  peopled  country  ;  yet  we  have 
there  100,000  church  members,  we  have  180,000  Sunday  school 
scholars,  and  we  have  500,000  adherents.  And  there  is  no  Church 
in  the  southern  world  that  is  more  aggressive,  or  more  closely 
connected  with  the  great  social  and  philanthropic  reforms  of  the 
present  day. 

Coming,  sir,  to  New  Zealand,  we  have  there  some  of  the 
grandest  and  most  picturesque  scenery.  Our  bush,  with  its  im- 
passable undergrowth,  is  broken  by  fern  grottoes  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  imitate  ;  is  brightened  by  the  scarlet  Christmas- 
tree  flower,  while  the  mistletoe  may  also  be  found  there,  but  in 
sufficiently  inaccessible  spots  to  obviate  all  danger.  We  also 
have  to  fight  our  way  in  the  bush  through  slimy,  prickly  plants 
that  would  tear  the  clothes  from  our  backs,  the  skin  from  our 
hands  and  from  our  faces,  and  that  is  significantly  called  "  the 
bush  lawyer."  I  wonder  whether  you  know  anything  about  a 
plant  like  that  in  the  United  States?  [Bishop  Joyce:  "No."] 
Well,  the  lawyers  here  are  more  honest  than  in  other  countries 
then. 

The  Maoris  are  a  race  physically  fine.  In  the  early  days  they 
were  deeply  sunken  in  vices  of  the  most  loathsome  character. 
The  first  Christian  Sabbath  in  New  Zealand  was  held  on  Decem- 
ber 25,  in  the  year  1814.  Samuel  Marsden,  of  the  Anglican 
Church,  but  of  Methodist  training,  was  the  preacher,  and  he  took 
for  his  text,  "  Behold  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy." 
The  first  Wesleyan  missionary  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Lee,  who 
began  his  ministry  there  in  the  year  1822.  He  has  been  followed 
by  a  notable  band  of  men,  such  as  Walter  Lawry,  whose  conver- 
sation used  to  charm  Charles  Lamb,  the  essayist ;  Nathaniel 
Turner,  the  representative  theologian;  and  that  warm-hearted 
pastor,  Thomas  Buddie  ;  the  patriotic  James  Buller ;  Bumby, 
who  forsook  the  tempting  prizes  of  a  popular  English  parish  that 
he  might  become  a  missionary  to  the  dark-skinned  New  Zea- 
landers,  and  who  found  his  grave  in  the  watery  deeps;  and  the 
Demosthenes  of  New  Zealand,  Alexander  Reid.  Those  have 
been  among  the  princes  of  our  Israel.  For  many  weary  years 
the  mission  showed  no  fruit.  Then  came  the  harvest  season 
when  white  tribes  turned  to  the  Lord.  At  a  missionary  meeting 
held  in  one  of  the  towns  of  that  country  which  was  exclusively 
attended  by  Maoris  they  determined  to  send  two  of  their  num- 
ber as  missionaries  to  an  unchristianized  tribe.  With  that  tribe 
the  ancestors  of  those  missionaries  had  formerly  been  at  war,  and 


524 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


when  these  two  men  appeared  one  of  them,  Kereopa,  was  shot 
dead,  and  the  other,  Manahera,  was  fatally  wounded,  but  lingered 
for  some  hours.  He  gave  his  New  Testament  to  a  lad  that  stood 
near,  praying  that  it  might  be  blessed  to  him  as  it  had  been  to 
the  dying  man,  and  he  expired  praying  for  his  murderers.  A 
religion  that  can  bear  such  fruit  as  that  has  got  hold  of  the 
human  heart,  and  from  our  Maori  converts  we  might  give  you 
the  names  and  acts  of  thousands  of  those  who  are  fit  to  take  the 
brightest  places  in  the  martyrology  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Before  the  Gospel  had  come  to  those  people  attempts  had  been 
made  to  colonize  that  country,  but  in  vain.  The  people  were  so 
savage  and  unscrupulous  that  the  land  companies  had  to  with- 
draw their  agents.  The  massacre  of  the  crew  of  the  JBoyd,  when 
all  on  board  that  ship,  to  the  number  of  seventy,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  woman  and  child,  were  massacred,  showed  of  what 
those  natives  were  capable.  After  the  missionaries  had,  however, 
done  their  work,  colonization  became  safe  and  secure,  and  the 
thriving  towns  of  to-day  and  the  well-to-do  colonists  date  their 
well-being  to  the  self-denying  labors  of  our  pioneer  missionaries. 
Whoever  else  may  sneer  at  missionaries,  New  Zealand  cannot 
afford  to  do  so.  When  the  IJAlciirene  was  wrecked  off  the 
New  Zealand  coast,  a  boat  was  sent  ashore  with  an  officer  and 
some  of  the  crew.  A  similar  disaster  had  occurred  in  New  Cale- 
donia some  time  before  this,  and  some  of  another  boat's  crew  had 
gone  ashore  there  and  been  massacred,  and  these  men  expected  a 
like  fate.  They  hid  themselves  in  caves  and  in  the  bush,  and 
when  supplies  ran  short  they  timidly  approached  a  native  village; 
but  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  Maoris  they  began  to  flee  for  their 
lives.  The  Maoris  hastened  to  reassure  them,  and  bringing  them 
into  their  village  they  gave  them  their  best  huts,  cooked  them  a 
dinner,  brought  them  clean  blankets,  and  the  next  day,  being  a 
Sabbath,  the  Frenchmen  and  the  Maoris  joined  together  in  the 
worship  of  God.  The  next  day  they  went  to  the  ship  and  gave 
them  all  the  help  they  needed,  and  finally  the  ship  was  taken  to 
Auckland,  where  they  were  all  rescued.  In  the  old  days  every 
wreck  upon  the  New  Zealand  coast  was  treasure-trove  to  the 
Maori,  and  if  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  ISAlcuretie  did  not  fare 
like  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Boyd,  it  was  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  that  made  them  to  differ.  What  New  Zealand  coloniza- 
tion owes  to  missionary  effort  Great  Britain  can  never  repay. 
The  first  Governor  of  New  Zealand  said,  when  addressing  the 
Legislative  Council:  "Whatever  opinions  there  may  be  about 
missionary  work,  the  missionaries  have  rendered  incalculable 
service  to  the  crown,  and  but  for  them  there  would  be  no  British 
colony  in  New  Zealand  to-day." 

Since  the  terrible  war  between  the  imperial  troops  and  the 
native  race  there  has  been  a  widespread  apostasy,  but  happily 
there  are  signs  of  a  better  state  of  things,  and  the  natives  are 
coming  back  to  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

I  have  often  been  encouraged  when  going  to  a  "pah" — that 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


525 


is  what  we  call  a  native  village — from  which  the  missionary  had 
been  for  some  years  withdrawn,  to  find  the  people  still  keeping 
up  the  habit  of  daily  prayer.  I  was  in  company  with  the  Rev. 
W.  J.  Williams,  of  South  New  Zealand,  when  we  came  to  a 
Maori  village,  and  then  it  flashed  on  my  mind  that  the  dream  of 
my  life  would  be  realized  and  I  might  become  a  missionary  to 
the  heathen.  We  wrent  at  once  to  the  chief  of  the  tribe  and 
asked  his  permission  to  hold  a  service  among  his  people.  He  at 
once  consented,  and  pointed  to  a  large  hut  in  which  we  might 
assemble.  But  that  did  not  come  up  to  my  ideas  at  all.  I  had 
seen  missionary  pictures  of  a  palm  tree,  and  the  missionary  stand- 
ing underneath  it  in  a  white  coat  and  a  broad-brimmed  hat,  and 
with  the  dark  hearers  all  around  him,  as  though  undecided 
whether  to  digest  the  sermons  or  to  digest  the  preacher.  And 
so  we  got  them  gathered  out  of  doors,  and  as  they  understood 
English  everything  seemed  smooth  sailing.  I  am  always  willing 
to  let  a  friend  into  a  good  thing,  and  so  I  asked  my  brother 
minister  to  lead  the  singing  in  Maori;  but  either  the  lines  were 
too  long  or  the  tune  too  short,  and  he  broke  down  in  the  first 
verse.  And  then  the  chief  came  to  our  help,  and  in  a  dirge-like 
monotone  they  call  singing  he  piloted  us  through  the  rocks.  My 
sermon  took  an  ethical  turn.  I  spoke  about  the  claims  of  the 
Sabbath  and  temperance  and  honesty  and  truth.  And  when  I 
had  gone  that  far  one  of  my  dark-skinned  hearers  called  out, 
"  Give  something  for  them,"  pointing  to  the  women,  who,  it 
seemed,  could  not  understand  English.  And  so,  by  the  help  of 
my  interpreter,  I  spoke  to  them  also. 

Now,  when  I  am  announced  as  a  returned  missionary  there  is , 
at  least  a  microscopic  grain  of  truth  in  the  statement.  I  claim 
for  my  fathers  in  the  ministry  that  Christianity  has  done  four 
notable  things  for  the  natives  of  that  land.  It  has  freed  them 
from  polygamy,  cannibalism,  slavery,  and  tribal  war.  Nay,  it 
has  sent  thousands  of  them  as  blood-washed  saints  before  the 
throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  To-day  we  are  just  an  English 
people.  There  are  only  forty  thousand  natives  left  among  us. 
Unhappily  that  is  the  case.  In  one  of  our  churches  in  New  Zea- 
land we  have  a  school  nearly  one  thousand  strong — Sunday 
school.  We  have  more  than  eight  hundred  Sunday  scholars  and 
about  one  hundred  Sunday  school  teachers,  and  in  our  Sunday 
school  anniversary  you  would  hear  the  most  difficult  music  led 
by  a  children's  choir  of  six  hundred  voices,  with  a  large  orchestra 
and  the  organ,  and  something  like  fifteen  hundred  people  would 
be  there  as  a  congregation. 

But  our  missionary  work  includes  more  than  New  Zealand. 
Under  the  Australasian  General  Conference  we  have  grappled 
with  the  heathenism  of  the  Fiji,  Tonga,  Samoa,  New  Guinea,  the 
Chinese  in  Victoria,  and  the  blacks  in  Australia. 

What  about  Fiji?  Using  round  figures,  sir,  out  of  a  popula- 
tion of  about  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand,  more  than  one  hun- 
dred thousand  are  professed  Wesleyan  Methodists.  A  little  more 


526 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


than  fifty  years  ago  in  all  Fiji  there  was  not  one  professing 
Christian,  and  to-day  in  all  Fiji  there  is  not  one  professing 
heathen.  Every  Lord's  day  in  Fiji  one  thousand  pulpits  are 
supplied  by  converts  from  heathenism,  and  throughout  the 
southern  seas  we  have  had  evidence  that  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
is  the  power  of  God  to  salvation  even  of  the  most  degraded 
that  believe.  Now  in  our  English  work  we  are  as  go-ahead 
and  as  progressive  as  any  Conference  can  be.  Why,  sir,  in 
Great  Britain  there  is  that  which  reminds  me  of  an  old  Roman 
festival.  Before  the  Emperor  of  Rome,  it  is  said,  three  bodies 
marched  in  procession.  First  were  the  old  men  who,  when  they 
saluted  the  emperor,  said,  "  We  have  fought  for  Rome."  Then 
came  the  men  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  they  said,  "  We  are  now 
fighting  for  Rome."  Then  came  a  band  of  lads,  and  they  cried, 
"  We  are  going  to  fight  for  Rome."  In  Great  Britain  I  see  per- 
petuated the  grand  old  Methodism  of  the  past.  In  the  United 
States  of  America  I  see  the  marvelous  expansion  of  the  Metho- 
dism of  to-day.  But  from  that  Australasian  cradle  there  lias 
sprung  a  young  giant  who  gives  the  promise  of  the  Methodism 
that  is  to  be. 

We  have  gone  in  for  Methodist  union  in  Australasia. 
We  have  said  that  whatever  those  old  divisions  might 
mean  in  the  fatherland  they  ought  not  to  be  carried  across  the 
seas  to  our  young  country,  and  it  is  a  scandal  and  an  iniquity  for 
two  or  three  struggling  little  churches  to  be  preaching  the  same 
doctrine  in  the  same  village,  where  you  might  have  one  strong, 
tli riving,  vigorous  church.  While  all  through  Australasia  the 
sentiment  of  union  is  spreading,  to  the  honor  of  New  Zealand 
let  it  be  said  that  we  always  led  the  van.  Our  little  Conference 
there,  by  48  votes  to  6,  asked  the  General  Conference  to  lay 
down  a  basis  of  union  on  which  any  one  of  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences might  unite  with  the  sister  bodies.  In  the  General  Con- 
ference that  fall  that  basis  of  union  was  granted  by  a  vote  of  100 
to  14,  and  when  that  basis  of  union  was  placed  before  us  we  de- 
cided to  act  upon  it  by  54  votes  to  11.  And  so  already  the  Wes- 
leyan  Methodist  Free  Church  and  the  Bible  Christians  have 
united,  and  we  are  only  waiting  for  the  Primitive  Methodists ; 
and  soon  throughout  all  Australasia  there  will  be  one  grand 
united  Methodist  Church. 

Then,  sir,  we  have  in  our  New  Zealand  Conference  extended 
the  ministerial  term.  The  General  Conference  gave  us  power  to 
do  so,  but  we  had  to  get  legislative  enactment  first  to  make  the 
matter  legal.  Being  stationed  in  the  town  where  the  Parliament 
met,  I  was  intrusted  with  the  charge  of  that  bill,  and  although 
four  fifths  of  the  people  favored  the  extension  of  that  term  I 
had  a  very  hard  battle  to  fight  before  the  bill  went  through  both 
Houses.  But  now  it  is  the  law  and  legal  for  us,  by  a  two  thirds 
vote  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  and  the  Conference,  to  extend  a 
minister's  term  up  to  five  years.  What  we  want  is  this  :  To 
have  State  interference  with  our  Church  entirely  removed. 


1695.] 


Fraternity. 


527 


And  when  I  spoke  with  the  "  Grand  Old  Man  "  of  New  Zea- 
land, Sir  George  Gray,  he  told  me  that  had  he  been  in  his  seat  in 
Parliament  he  would  have  helped  me.  We  believe  in  a  minis- 
terial limit,  but  think  it  ought  to  be  fixed  by  our  Conference 
without  the  State  having  anything  to  do  with  it. 

Then,  in  New  Zealand  we  are  in  the  van  of  the  world's  prog- 
ress, and  have  left  the  United  States  far  behind,  for  from  end  to 
end  of  New  Zealand  we  have  womanhood  suffrage.  And  we 
have  found  this :  that  the  women  look  not  merely  to  the  political 
influence,  but  to  the  personal  character,  of  the  men  who  are 
elected;  for  we  know  well  that  if  they  put  good  men  into  Parlia- 
ment they  will  give  us  good  laws. 

Then,  no  other  country  has  done  more  for  temperance  than  we 
have.  By  a  two  thirds  vote  we  may  totally  suppress  the  liquor 
traffic  in  any  electoral  district,  for  this  is  the  law  of  the  land. 

Sir,  I  am  bound  by  my  word  to  the  brother  who  has  charge  of 
the  proceedings  of  this  convention,  and  my  time  is  gone.  When 
I  left  New  Zealand  for  America  it  was  the  wish  of  some  of  the 
best-known  representative  men  of  Australasia  that  in  the  various 
centers  that  I  might  visit  I  might  speak  for  my  colony  at  some 
length.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  words  that  I  spoke  to  some 
Sunday  school  scholars  during  the  four  weeks  that  I  have  been  in 
the  States,  this  is  the  first  opportunity  I  have  had  to  speak  in 
public.  Had  time  allowed  I  might  have  told  you  of  some  of  the 
wonderful  scenery,  our  marvelous  resources,  the  traditions,  the 
legends,  and  the  customs  of  the  Maoris,  and  some  of  the  stirring 
scenes  of  the  great  war  between  the  native  tribes  and  the  im- 
perial troops.  I  might  have  traced  the  progress  of  the  coloniza- 
tion and  told  you  something  of  the  marvelous  prospect  that  is 
opening  before  us.  But,  of  course,  that  is  interdicted.  I  might 
have  told  you  a  story  that  is  the  inspiration  of  a  glorious  past, 
and  the  promise  of  a  triumphantly  blessed  future. 

14. — Address  of  the  Rev.  B.  F.  Noakes,  of  the  Reformed 
Episcopal  Church.    Journal,  page  283. 

Mr.  President  and  Brethren,  Fellow-members  of  the 
Body  of  Christ:  Permit  me  to  thank  you  for  the  cordial  man- 
ner in  which  you  have  extended  to  me  this  opportunity  of  pre- 
senting to  this  assembly  the  fraternal  greeting  of  the  Reformed 
Episcopal  Church. 

The  honor  of  my  position  is  not  confined  or  limited  to  the  fact 
that  I  am  discharging  a  duty  imposed  upon  me  by  the  last  session 
of  the  General  Council  of  our  Church,  but  is  heightened  by  the 
conditions  of  our  present  environment,  namely,  that  the  smallest 
and  most  recently  budded  branch  of  the  great  Episcopal  root  and 
system  is  by  this  act  of  its  representative  addressing  that  large 
growth  which,  by  God's  signal  favor,  drawing  its  life,  its  juices, 
its  tendrils  and  leaves,  not  from  this  republic  alone  but  from  dis- 
tant corners  of  the  earth,  makes  glad  the  city  of  Cleveland  to-dav. 
34 


528 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Episcopacy,  as  applied  to  ecclesiastical  polity,  is  not  so  much  a 
fixed  and  unchangeable  form  as  the  development  of  a  principle 
to  be  met  with  in  every  plan  of  constitutional  government.  It  is 
but  the  expression  of  a  fact  that  the  body,  and  all  corporations, 
are  incomplete  without  a  head.  So  that  the  Christian  Church, 
the  aggregate  of  living  persons  who  profess  allegiance  to  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  necessity  and  by  scriptural  appointment 
acknowledge  him  not  only  as  their  Saviour,  but  also  as  their 
Bishop  and  Guide.  And  while  a  large  number  of  devout  and 
fruitful  Christians  in  their  local  usages  and  administration  have 
avoided  the  use  of  the  title  or  term,  yet  a  still  larger  proportion 
of  the  whole  body  have  preferred  to  adhere  in  this  respect  to 
apostolic  language  and  custom  and  to  repose  a  directing  power  in 
the  hands  of  distinguished  and  chosen  men  for  the  purpose  of 
executing  the  office  of  overseer  in  a  human  and  tangible  manner, 
and  are  known  as  "  Episcopalians." 

We  find  them  as  such  in  the  Roman,  the  Greek,  and  the 
Anglican  communions,  but  for  reasons  which  have  seemed  suf- 
ficient for  our  direction  and  cogent  enough  to  compel  our  action, 
yourselves,  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
we,  the  members  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  have  seen  fit, 
while  adhering  to  Episcopacy  as  a  principle,  to  reject  the  figment 
of  a  tactual  apostolic  succession  carrying  with  it  the  assurance  of 
exclusive  authority,  divine  explicit  command,  and  inevitable  grace. 

It  would  be  a  violation  of  good  taste  did  I,  in  the  presence  of 
this  assembly  and  at  this  late  day  of  your  Conference,  attempt  to 
remind  you  of  the  traditions  of  your  fathers,  or  to  recite  the 
galaxy  of  names  loved  and  honored  who  have  fought  the  fight, 
kept  the  faith,  and  won  rest  from  their  labors;  or  to  rehearse 
those  divine  interpositions  whereby  the  life  of  the  future  founder 
of  your  distinguished  career  was  preserved  from  the  fire  at  the 
parsonage  of  Ep  worth;  or  that  scarcely  less  strange  interven- 
tion whereby  the  sweet  singer  Charles  escaped  great  wealth  and 
the  peerage  of  Mornington,  leaving  him  free  to  cooperate  with 
his  greater  brother  in  the  awakening  divinely  intended;  or  in 
spirit  to  point  your  attention  to  that  little  group  of  devout  men 
who,  in  the  cloisters  of  Lincoln  College  at  Oxford,  or  who  in 
chambers  with  "  sported  oak,"  to  avoid  intrusion,  conversed  of 
the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  till  encouraging 
and  encouraged  by  each  other  they,  under  the  impulse  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  formulated  those  rules  of  their  permanent  righteous 
living  which  earned  for  them  the  title  of  Methodist.  Honorable 
and  honored  symbol!  as  significant  in  its  quiet  protest  against 
the  wickedness  prevalent  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  as  Puri- 
tan in  the  days  of  Charles  the  Second. 

Roman  Episcopacy  may  carry  us  back  to  the  days  when  the 
imperial  city  was  the  visible  center  of  Christian  rule;  Greek 
Episcopacy  to  the  time  when  Constantine  founded  the  city  on 
the  Bosporus;  Anglican  Episcopacy  to  the  labors  of  St.  Paul. 
All  these  forms  appeal  to  our  veneration  for  antiquity,  but  Metho- 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


529 


dist  Episcopacy,  traced  to  its  root,  stands  not  for  a  sentiment, 
but  for  "  righteousness."  As  such  it  has  vindicated  its  origin, 
and  to-day  its  ministers  and  representatives  are  known  to  occupy 
an  advanced  position  on  all  questions  pertaining  to  national, 
social,  or  personal  virtue.  How  profoundly  the  citizens  of  this 
republic  are  indebted  to  your  body,  to  the  zeal  of  the  typical 
pioneer  preacher  and  those  who  were  moved  by  his  exhortations, 
the  present  generation  may  not  wholly  recognize,  but  the  record 
of  such  obligation  is  safe  where  no  errors  are  admitted  and  no 
erasures  possible.  In  its  polity  your  Church  has  adopted  the  rule 
of  Bishops,  not  because  of  historic  usage,  but  as  of  apostolic  and 
logical  principle. 

Reformed  Episcopacy  stands  not  alone  for  righteousness,  pub- 
lic or  private,  but,  believing  that  a  complete  rectitude  can  only  be 
had  as  the  fruit  of  received  truth,  it  stands  for  those  pure  doc- 
trines of  the  ancient  Scriptures  with  which  the  standards  of  the 
Roman,  Greek,  and  Anglican  systems  are  in  conflict. 

Accept  then,  beloved,  our  greeting,  and  let  it  be  intensified  by 
the  fact  that  you  have  permitted  me  to  fin/1  as  my  associates  on 
the  platform  this  evening  those  brethren  whose  ancestors  in 
ancient  Africa  received  tribute  from  the  inhabitants  of  Carthage 
centuries  before  Cyprian  occupied  the  episcopal  chair  in  that  city, 
and  whose  representatives  to-day,  after  long  years  of  darkness, 
bondage,  chains,  and  oppression  are  coming  forth  into  the  light 
and  dignity  of  Gospel  liberty.  ISTor  is  this  a  digression  from  my 
theme,  because  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  young  as  it  is  in 
years  and  small  as  it  yet  seems  to  be  in  numbers  and  regarded 
from  the  standpoint  and  proportion  of  such  numbers,  leads  the 
van  of  the  Churches  in  its  efforts  to  carry  peace  and  grace  to  the 
Afro- American.  In  South  Carolina  alone  we  have  forty-two 
colored  congregations  presided  over  by  a  bishop  whose  position 
is  the  more  honorable  because  that,  in  the  days  of  slavery  and 
before  his  convictions  were  changed,  he  then,  Major  Stevens, 
pointed  the  gun  toward  the  Star  of  the  West  as  she  steamed 
toward  Sumter,  liberating  a  report  that  was  heard  not  on  a 
limited  Atlantic  shore,  not  alone  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  but 
around  the  civilized  world.  Its  sound  has  long  since  ceased,  its 
smoke  dispersed,  and  now,  as  God  has  always  willed  it  to  be,  it  is 
seen  that  "  He  has  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to  dwell 
on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,"  and  all  we  are  brethren. 

The  scene  from  this  platform  as  it  has  appeared  for  four  suc- 
cessive weeks  to  the  casual  visitor,  untrammeled  by  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  the  occasion,  has  been  suggestive  of  an  im- 
mense deposit  of  religious  force  stored  in  separate  receptacles, 
brought  together  for  the  purpose  of  reciprocal  advantage  and  for 
the  good  of  the  Church  universal.  As  if  the  superintendent  of 
a  large  railroad  corporation  should  have  summoned  to  a  certain 
point  the  representative  engines  of  his  vast  system  for  review, 
for  inspection  if  necessary,  for  repair,  and  for  such  improvement 
as  the  rapidly  unfolding  needs  of  the  age  require. 


580 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


You  have  not  merely  been  tapping  the  wheels,  but,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  will  return  to  your  lines  and  stations  to  lead  safely  across 
the  continent  of  time  countless  passengers  from  the  starting  point 
in  time  to  a  happy  termination  in  eternity. 

If  the  Holy  Spirit  who  informed  and  directed  the  mystical 
wheels  which  Ezekiel  saw  has  been  with  you,  you  will  not  only 
depart  in  peace,  but  leave  a  blessing  behind  you. 

15. — Address  of  Rev.  J.  P.  Gaskill,  of  the  African  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Zion  Church.    Journal,  page  290. 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal General  Conference  here  assembled:  Only  a  few  days 
ago  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  General  Conference, 
in  session  in  Mobile,  Ala.,  elected  me  delegate  to  bear  fraternal 
greetings  to  you.  That  religious  body  of  workers  desires  me  to 
say  to  you  that  it  is  with  no  small  degree  of  joy  and  admiration 
we  hail  the  patriotic  spirit  of  pious  Christian  devotion  which  has 
so  steadily  characterized  3^ou  in  your  onward  march  from  the 
days  of  your  infancy,  when,  in  1765,  with  Captain  Webb  as 
leader,  your  humble  place  of  worship  was  a  sail  loft,  on  what  was 
then  known  as  the  Battery,  at  the  south  end  of  New  York  city, 
to  your  present  quadrennial  session,  when  you  have  become  mil- 
lionaires both  in  numerical  strength  and  financial  resources. 

In  every  struggle  the  cause  of  Christ  has  had  on  the  line  of 
reformation  you  have  invariably  been  among  the  first  and  most 
substantial  supporters.  When  American  liberty  was  in  the 
hands  of  British  oppression  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
was  bold  and  fearless,  taking  her  part  in  the  conflict.  When 
the  Negro's  liberty  was  locked  up  as  in  an  accursed  vault  by  the 
abominable  laws  sustaining  the  cruel  institution  of  slavery,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  sounded  such  an  alarm  as  made  this 
nation  think  as  it  never  thought  before.  And  even  now,  when 
the  nation  is  bound  with  most  disgraceful  and  diabolical  laws  to 
sustain  the  damnable  drink  traffic,  God  has  reared  up  in  the  great 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  well  as  in  other  Christian  de- 
nominations, grand  men  who  have  dared  face  the  enemy,  and  by 
means  of  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  wage  war  against  him  and  will 
continue  to  do  so  until  "  King  Alcohol "  shall  be  dethroned,  his 
kingdom  with  all  attendant  evils  demolished,  and  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  right  it  is  to  rule,  shall  reign  supreme. 

Mr.  President,  in  presenting  our  fraternal  greetings  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  General  Conference  desires 
to  congratulate  you  on  the  marvelous  progress  you  have  made 
on  all  lines,  moral,  intellectual,  religious,  and  financial.  When 
we  think  of  the  two  delegates  we  are  informed  are  here  from 
the  once  barren  but  now  fruitful  fields  of  Africa,  representing  a 
membership  of  250,000  souls,  the  result  of  the  missionary  work 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  we  can  see  more  clearly  the 
magnitude  of  the  great  work  you  are  doing.    We  also  congratu- 


1896.] 


Fraternity. 


531 


late  you  on  the  bold  stand  you  have  taken  against  mob  violence 
and  lynch  law,  and  the  resolutions  you  have  passed  in  this 
General  Conference  not  to  meet  in  any  city  without  a  guarantee 
from  the  hotels  to  make  no  discrimination  on  account  of  color — 
that  a  man  shall  not  be  known  by  the  color  of  his  skin  in  the 
great  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This  is  an  advanced  step 
in  the  right  direction — it  is  righteous  progress. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  an  historical  fact  that  about  thirty  years 
after  the  organization  of  the  mother  church  of  Methodism  in 
this  country,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  1766,  because  of  the  ex- 
istence of  proscription  and  other  conditions  which  hindered  their 
intellectual  development  and  religious  growth  and  prevented 
them  from  engaging  in  the  work  of  spreading  the  cause  of  Christ 
and  uplifting  their  fellows  according  as  they  felt  themselves 
moved  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  1796  James  Varick  and  others 
withdrew  from  the  mother  church  and  formed  a  separate  and 
distinct  organization,  out  of  which  has  grown  the  great  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church. 

We  congratulate  ourselves  on  having  had  a  man  of  such  un- 
selfish  motives,  sterling  qualities,  and  pronounced  ability  as  an 
organizer  and  leader  to  head  this  great  religious  movement  ;  he 
was  the  first  man  to  grasp  and  put  into  execution  the  great  idea 
of  a  purely  Negro  religious  organization,  through  which  to  train 
his  people  for  a  useful  life  here  and  an  eternal  rest  hereafter. 

During  this  hundred  years  our  Church  has  grown  from  a  mere 
handful  to  about  500,000  communicants,  embracing  about  thirty 
States  in  the  Union,  a  portion  of  Canada,  a  part  of  Africa,  and 
some  of  the  islands  of  the  sea. 

We  have  9  Bishops,  1,218  active  elders,  626  active  deacons,  408 
traveling  preachers,  72  superannuated  elders  and  deacons,  206 
local  deacons,  1,134  preachers,  and  775  exhorters.  We  have  one 
general  connectional  organ,  several  local  journals,  and  one  Quar- 
terly Review.  Our  local  institutions  of  learning  are  as  follows: 
Atkinson's  College  in  Kentucky,  Greenville  College  in  Tennessee, 
Petty's  High  School  in  South  Carolina,  Jones  University  in  Ala- 
bama, Carthage  High  School  in  Carthage,  N.  C,  and  others,  in  all 
seventeen;  and  our  general  connectional  institution  is  Living- 
stone College,  Salisbury,  N.  C,  consisting  of  fifty  acres  of  land 
and  several  large  and  commodious  brick  buildings,  valued  at 
$150,000. 

We  have  1,600  churches  and  100  halls,  valued  at  $3,150,000. 
Our  Church  has  taken  a  foremost  part  in  all  movements  affecting 
the  moral,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  race. 

At  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  held  in  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  1892,  it  was  decided  that  we  should  hold  our  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary,  in  the  month  of  October,  1896,  in  the  Mother 
Zion  (our  first  established  church  of  the  connection),  now  situ- 
ated on  the  corner  of  West  Tenth  and  Bleecker  Streets,  New 
York  city.  We  take  this  medium  through  which  to  inform  you 
of  our  intention,  and  to  earnestly  ask  your  sympathy,  prayers, 


532 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


and  cooperation  to  make  this  centennial  effort  a  success  in  ad- 
vancing the  Redeemer's  kingdom  and  in  the  elevation  of  the 
race.  It  is  our  purpose  to  hold  a  ten  days'  Centennial  Confer- 
ence, two  sessions  each  day,  at  which  time  papers  will  be  read 
and  such  subjects  discussed  as  may  be  agreed  upon.  Every  de- 
nomination or  religious  organization  is  cordially  invited  to  par- 
ticipate with  us.  But  we  extend  a  special  invitation  to  the 
Board  of  Bishops  of  the  mother  Church,  the  General  Conference, 
and  the  entire  membership  of  your  connection. 

And  now,  Bishops  and  brethren,  we  are  not  forgetful  that 
since  your  meeting  in  1892  the  episcopal  bench,  some  of  your 
pulpits,  and  many  a  pew  have  been  draped  in  mourning  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  men  who  have  fallen  in  your  Church,  whose 
names  we  do  not  know.  We,  too,  have  lost  many  valuable 
workers  from  among  us  during  the  same  period;  notable  among 
them  were  Bishops  Thompson  and  Moore,  Elders  Stitt,  Clinton, 
and  Dr.  Price,  President  of  Livingstone  College.  These  were 
all  able,  grand,  and  good  men.  The  last  named  was  widely 
known  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  as  the  "  silver-tongued  ora- 
tor, with  few  equals  and  no  superiors."  There  may  be  many  per- 
sons present  who  have  listened  to  his  matchless  eloquence,  but 
that  tongue  which  delighted  and  pleased  so  many  has  been  stilled 
by  death.  Dr,  Price  and  the  great  men  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race, 
both  in  Church  and  in  State,  used  to  meet  and  discuss  great 
questions,  each  becoming  the  wiser  from  having  received  the 
other's  views.  O,  what  a  joyful  meeting  that  must  have  been 
when  these  fallen  heroes  of  both  Churches  met  Wesley  and 
Asbury,  Varick  and  Clinton,  with  the  countless  millions  of  others 
in  that  grand  city  where  problematic  discussions  of  race  ques- 
tions have  never'  entered!  What  a  rest  to  the  souls  of  those 
whose  minds  for  years  had  been  taxed  and  perplexed,  each  trying- 
to  solve  the  great  race  problems  and  other  vexed  questions,  in 
order  to  bring  about  a  fraternal  union  of  the  races  of  men  that 
they  might  see  and  recognize  the  "  fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
brotherhood  of  man ! "  We  join  with  you,  dear  brethren,  in 
mutual  grief  and  great  lamentation  over  these  our  noble  dead. 

Bishops  and  brethren,  we  should  take  new  courage  and  gird 
ourselves  for  the  battle,  knowing  that  the  time  is  short  in  which 
we  must  finish  our  work;  and  so  let  us  "quit"  ourselves  "like 
men,"  and  "dare  to  do  right,  and  dare  to  be  true,"  even  at  the 
hazard  of  our  own  lives.  And  then,  when  the  battles  of  life  shall 
come  to  a  close,  the  clashing  of  mind  against  mind,  with  con- 
flicting views,  have  ceased,  and  General  Conferences,  assemblies, 
and  religious  organizations  of  every  description  have  met  for  the 
last  time,  and  the  great  concourse  of  God's  army  shall  have  been 
marshaled,  to  stack  their  arms  by  the  riverside,  to  study  war  no 
more — then,  at  the  bidding  of  our  Master,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world,"  our  feet  shall  kiss  the  mystic  waters  of  the 
Jordan  as  we  go  sweeping  through  the  gates  into  the  pearly  city. 


B. 

MEMOIRS. 


| . — James  William  Mendenhall,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Journal,  page  234. 

James  William  Mendenhall  was  born  in  Centerville,  Mont- 
gomery County,  O.,  November  8,  1844,  and  died  in  Chicago  June 
18,  1892,  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  His  parents  are 
Elijah  and  Mary  A.  Mendenhall,  who  still  survive  him  and  live 
in  Indianapolis,  Ind.  They  have  been  honored  and  useful  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  more  than  fifty 
years. 

James's  childhood  was  spent  in  the  Miami  Valley.  The  father's 
professional  duties  and  pecuniary  investments  led  him  to  change 
several  times  his  residence  during  the  elementary  school  life  of 
his  children.  In  1856  he  moved  to  Hamilton,  O.,  whose  city  and 
academic  schools  proved  a  great  incentive  and  encouragement  to 
James. 

The  father,  realizing  the  need  of  greater  educational  facilities 
for  his  sons,  moved  to  Delaware,  O.,  in  1860,  and  placed  them  in 
the  Wesleyan  University.  When  James  entered  college  he  was 
nearly  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  1864,  when  not  yet  twenty  years  of  age.  His  already 
well-formed  habits  of  study,  quick  perception,  phenomenal  mem- 
ory, and  absorbing  application  placed  him  among  the  most  suc- 
cessful in  his  classes. 

In  the  fall  of  1864  he  was  received  on  trial  into  the  Cincinnati 
Conference.  While  on  Madisonville  Circuit  he  was  invited  to  take 
the  Presidency  of  Fremont  Collegiate  Institute,  located  at  Sidney, 
la.  After  consulting  his  presiding  elder,  Dr.  (now  Bishop)  Walden, 
and  Bishop  Clark,  he  accepted,  and  by  his  enthusiasm  in  teach- 
ing, preaching,  and  financiering  he  added  to  the  numbers  and 
reputation  of  the  institution.  The  plan  of  endowment,  which  had 
been  inaugurated  by  the  trustees  before  his  presidency,  meeting 
with  dissent  in  the  Des  Moines  Conference,  he  felt  that  the  finan- 
cial outlook  was  unpromising  and  determined  to  return  to  the 
pastorate. 

lie  was  transferred  from  the  Des  Moines  Conference  to  the 
North  Ohio  in  1869,  which  relation  he  retained  until  death.  He 
was  stationed  successively  at  Medina,  Elyria,  and  Wellington,  in 
each  two  years;  at  Clyde,  Tiffin,  and  Norwalk,  in  each  three 
years.    From  1884  to  1888  he  was  Presiding  Elder  of  Galion 


534: 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


District.  At  the  General  Conference  held  in  May,  1888,  he  was 
elected  Editor  of  the  Methodist  Review,  and  in  1892,  on  the  18th 
of  May — just  one  month  preceding  his  death — he  was  reelected 
by  a  vote  practically  unanimous. 

Dr.  Mendenhall,  therefore,  though  falling  in  his  forty-eighth 
year,  in  his  maximum  of  strength  and  usefulness,  and  when  his 
great  lifework  seemed  to  be  yet  before  him,  gave,  nevertheless, 
twenty-eight  years  of  uninterrupted  service  to  the  Church. 

But  the  time  element  very  limitedly  represents  his  life.  His 
economy  and  use  of  time,  the  intensity  of  his  brain  and  nervous 
force,  the  rapidity  with  which  he  produced  and  recorded  his 
thoughts,  the  directness  of  all  his  spiritual  and  mental  processes, 
and  the  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  with  which  he  executed  his 
work,  should  all  enter  into  the  measurement  of  his  life. 

Every  life  has  its  lessons.  Some  are  lessons  of  warning  only ; 
others  of  instruction  and  inspiration.  We  may  study  the  life  of 
Dr.  Mendenhall  in  the  several  relations  he  sustained,  and  perhaps 
realize  its  teachings. 

The  Student. 

His  student  life  covered  about  forty  years.  Practically  his 
whole  life  was  given  to  books.  When  a  mere  child  he  grew  into 
well-developed  habits  of  mental  application.  The  early  absorp- 
tion and  mastery  of  his  attention  lie  back  of  the  successful  re- 
searches of  later  years.  His  faculties  never  could  have  been 
brought  into  such  complete  service  if  there  had  not  been  rigid 
discipline  in  the  formative  period  of  his  life. 

He  was  a  methodical  student.  He  planned  each  day's  work  and 
insisted  on  his  plan.  When  in  college  he  distributed  his  work, 
and  each  hour  was  made  to  serve  a  definite  purpose.  When  he 
entered  the  ministry  his  forenoons  were  made  sacred  to  study. 

When  he  came  into  the  presiding  eldership  he  became  still 
more  persistent  and  successful  in  study.  It  is  a  prevailing  im- 
pression that  the  duties  of  that  office  interfere  with  studious 
habits.  Dr.  Mendenhall  repeatedly  expressed  dissent  from  this 
view,  and  testified  that  he,  while  presiding  elder,  had  far  greater 
control  of  his  time  than  he  ever  had  when  pastor.  The  presid- 
ing elder  is  exempt  from  pastoral  duties,  largely  from  incidental 
ministerial  functions  and  social  demands;  he  has  better  oppor- 
tunities for  prolonged  attention  to  assigned  tasks. 

In  his  more  critical  reading  and  study  he  was  partial  to  the 
topical  method.  He  was  accustomed  to  seek  some  subject,  or 
rather  a  theme,  a  working  idea,  for  examination.  In  his  study 
of  any  particular  theme  he  at  once  inquired  for  its  central  idea, 
and  seizing  this  he  worked  from  within  outward. 

His  love  of  language  and  literature  seems  to  have  been  inborn, 
and  came  to  the  surface  like  the  lava  of  a  volcano.  To  form 
sentences  out  of  most  expressive  terms,  to  use  words  in  odd  but 
well-understood  constructions,  and  to  acquire  facility  in  handling 
them  was  an  early  inspiration. 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


535 


Dr.  Mendenhall  studied  our  English  literature,  ancient  and 
modern,  with  critical  insight,  and  realized  in  his  own  life  that 
fullness  and  variety  of  information,  chastened  taste,  and  compre- 
hensive grasp  which  the  intelligent  study  of  literature  affords. 
His  love  of  history  developed  an  absorbing  interest  in  the  phi- 
losophy of  history.  He  inquired  for  the  laws  that  underlie  and 
explain  events.  This  in  turn  stimulated  his  love  for  philosophy, 
to  whose  history,  systems,  and  influence  he  gave  several  years  of 
earnest  research.  Strange  to  say,  he  read  very  little  fiction. 
With  this  department  of  literature  he  was  the  least  acquainted, 
and  most  of  what  he  did  read  was  read  in  the  later  years  of  life. 
He  knew  that  fiction  warmed  the  imagination  and  quickened  the 
fancy,  and  he  was  conscious  that  these  faculties  of  his  mind 
were  the  least  developed ;  but  his  mind  ran  to  facts,  principles, 
laws  rather  than  mere  creations,  scenery,  and  narrative.  He  did 
not  censure  the  reading  of  standard  works  of  fiction,  but  to  him 
the  reading  of  fiction  was  an  uncertain  and  tedious  method  of 
arriving  at  the  truth. 

The  Preacher. 

Dr.  Mendenhall,  until  near  graduation,  contemplated  the  pro- 
fession of  law.  He  understood  this  to  be  the  choice  of  his  par- 
ents for  him,  and  his  inclinations  led  him  to  believe  that  he  had  an 
adaptation  to  this  profession,  and  that  that  adaptation  was  evidence 
of  a  call.  But  at  the  close  of  his  college  life  came  the  not  un- 
usual struggle  between  inclinations  and  convictions  of  duty.  At 
last,  restless  and  troubled  beyond  expression,  he  surrendered  all. 
"  Then,"  he  says,  "  Eden  was  on  fire  and  the  Star  of  Bethlehem 
arose,  the  law  failed,  and  the  Gospel  appeared.  Quick  as  a 
lightning's  flash  my  mind  felt  a  subduing  influence  and,  con- 
quered, I  fell  at  the  cross."  In  April,  1864,  in  Eaton,  O.,  he  was 
licensed  to  exhort,  and  in  June  following,  in  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Delaware,  O.,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  and  recommended  for 
admission  into  the  Cincinnati  Conference. 

Two  misgivings,  more  seeming  than  real,  confronted  his  initial 
ministry  and  for  a  time  greatly  embarrassed  him.  One  was  that 
his  tastes  and  talents  were  those  of  a  disputant  and  not  a 
preacher ;  the  other  that  he  could  not  write  anything  worthy  of 
the  pulpit. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  in  the  light  of  subsequent  tendencies  and 
abilities,  he  was  utterly  discouraged  when  he  attempted  to  com- 
mit his  thoughts  to  paper,  when  his  written  sentences  appeared 
to  his  eye.  As  a  result  of  this  latter  impression  he,  at  first,  in 
the  preparation  of  his  sermons  wrote  mere  headlines,  then  skele- 
tons, then,  when  somewhat  encouraged,  his  introductions.  At 
length  the  requirements  of  two  or  three  special  occasions  and  the 
demands  of  the  Conference  examiners  led  him  to  write  out  in 
full  a  few  sermons,  which,  being  well  received,  encouraged  him 
and  led  him  to  the  habit  of  preparing  and  preaching  manuscript 
sermons — a  habit  he  ever  after  continued. 


536 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


The  subject-matter  and  style  of  his  sermons  and  the  results  of 
his  preaching  justified  in  his  ministry  his  method.  His  sermons 
were  able,  oftentimes  elaborate  discussions  of  the  great  Bible 
truths,  and  were  expressed  in  English  that  had  a  culturing  power 
upon  his  audience.  He  addressed  himself  mostly  to  the  under- 
standing, rarely  to  the  emotions,  only  as  they  are  reached  through 
the  intellectual  apprehension  of  the  truth.  He  was  best  appreci- 
ated by  the  more  intelligent  of  his  hearers,  but  was  always  so 
earnest  in  spirit  and  forceful  in  manner  that  those  of  every  grade 
of  intelligence  were  instructed  and  impressed.  His  sermons  were 
doctrinal,  evangelical,  and  sometimes  warmly  revivalistic.  He 
always  commanded  close  attention,  and  sometimes  by  his  sug- 
gestive thought  or  its  unusual  putting,  he  would  startle  his  hear- 
ers and  even  challenge  their  investigation.  His  view-point  was  at 
times  unusual,  and  his  quick  mental  processes  would  now  and 
then  leap  to  a  conclusion  without  setting  forth  its  real  nature  or 
taking  time  to  make  clear  or  fully  explain  all  the  antecedent 
steps  by  which  he  reached  it. 

Three  times  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence, and  each  time  at  the  head  of  his  delegation.  As  a  member 
of  the  General  Conference  he  was  at  some  disadvantage.  He 
was  not  disposed  to  leadership  in  mapping  out  or  planning  the 
details  of  legislation.  He  was  scarcely  patient  with  the  many 
nonessential  though  inevitable  motions,  points  of  order,  personal 
explanations,  and  speech-making  characteristic  of  such  an  assem- 
bly, and  his  voice-power  was  unequal  to  the  demands  of  a  great 
deliberative  body.  But  no  member  was  more  attentive  and  alert 
to  the  proceedings,  more  quick  in  detecting  the  drift  of  senti- 
ment regarding  it,  or  more  clear  in  his  forecast  of  results. 

The  Writer,  Author,  and  Editor. 

The  pen  was  the  throne  of  his  power.  In  no  other  way  did  he 
so  fully  reveal  the  ripeness  of  his  scholarship,  the  breadth  of  his 
acquisitions,  and  the  versatility  and  fertility  of  his  mind.  Before 
his  ministry  began  he  became  enamored  with  the  thought  of 
writing  something  for  the  public  press.  Literary  men  had  been 
the  beau  ideal  of  his  boyhood  and  youth.  He  never  ventured  to 
write  for  any  paper,  however,  until  some  one  or  two  of  his  ad- 
dresses had  been  reported  and  had  appeared  in  print.  The  sight 
of  his  composition  in  type,  and  a  favorable  editorial  notice  of  it, 
he  tells  us,  thrilled  his  being  and  awakened  aspirations  both  for 
editorship  and  authorship.  Before  he  had  been  in  the  ministry 
five  years  he  was  conscious  of  editorial  tastes  and  ambitions,  but 
felt  it  was  unwise  to  recognize  or  indulge  in  them.  But  he  had 
friends  who  strengthened  the  feeling. 

In  1883  his  Echoes  from  Palestine  appeared,  an  instructive  and 
pleasing  volume,  combining  the  results  of  travel  and  extended 
Bible  study,  and  written  in  a  vivid  and  fascinating  style.  In 
1887  his  Plato  and  Paul  was  announced.  This  volume  proved  a 
surprise  to  the  Church  and  public.    Few  persons  knew  of  its 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


537 


preparation,  and  no  one  had  anticipated  its  extended  scope, 
erudite  contents,  keen  analysis,  and  critical  acumen.  It  at  once 
arrested  the  attention  and  challenged  the  study  of  the  most 
scholarly  students  and  thinkers  in  the  land,  and  soon  came  to  be 
recognized  as  a  thesaurus  of  learning,  criticism,  argument,  and 
crystallized  conclusions  in  the  most  important  field  of  human 
thought  and  research.  Successful  authorship  and  his  reputation 
as  a  thinker  and  writer  were  no  longer  to  be  questioned. 

His  style  had  many  virtues.  It  was  nervous,  vigorous,  trans- 
parent, and  enriched  by  frequent  use  of  special  in  preference  to 
general  terms.  It  must  be  conceded,  however,  that  there  was 
sometimes  a  tendency  to  profuseness  and  to  a  terminology 
more  striking  than  simple.  He  was  conscious  of  this  tendency, 
and  during  the  last  quadrennium  he  did  much  to  develop 
greater  conciseness,  terseness,  and  simplicity. 

About  ten  years  before  his  death  he  became  fully  persuaded 
that  the  best  possibilities  within  him  must  be  realized  through 
his  pen.  This  feeling  was  not  a  mere  taste  or  inclination,  but 
amounted  to  a  conviction.  When  the  General  Conference  of 
1888  convened  the  editorship  of  the  Methodist  Review  was 
vacant.  His  more  intimate  friends,  believing  the  place  would 
both  be  agreeable  to  his  feelings  and  adapted  to  his  acquisitions 
and  powers,  connected  his  name  with  the  vacancy.  His  frequent 
communications  to  the  Advocate  and  to  the  Review  had  made 
his  name  familiar  to  the  Church,  and  his  Plato  and  Paul  had  re- 
vealed his  thorough  acquaintance  with  philosophic  and  biblical 
lines  of  research.  That  some  should  have  regarded  his  election 
as  experimental  is  not  strange.  He  was  yet  a  young  man  ;  he 
had  no  editorial  experience.  The  pastoral  relation  had  not  nomi- 
nated his  predecessors  to  the  position.  His  slight  and  delicate 
form,  his  personal  presence,  and  his  face,  when  in  repose,  revealed 
little  of  his  resources  and  power;  did  not  suggest  him  as  a  suc- 
cessor of  such  commanding  personalities  and  writers  as  Drs. 
McClintock,  Whedon,  and  Curry.  Dr.  Mendenhall  was  conscious 
of  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of  the  office,  but  felt  that  there 
must  be  a  providence  in  his  call  to  a  work  in  the  completest  har- 
mony with  his  tastes,  lines  of  study,  and  convictions  of  possible 
service.  His  success  surpassed  the  expectations  of  his  most 
ardent  admirers.  The  Review  has  been  rearranged  in  its  con- 
tents ;  new  departments  have  been  introduced;  it  has  been  greatly 
popularized  without  any  sacrifice  of  its  scholarly  tone;  its  circu- 
lation has  been  greatly  increased,  quite  surpassing  that  of  any 
religious  Review  in  America;  and  it  is  unexcelled  in  vigor  of 
thought,  variety,  and  timeliness  of  matter,  energy  of  treatment, 
and  as  a  stimulus  to  healthful,  progressive  investigation. 

His  controversy  with  "higher  critics"  has  helped  to  give  in- 
dividuality and  prominence  to  his  short  editorial  career.  The 
wisdom  of  this  discussion  in  its  incipiency  was  challenged  even 
by  some  of  Dr.  MendenhalPs  personal  friends.  Its  development 
and  sequel,  however,  showed  that  he  understood  the  status  and 


538 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


drift  of  sentiment  better  than  they.  The  oracular  utterances 
from  some  institutions  of  learning,  his  extensive  reading,  his  con- 
tact with  great  numbers  of  ministers,  the  fascination  of  many  of 
the  younger  class  with  much  of  the  liberal  thought  and  teaching 
of  the  day,  brought  to  him  the  conviction  that  it  was  time  to  call 
a  halt  and  expose  the  rationalistic  tendencies  of  certain  centers 
and  persons  who,  under  the  refined  garb  of  Christian  learning, 
he  believed  to  be  doing  much  to  undermine  the  faith  of  the 
fathers,  and  especially  to  lessen  reverence  for  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures.  The  controversy  was  most  vigorous,  keen,  and  un- 
compromising. He  threw  himself  into  it  with  an  absorbing 
energy.  He  surprised  the  Church  by  his  penetration  of  intellect, 
strength  in  controversy,  and  inexhaustible  resources. 

One  marked  feature  of  his  work  was  his  official  visits  to  the 
Annual  Conferences.  He  always  came  with  a  mission  and  threw 
the  intensity  of  his  life  into  its  execution.  His  speeches  were 
phenomenal  for  their  thought  and  the  enthusiasm  created.  He 
thrilled  the  Conferences  by  his  learning,  zeal  for  the  truth,  and 
impassioned  eloquence. 

His  Christian  Profession,  Experience,  and  Character. 

Dr.  Mendenhall's  religious  instincts  were  very  manifest  in 
childhood,  and  developed  at  an  early  date  into  convictions.  He 
always  read  the  Bible  with  zest,  and  when  a  child  seemed  to  un- 
derstand its  hidden  meaning.  When  eleven  years  of  age  he  re- 
solved to  observe  daily  private  devotions. 

At  the  end  of  ten  years  of  Christian  experience  he  writes  : 

"  By  this  time  I  should  be  able  to  report  progress.  I  am  not  a 
giant  in  holiness,  like  the  apostle  Paul;  perhaps  I  am  not  a  dwarf, 
either.  I  know  I  have  made  forward  strides,  then  fallen  back; 
but,  like  the  tide,  making  the  shore  in  the  end.  I  love  God  and 
the  brethren.  I  have  a  deeper  sympathy  with  men  and  a  more 
abiding  charity.  I  not  only  love  men  better,  with  a  purer  love, 
but  my  love  for  Jesus  is  sincere.  I  love  his  very  name;  it  is 
sweetness  to  my  taste,  joy  to  my  ears." 

In  September,  1870,  shortly  after  writing  the  above  given  ex- 
perience, his  mind,  by  a  series  of  circumstances  and  events  affect- 
ing him  personally,  became  unusually  impressed  with  the  subject 
of  scriptural  holiness,  and  he  determined  to  study  it  with  all  the 
helps  at  his  command.  There  was  much  discussion  in  the  Church 
at  the  time  concerning  its  attainment  and  nature.  He  thought 
himself  out  of  harmony  with  standard  definitions  and  much  of  the 
teaching  relating  to  it.  Having  read  much  he  determined  to 
preach  formally  upon  the  subject.  Then  he  realized  afresh  his 
spiritual  needs.  He  found  himself  an  earnest  seeker  for  the  full- 
ness of  the  Spirit.  He  laid  aside  all  other  books,  and,  taking  his 
Bible,  read  such  portions  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  as 
especially  relate  to  the  sanctification  of  believers  ;  he  prayed 
earnestly  for  the  descent  of  the  Spirit.  Soon  the  power  and  the 
witness  came.    He  had  perfect  rest  in  God,  his  peace  flowed  like 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


539 


a  river,  his  joy  was  unspeakably  full.  He  then  read  aloud,  though 
alone,  the  103d  and  104th  Psalms  as  expressive  of  the  sense  of  sat- 
isfaction that  filled  his  whole  being. 

Dr.  Mendenhall  was  a  model  of  purity  in  mind,  thought,  and 
expression.  His  nature  was  frank  and  transparent  almost  to  a 
fault,  for  his  very  frankness  and  transparency  sometimes  sub- 
jected him  to  misinterpretation.  Integrity  with  him  was  a  prime 
virtue.  In  all  business  interests  he  was  scrupulously  accurate 
and  prompt.  In  every  crisis  of  experience  he  was  heroic  and 
rose  to  the  emergencies  of  the  hour. 

It  was  evident  to  his  personal  friends  for  two  years  past  that 
his  physical  condition  was  alarming.  But  his  condition  and  peril 
did  not  seem  to  be  understood  by  himself.  He  was  always  hope- 
ful, and  indisposed  to  believe  that  his  strength  was  permanently 
impaired.  His  active  mind  planned  largely  for  the  future. 
Great  fields  of  conquest  stretched  out  before  him  awaiting  his 
entrance.  His  intellectual  vigor  and  productive  energy  knew 
no  abatement.  Great  tasks  needed  to  be  performed,  and  he 
wished  to  share  in  their  accomplishment.  After  the  last  Gen- 
eral Conference  closed  he  went  to  Colorado  Springs  for  rest  and 
restoration;  but  results  were  contrary  to  his  expectations,  and  he 
at  last  said  to  his  wife  that  the  issue  might  be  doubtful,  and 
calmly  arranged  all  his  affairs.  In  his  last  letter  written  to  his 
parents  he  closes  with  these  words:  "I  would  like  to  live  a  while 
longer,  as  I  believe  Providence  has  more  work  for  me  to  do,  but 
in  this  I  may  be  mistaken.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  and  if  I 
am  called  away  now  I  am  prepared  to  go.  I  am  content,  I  have 
no  fear.  I  am  weary  and  must  close."  To  the  weary  life  rest 
came  sooner  than  anticipated.  The  servant  was  still  thinking  of 
service,  but  the  Master  gave  his  beloved  rest. 

2. — Jonas  Obamel  Peck,  D.D.    Journal,  page  234. 

Requested  a  few  days  ago  to  prepare  for  this  occasion  a  brief 
memoir  of  the  Rev.  Jonas  Oramel  Peck,  late  one  of  the  Corre- 
sponding Secretaries  for  missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  I  willingly  gave  consent,  glad  of  the  opportunity  not 
only  of  voicing  the  loss  sustained  by  the  Church  in  the  appar- 
ently untimely  departure  of  such  a  man,  but  also  of  bringing 
to  the  service  of  the  hour  the  grateful  tribute  of  a  loving  and 
loyal  heart.  The  man  of  whom  I  am  to  speak  was  my  father  in 
the  Gospel;  the  man  who  saved  me;  whose  formative  hand  was 
upon  my  life  in  the  years  of  my  young  manhood,  and  to  whom 
I  owed  a  debt  of  gratitude  greater  than  I  owed  or  can  ever 
owe  to  any  other  man  with  whom  it  has  been,  or  may  be,  my 
fortune  to  be  associated.  What  wonder  that  I  eagerly  accepted, 
even  coveted,  the  privilege  of  this  hour?  And  yet  when  the  task 
of  preparation  began  how  hard  it  was  to  write  out  the  words  I  so 
much  desired  to  utter  ! 

Upon  me  rested  with  freshened  power  the  thronging  memories 
of  the  day  when,  a  boy  of  eighteen,  I  first  met  the  handsome, 


540 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


stalwart,  eloquent  man  destined  to  influence  so  powerfully  a  life 
already  running  to  waste,  and  which  but  for  him  would  have 
run  on  in  channels  far  different  from  those  into  which — thanks  to 
him  and  the  God  whose  servant  he  was ! — it  fortunately  turned. 

How  vivid  the  remembrance  of  the  three  long  hours  of  the 
eventful  interview  to  which  he  invited  me,  intent  on  winning — 
through  the  arguments  for  the  faith  with  which  he  was  so  fa- 
miliar, the  persuasive  eloquence  of  wThich  he  was  so  consummate 
a  master,  the  "  fervent,  effectual  prayer  "  in  which  he  was  so 
often  triumphant — the  heart  of  a  young  man  for  the  Master  he 
loved  !  How  eager  he  was  !  How  eloquent  of  speech,  how  fer- 
vent in  entreaty,  how  mighty  in  his  exhortation  !  Save  for  the 
subdued  tone  in  which  he  spoke  he  was  as  he  would  have  been 
if  addressing  an  audience  of  a  thousand  men. 

What  wonder  that  he  triumphed;  that,  ere  the  interview  closed, 
the  citadel  of  that  young  heart  had  been  won  and  a  man  "brought 
from  darkness  to  light,  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God  ?  " 

From  that  hour  I  loved  him  as  a  loyal  son  loves  a  father.  He 
was  my  ideal,  my  hero,  my  example.  What  wonder  that  on  that 
May  morning,  when  the  message  came  announcing  his  departure, 
I  cried  with  Elisha  of  old,  uMy  father,  my  father,  the  chariot 
of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof  ?  " 

All  the  more  was  the  blow  felt  in  view  of  the  fact  that  but 
a  few  days  before  he  had  written  accepting  the  invitation  of 
the  faculty  of  Dickinson  College  to  be  present  the  first  Sabbath 
in  June  following  to  preach  the  annual  Commencement  Sermon 
before  the  students  of  that  institution,  and  later  to  receive  on 
the  authorization  of  the  trustees  of  the  college  the  high  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  as  a  fitting  recognition  of  his  eminent  services 
both  to  the  Church  and  to  the  State.  This,  however,  was  not 
to  be.  Suddenly  the  apparently  strong  man  halted  in  his  work, 
staggered,  fell,  never  to  rise  again,  dying  as  he  wished  to  die, 
like  a  soldier  on  the  field,  his  eye  yet  lighted  with  the  stern  joy 
of  conflict,  his  heart  still  yearning  for  future  conquests  in  the 
name  of  Him  to  whose  service  he  had  consecrated  his  life. 

What  more  fitting  for  this  General  Conference  amid  the  rush 
and  turmoil  of  parliamentary  procedure,  the  clash  of  human  am- 
bitions, the  play  of  personal  rivalries,  the  anxious  effort  for  per- 
sonal aggrandizement,  to  pause  for  a  moment,  to  view  as  ade- 
quately as  the  time  allotted  will  permit,  the  salient  features  of  a 
life  so  crowded  with  incident,  so  suggestive  of  possibilities  of 
royal  service,  so  honored  of  men,  and  so  crowned  with  the  bene- 
dictions of  heaven,  as  was  that  of  the  man  four  years  ago  hon- 
ored with  reelection  to  the  great  office  the  duties  of  which  he  had 
so  successfully  performed?  With  the  outtying  facts  of  that  as- 
tonishingly successful  career  the  members  of  this  body  in  general 
are  so  familiar  that  nothing  more  than  recapitulation  would  seem 
to  be  necessary  here. 

Following  largely  the  career  of  our  distinguished  friend  as 
given  by  the  Rev.  William  V.  Kelley,  D.D.,  the  accomplished 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


541 


editor  of  the  Methodist  Review,  in  his  elegant  and  scholarly  me- 
moir read  before  the  New  York  East  Conference  two  years  ago, 
of  which  body  Dr.  Peck  was  a  member  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease, we  learn  that  Jonas  Oramel  Peck,  son  of  Jonathan  Jones 
and  Myra  Jane  Peck,  was  born  September  4,  1836,  in  the  town  of 
Groton,  Vt.,  and  that  there  among  the  Vermont  hills  the  earlier 
years  of  his  life  were  passed,  sometimes  working  with  his  father 
on  the  farm  and  sometimes  assisting  him  at  his  trade  as  a  black- 
smith, of  which  trade  young  Peck  soon  became  a  master;  grow- 
ing big  and  strong,  until  it  was  said  of  him  that  he  could  manage 
the  wildest  colt  or  swing  the  heaviest  sledge  in  the  village.  Later 
on,  from  his  thirteenth  to  his  seventeenth  year,  he  drove  the 
country  stage  on  a  line  which  his  father  owned,  and  at  the  same 
time  became  somewhat  noted  as  a  judge  of  and  dealer  in  horses, 
developing  an  interest  in  that  noble  animal  never  waning  in  sub- 
sequent years. 

Up  to  this  period  his  opportunities  for  education  were  ex- 
tremely limited,  a  short  term  in  the  Peacham  Academy  being 
the  extent  of  his  academical  training. 

Nothing  of  special  importance,  at  least  no  epoch-making  expe- 
rience, happened  to  the  overgrown,  clumsy,  good-natured  Green 
Mountain  boy  until  his  twenty-first  year,  when  all  alone  in  a 
thunderstorm  on  a  mountain  he  was  suddenly  convicted  of  sin 
and  converted  to  the  service  of  God.  To  him  in  that  hour 
there  came,  as  to  Saul  of  Tarsus,  a  heavenly  vision — the  vision 
of  a  life  given  over  to  God  and  to  the  service  of  Him  to  whom 
under  circumstances  of  overwhelming  grandeur  he  had  conse- 
crated the  loyalty  and  devotion  of  his  divinely  renewed  heart. 

To  that  vision  he  was  never  afterward  disobedient,  always 
expecting  a  divine  Providence  to  enlarge  his  life  and  to  make 
such  alterations  in  his  outward  circumstances  as  would  corre- 
spond with  the  inward  change. 

The  new  man  craved  and  looked  for  a  new  sphere.  The  chance 
to  break  out  of  the  old  life  soon  came  in  the  shape  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  teach  a  district  school  in  a  neighboring  town,  which 
opportunity  proved  to  be  the  door  of  entrance  upon  the  great 
career  awaiting  him. 

As  yet  no  call  to  give  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  Gospel  had 
been  experienced.  If  in  his  secret  heart  there  had  been  aspira- 
tions to  enter  upon  the  career  of  a  preacher,  the  aspirations  had 
not  been  expressed  to  others. 

Conviction  that  such  was  to  be  his  lifework  came,  however, 
when,  one  evening,  after  singing  school,  a  Congregational  deacon 
with  whom  while  teaching  he  boarded,  a  holy  man  of  God, 
abruptly  said  to  the  young  schoolmaster,  "  Mr.  Peck,  you  must 
preach  the  Gospel  to  dying  men."  With  his  accustomed  decision 
the  young  schoolmaster  speedily  decided  that  the  words  of  the 
deacon  were  an  authentic  commission  from  the  Captain  of  his 
salvation,  the  Pastor  and  Bishop  of  souls,  for  him  to  enter  upon 
the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry. 


542 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


J.  O.  Peck  must  preach;  that  was  settled,  and  to  that  end  he 
must  have  an  education;  but  he  had  no  money.  Nevertheless, 
with  scarcely  a  dollar  in  his  pocket,  he  entered  Newburg  Semi- 
nary in  the  fall* of  1857  to  prepare  for  college.  Money  he  earned 
by  teaching  school  during  the  winters  and  by  working  in  the 
harvest  fields  in  summer  vacations.  During  a  large  part  of  his 
seminary  life,  as  we  have  frequently  heard  him  declare,  his  food 
for  breakfast  and  dinner  was  mush  and  molasses,  prepared  by 
himself,  with  crackers  and  butter  for  supper.  It  was  a  hard  life, 
full  of  hardship  and  self-denial,  but  amid  all  the  indomitable 
spirit  of  the  young  student  prevailed,  and  in  the  fall  of  1859  he 
was  able  to  enter  as  a  sophomore  in  Amherst  College,  from  which 
institution  he  was  graduated,  holding  fair  rank,  three  years  later, 
having  worked  and  preached  and  starved  his  way  through  the 
college  course. 

In  April,  1860,  while  still  in  his  first  year  at  Amherst  College, 
he  was  admitted  on  probation  in  the  New  England  Conference 
and  appointed  pastor  of  a  struggling  little  society  near  by,  at 
North  Amherst.  The  next  spring  his  appointment  was  changed 
to  Chicopee  Falls,  seventeen  miles  from  Amherst,  which  dis- 
tance he  was  obliged  to  drive  each  week.  In  1862,  three  months 
prior  to  graduation,  he  was  assigned  to  Mount  Billingham 
Church  in  Chelsea.  Immediately  after  graduation  he  married 
Miss  Susan  R.  Robinson,  of  Amherst,  to  whom  he  had  become 
attached  while  in  charge  of  North  Amherst  Church,  who  was  to 
be  his  wife  and  the  mother  of  his  children  and  the  sharer  of  his 
labors  for  twenty-seven  years. 

After  two  years  in  Chelsea  he  was  appointed  to  Worthen 
Street,  Lowell,  where  three  hundred  were  converted.  From  1867 
to  1870  Worcester  was  his  field,  the  present  Grace  Church  being 
a  result  of  his  labor.  In  1870  he  went  to  Trinity,  Springfield, 
where  his  pastorate  was  marked  by  an  extensive  revival  and  the 
removal  of  a  debt  of  thirty-two  thousand  dollars.  In  1873  he 
was  transferred  to  Centenary  Church,  Chicago,  to  succeed  Dr. 
Charles  H.  Fowler.  Here  in  his  first  year  about  six  hundred 
were  added  to  the  Church.  In  1874  the  degree  of  D.D.  was  con- 
ferred by  Lawrence  University,  Wisconsin.  In  1876  Dr.  Peck 
was  transferred  to  Mount  Vernon  Place,  Baltimore,  to  follow 
Dr.  Thomas  Guard,  where  he  repeated  his  Chicago  record  of 
sweeping  revivals  and  great  additions  to  the  membership.  In 
October,  1878,  Dr.  J.  A.  M.  Chapman  having  resigned,  because  of 
broken  health,  the  pastorate  of  St.  John's  Church,  Brooklyn,  Dr. 
Peck  was  transferred  to  the  vacant  pulpit.  Within  five  months 
there  was  a  great  revival  with  a  large  ingathering. 

In  1881  he  became  pastor  of  Hanson  Place,  having  been  pre- 
viously invited  there  in  1876,  and  again  in  1878.  More  than 
nine  hundred  members  were  added  to  the  Hanson  Place  Church 
•  luring  his  pastorate.  In  his  first  year  there  came  the  first  serious 
break  in  his  health,  compelling  months  of  rest  and  treatment  at 
Clifton  Springs,  and  the  next  year  a  European  tour.    At  the 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


543 


close  of  his  term  he  was  sent  to  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven, 
where  he  continued  his  invariable  record  of  tremendous  revivals 
and  multitudinous  ingatherings.  From  New  Haven  he  came  in 
1887  to  Simpson  Church,  Brooklyn.  Here  sudden  death  and 
sorrow  smote  his  home.  In  January  of  his  first  winter,  when  he 
Avas  entering  his  mighty  way  upon  revival  services,  his  wife  fell 
dead  of  heart  disease  in  the  parsonage;  and  almost  immediately 
he  himself  sank  into  a  long  illness  so  severe  in  character  and 
prostrating  in  effect  as  to  make  relief  from  the  burdens  of  the 
pastorate  a  necessity.  He  accordingly  retired  from  Simpson 
Church  at  the  end  of  one  year,  and  at  the  Conference  was  ap- 
pointed Financial  Secretary  of  the  Brooklyn  Church  Society. 
Upon  the  duties  of  that  position,  however,  he  can  hardly  be  said 
to  have  entered,  for  on  May  28  of  that  year  the  General  Confer- 
ence, held  in  New  York  city,  elected  him  by  two  hundred  and 
twenty-three  votes  one  of  the  Corresponding  Secretaries  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  which  office  he  filled  with  eminent  fidelity, 
efficiency,  and  increasing  popularity  until  his  death,  having  been 
reelected  by  381  votes  at  the  General  Conference  in  Omaha  in 
1892. 

His  lifework,  as  we  have  thus  briefly  mapped  it,  lies  divided 
into  eleven  pastorates,  filling  twenty-eight  years,  from  1860  to 
1888;  in  four  Conferences,  the  New  England,  the  Rock  River, 
the  Baltimore,  and  the  New  York  East;  closing  with  six  years  as 
Missionary  Secretary.  In  January,  1890,  Dr.  Peck  was  married 
to  Mrs.  Alice  M.  Ofterdinger,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  with  whom 
he  lived  for  four  years,  and  who,  with  his  two  sons,  George  C. 
and  Carl  R.,  survives  him.  Twice  he  was  a  General  Conference 
delegate  from  this  Conference.  For  twelve  years  he  was  chap- 
lain of  the  Fourteenth  Regiment,  of  Brooklyn.  He  died  at  the 
Hotel  St.  George,  Brooklyn,  on  May  17,  1894. 

This  running  record  of  dates,  places,  and  events  gives  the 
mere  outline  of  a  powerful  and  productive,  an  unusual  and  sur- 
prising, ministry.  To  fill  in  this  outline  with  full  details  would 
require  a  volume.  Here  and  now  nothing  more  can  be  attempted 
than  to  note  a  few  of  the  salient  and  significant  characteristics  of 
our  brother's  personality  and  career.  Chief  among  these  must  be 
placed  his  remarkable  power  as  an  evangelist.  All  things  con- 
sidered, in  our  judgment  no  man  in  American  Methodism,  or  in 
any  outside  body  of  Christians,  in  half  a  century  has  had  a 
record  as  an  evangelist,  as  a  saver  of  human  lives,  as  a  pastor, 
superior  to  that  of  Dr.  Peck.  Of  the  thoroughness  with  which 
he  did  hia  work  no  man  could  speak  with  greater  confidence 
or  with  larger  appreciation  than  he  who  addresses  you.  Twice 
was  it  our  fortune  to  be  his  successor  in  large  and  important 
fields;  once  in  the  famous  Hanson  Place  Church  in  Brooklyn ; 
once  in  Trinity,  New  Haven. 

In  the  Hanson  Place  Church,  during  his  ministry  of  three 
years,  there  were  added  to  the  roll  of  the  church  the  names  of 
nine  hundred  and  twenty-five  men,  women,  and  children,  at  least 


544 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


six  hundred  of  whom  had  been  converted  at  its  altars;  in  the 
other,  Trinity,  New  Haven,  hundreds  more  had  been  added.  Of 
the  hundreds  thus  received  into  the  membership  of  the  Church 
through  the  herculean  efforts  of  this  indomitable  worker  an  im- 
mense proportion  were  found  by  his  successor  to  be  yet  abiding 
in  the  faith,  attesting,  in  speech  and  in  life,  the  thoroughness  of 
the  work  of  grace  wrought  in  their  hearts,  while  of  the  hundreds 
left  as  probationers  nearly  all  were  gathered  in  amid  the  rejoic- 
ings of  the  revived  and  strengthened  churches. 

The  ambition  of  Dr.  Peck  was,  primarily,  the  conversion  of 
men;  second,  their  upbuilding  in  righteous  living,  in  Christian 
character,  in  genuine  godliness.  Never  was  he  satisfied  until 
assured,  through  indubitable  proof,  that  the  multitude  seeking 
the  new  life  in  Christ  were  thoroughly  convinced  that  he  whom 
they  sought  had,  in  blessed  reality,  become  to  them  both  the  wis- 
dom of  God  and  the  power  of  God  unto  their  salvation. 

The  start  rightly  made,  who  so  zealous  as  he  for  the  moral  and 
spiritual  upbuilding  of  those,  his  children,  for  whose  regeneration 
he  had  so  ceaselessly  toiled  and  prayed  ?  I  say  these  things  the 
more  earnestly  because,  at  times,  I  have  heard  criticisms,  as  cruel 
as  unworthy,  upon  the  spirit  and  the  methods  of  the  great  toiler 
now  passed  to  his  glorious  reward.  If  anywhere  losses  occurred 
in  the  ministries  following  those  of  our  beloved  brother,  rest 
assured  that  the  blame  belonged  not  to  him.  What  he  left  be- 
hind was  solid,  substantial,  enduring;  not  the  "  hay,  wood,  and 
stubble  "  so  often  found  in  connection  with  great  and  sweeping 
revivals  of  religion  like  unto  those  associated  with  the  ministry 
of  Dr.  Peck.  The  fruits  of  a  ministry  like  his,  however,  can 
never  be  formulated  in  statistics.  There  is  a  larger  fruitage  that 
defies  calculation,  the  fruitage  ever  attendant  upon  the  lives  of 
men  too  large  and  opulent  in  their  make-up  to  be  hemmed  in  or 
limited  by  narrow  barriers  of  creed  or  sect. 

Dr.  Peck  was  a  Methodist,  an  able  minister  of  the  great  body 
bearing  that  name,  but  above  all,  he  was  a  man  and  a  brother; 
the  friend  of  everyone  coming  within  the  charmed  circle  of  his 
influence.  Men  of  the  world,  no  less  than  men  of  the  Church, 
knew  him  and  loved  him;  loved  him  all  the  more  because  every- 
where among  them  he  appeared  the  simple,  unpretentious,  kind- 
hearted  Christian  gentleman,  needing  not  the  habit  or  garb  of 
the  cleric  to  assure  them  of  his  position  as  an  ambassador  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

Of  his  power  over  men  of  the  world,  no  less  than  over  those 
professing  the  Christian  faith,  no  better  evidence  could  be  ad- 
duced than  the  testimony  of  the  officers  of  the  great  regiment — 
the  Fourteenth  of  Brooklyn — "  the  Fighting  Fourteenth,"  as  it 
was  popularly  called — to  which  he  was  so  proud  to  belong,  and 
in  which  for  twelve  years  he  rendered  faithful  service  as  its  be- 
loved chaplain. 

Present,  as  we  remember,  on  the  occasion  of  his  funeral  service, 
was  the  old  colonel — the  veteran  of  many  a  hard-fought  field,  a 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


545 


soldier  whom  Brooklyn  delighted  to  honor;  there,  also,  by  his 
side,  were  the  colonel  commanding,  together  with  the  officers  of 
the  staff  and  line,  comrades  of  many  a  year,  men  who  knew  him 
well,  who  had  seen  him  amid  surroundings  unusual  to  men  of  his 
vocation  and  work,  all  of  whom  were  known  to  the  speaker,  and 
each  and  every  one  of  whom,  could  they  have  spoken,  would 
have  borne  testimony,  gracious  and  fitting,  to  the  gentleness, 
purity,  piety,  and  unsullied  manhood  of  the  chaplain  of  their 
choice.    So  was  it  everywhere. 

Surely  of  him,  if  of  any  man,  might  it  in  truth  be  said: 

"  His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements 

So  mixed  in  him  that  Nature  might  stand  up 

And  say  to  all  the  world,  '  This  was  a  man  ! '  " 

Of  his  work  as  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  to  which  position  he 
was  first  chosen  in  1888,  it  may  be  said  that  he  brought  to  this 
important  position,  the  attainment  of  which  had  been,  confessedly, 
one  of  the  ambitions  of  his  life,  not  only  a  clear  head,  a  good 
memory,  a  sound  business  judgment,  and  a  considerable  knowledge 
of  law,  but  also  trained  powers  as  an  orator,  both  of  the  pulpit 
and  the  platform,  of  the  highest  order. 

The  old  passion  for  souls,  which  had  been,  so  conspicuous  a 
feature  of  his  life  in  the  pastorate,  flamed  but  the  more  intensely 
when,  as  Missionary  Secretary,  he  came  to  feel  that  his  parish, 
like  that  of  Wesley,  embraced  the  whole  world.  Everywhere, 
from  Maine  to  California,  and  from  the  Canadas  to  the  Gulf,  his 
eloquent  voice  was  heard  in  dominating  and  successful  appeal  for 
larger  support  for,  and  greater  consecration  to,  the  work  of  win- 
ning for  the  Master  the  kingdoms  yet  lying  in  the  power  of  the 
wicked  one. 

Men  heard  with  amazement  his  tremendous  appeals;  wondering 
the  while  over  his  ability  to  stand  up  under  the  strain  of  the  ex- 
hausting style  of  oratory  to  which  he  was  addicted,  the  evident 
wear  and  tear  of  which  often  taxed  the  sympathy  of  his  auditors 
with  concern  lest  he  should  break  down  under  the  terrific  efforts 
he  was  continually  putting  forth. 

No  amount  of  warning,  however,  could  overcome  the  habit  of 
overexertion,  or  could  induce  him  to  speak  with  becoming  mod- 
eration. He  was,  as  one  has  said,  "  an  oratoric  cyclone."  At  his 
hands  the  kingdom  of  heaven  suffered  violence,  and  the  violent 
took  it  by  force;  and  it  is  probable  that  but  for  his  habit  of  read- 
ing his  sermons,  from  which  he  never  departed,  he  would  have 
worn  himself  out  years  earlier  than  was  the  case. 

There  are  other  points  in  our  friend's  career,  other  phases  of 
his  character,  upon  which  we  would  gladly  dwell,  but  the  time  has 
elapsed  and  it  is  not  necessary.    His  work  is  done,  and  well  done. 

The  columns  of  the  religious  press  of  the  country  teeming,  upon 
hie  decease, with  editorial  expressions  of  the  esteem  inwhich  he  was 
everywhere  held,  the  official  testimonials  coming  from  the  great 
Church  he  had  so  faithfully  served,  from  the  Preachers' Meetings 


546 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


in  Chicago,  Baltimore,  Boston,  and  New  York,  with  which  he  had 
been  associated,  and  from  the  great  missionary  organizations  of 
the  Church,  in  whose  welfare  he  had  been  so  deeply  interested,  all 
attest  the  sense  of  irreparable  loss  felt  over  the  departure  of  a 
man  who  in  his  character  as  pastor,  preacher,  revivalist,  secretary, 
citizen,  and  man  touched  many  things,  and  touched  nothing  that 
he  did  not  adorn.  Two  years  ago  the  present  month  he  passed 
to  his  great  reward.  On  the  slopes  of  beautiful  Greenwood,  over- 
looking the  city  wherein  his  mightiest  labors  were  accomplished, 
and  within  whose  precincts  many  of  the  years  of  his  life  were 
passed,  his  ashes  repose,  awaiting  the  dawn  of  the  resurrection 
hour.  Sadly  we  laid  him  in  his  resting  place,  feeling  as  we  turned 
from  the  sacred  shrine  that  few  of  grander  soul,  of  warmer,  truer 
heart,  were  left  among  living  men. 

3. — Sandford  Hunt,  D.D.    Journal,  page  244. 

At  the  memorial  services  of  the  General  Conference  of  1892 
the  memoir  of  John  M.  Phillips,  late  Book  Agent  at  New  York, 
was  read  by  his  associate  in  office,  Dr.  Sandford  Hunt.  Since 
that  date  the  hands  have  turned  but  four  times  upon  the  dial  of 
the  years;  yet  he  who  spoke  those  words  of  graceful  and  tender 
eulogy  is  himself  enrolled  by  Methodism  in  the  list  of  her  im- 
mortals. 

Like  many  others  who  have  come  to  influence  in  Church  and 
State,  Sandford  Hunt  was  a  farmer's  boy.  Born  in  a  Christian 
home  in  the  town  of  Water  Valley,  near  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  April  1, 
1825,  his  early  heritage  was  the  rugged  yet  healthful  discipline 
of  our  American  yeomanry  who  till  the  soil.  In  his  youth,  while 
following  the  oxen,  he  heard,  like  Elisha,  the  call  to  wider  serv- 
ice. At  eighteen  he  entered  Allegheny  College,  and  without 
financial  assistance,  except  to  the  modest  amount  of  $40  from 
his  father,  he  worked  his  way  through  his  student  course.  In 
1847  he  graduated,  taking  the  honors  in  Latin  in  his  class  of  ten. 
His  thought  had  already  turned  toward  the  Christian  ministry, 
his  mother's  earlier  home  in  New  Jersey  having  been  one  of  the 
preaching  places  of  Bishop  Asbury,  and  he  himself,  at  the  age 
of  fifteen,  having  entered  upon  a  personal  experience  in  the 
things  of  God. 

In  August,  1847,  he  united  with  the  Genesee  Conference,  and 
began  that  busy  career  whose  end  was  a  sudden  translation  in 
February  last.  From  the  first  he  seemed  in  training  for  that 
future  supervision  of  the  vast  material  interests  of  the  Church 
which  should  be  committed  to  his  trust.  In  his  second  charge 
at  Ellicottville,  on  the  Rushville  District,  he  went  with  various 
helpers  into  the  woods  and,  as  the  master  sjririt  of  the  enterprise, 
aided  in  cutting  and  scoring  the  timbers  for  a  new  church  build- 
ing. In  his  fifth  appointment  at  Rushford,  on  the  Wyoming 
District,  he  saw  the  need  of  a  new  edifice;  in  three  months  after 
his  arrival  at  the  appointment  he  was  driving  through  the  snow- 
drifts to  take  subscriptions,  and  in  a  little  over  a  year  had  built 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


547 


and  dedicated  a  fine  building,  free  of  debt.  He  was  at  this  time, 
says  another,  "  the  picture  of  health  and  vigor;  every  power  of 
mind  and  body  responded  readily  to  any  duty  at  hand.  His 
cheek  had  the  blush  of  the  rose;  his  fine  presence  commanded  at- 
tention at  once."  And  here,  confronting  the  spiritualism  and  in- 
fidelity which  were  then  rife,  he  fought  valiantly  with  youthful 
zeal  for  the  faith.  "In  bringing  out  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity," says  the  same  writer,  "he  fairly  reveled  in  her  doc- 
trines, the  facts  of  her  history,  her  missionary,  educational,  and 
social  beneficence;  and  with  masterly  oratory  did  he  sweep  the 
field  till  it  seemed  there  was  nothing  left  of  opposition.  Green 
will  ever  be  his  memory  in  that  village." 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  trace  in  detail  the  pastoral  work  of 
Dr.  Hunt,  as  it  increased  in  importance  and  conspicuousness 
within  the  limits  of  the  Genesee  Conference.  In  1857,  only  ten 
years  after  he  entered  the  itinerant  ranks,  he  became  pastor  of 
Grace  Church  in  Buffalo,  at  that  time  perhaps  the  leading  ap- 
pointment in  the  Conference.  In  1S64,  seventeen  years  after  his 
union  with  his  Conference,  he  was  appointed  Presiding  Elder  of 
the  Niagara  District;  and  thereafter,  with  the  exception  of  six 
years  in  the  pastorate,  during  which  time  he  built  the  beautiful 
Delaware  Avenue  Church  in  Buffalo,  he  served  in  the  presiding 
eldership  on  the  Niagara  and  Buffalo  Districts,  until  in  1879  he 
was  transferred  to  his  final  work  in  the  Book  Concern  in  New 
York.  What  has  been  said  of  his  earlier  pastorates  may  be  said 
in  even  a  larger  measure  of  all.  He  ever  had  a  watchful  eye 
for  the  various  interests  of  his  charges.  The  financial  needs  of 
his  churches  were  his  constant  care;  in  the  pulpit  he  spoke  of 
the  word  of  life  with  a  persuasiveness  and  power  that  will 
never  be  forgotten;  in  pastoral  oversight  he  faithfully  cared  as  a 
good  shepherd  for  his  flock;  in  revival  work  he  was  a  flame  of 
tire.  It  was  natural  that  such  a  worker  should  pass  up  into  the 
presiding  eldership.  The  interests  of  the  preachers  on  his  sev- 
eral districts  lay  very  close  to  his  warm  heart;  and  next  to  his 
thought  for  them  was  his  solicitude  for  the  churches  under  his 
care.  So  skilled  was  he  in  generalship  that  in  Buffalo  to  the 
present  day  the  older  people  remember  how,  in  association  with 
that  eminent  layman,  Francis  H.  Root,  now  gone  to  his  reward, 
he  succeeded  in  liberating  all  the  Methodist  churches  in  the  city 
from  debt. 

With  such  an  aptitude  for  management  his  assignment  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Book  Committee  by  the  General  Conference  of 
1876  was  natural.  When,  three  years  later,  Dr.  Reuben  Nelson 
was  suddenly  called  from  his  work  as  Agent  of  the  Book  Con- 
eern  to  his  reward  in  heaven,  it  was  not  strange  that  the  Book 
Committee,  in  electing  his  successor,  elevated  Sandford  Hunt  to 
the  responsible  position.  Dr.  Hunt's  skill  in  this  last  work  to 
which  the  Church  assigned  him  calls  for  larger  mention  than  it 
is  possible  in  the  brief  time  allotted  me  to-day.  Early  in  his 
service  as  Agent  he  saw,  with  the  vision  of  the  skilled  financier, 


i 


548 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


the  feasibility  of  paying  off  the  indebtedness  of  the  building  at 
805  Broadway,  and  in  union  with  Mr.  Phillips,  his  associate,  soon 
succeeded  in  canceling  the  last  bond  held  against  the  property. 
In  the  erection  of  the  new  building  at  150  Fifth  Avenue  he  was 
a  moving  spirit.  We  would  not  detract  from  the  praise  due 
others  who  were  closely  related  to  this  new  movement.  Yet  it  is 
no  injustice  to  the  living  to  say,  in  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the 
dead,  that  Sandford  Hunt  was  among  the  foremost  of  those  who 
inspired  the  erection  of  that  building.  Now  that  he  is  gone  we 
may  for  the  first  time  fully  speak  of  the  additional  burden  he 
assumed  during  the  erection  of  the  New  York  edifice.  Chang- 
ing his  domestic  arrangements  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  case, 
and  leaving  his  home  in  Brooklyn  before  eight  in  the  morning, 
he  daily  visited  the  new  building  before  commencing  his  usual 
work  in  the  office.  We  might  almost  say  that  he  watched  the 
placing  of  every  stone  and  brick  in  the  noble  pile,  and  was  the 
means  of  saving  large  sums  to  the  Church  by  his  supervision. 

Of  the  many  qualities  which  made  for  his  success  in  the  pub- 
lishing agency  I  may  only  speak  in  the  briefest  review.  From 
the  day  I  came  into  the  office  as  his  associate  in  the  management 
of  the  Book  Concern  to  the  day  of  his  translation  to  the  higher 
and  nobler  activities  of  the  heavenly  world  our  relations  were  of 
the  most  intimate  and  confidential  character,  and  I  found  him  a 
wise  counselor  and  a  true  friend.  He  was  ever  the  dignified, 
affable,  courteous  gentleman.  His  endowmient  of  practical  com- 
mon sense  was  unusual.  His  mastery  of  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness under  his  supervision  was  an  unfailing  surprise;  he  knew 
things  not  only  on  the  surface,  but  to  the  core.  His  industry 
was  so  great  that  he  denied  himself  those  intermissions  from 
work  which  he  ought  to  have  taken  and  which  might  have  pro- 
longed his  days.  In  the  expenditure  of  Church  funds  he  was 
conservative  and  frugal.  He  was  a  man  of  genial  qualities.  No 
mock  dignity  hedged  him  about.  He  wore  no  trappings  of  state. 
In  temperament  he  was  hopeful.  Smitten  with  disease  at  the 
last,  he  was  yet  planning  to  live  and  not  to  die.  If,  in  the  little 
workday  which  yet  seemed  possible  to  those  who  loved  him,  he 
coveted  any  renewal  of  honors  from  the  Church,  it  was  only  that 
he  might  serve  the  longer  that  Church  to  which  he  had  conse- 
crated his  manhood's  powers. 

Dr.  Hunt's  relation  to  the  Missionary  Society  as  its  treasurer 
was  scarcely  less  important  than  his  service  as  publishing  agent. 
To  his  wide  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  work  of  the  Society 
in  many  lines  Dr.  C.  C.  McCabe  made  the  following  tribute  at 
his  funeral  services: 

"It  was  a  constant  marvel  to  me  that  Treasurer  Hunt  could 
carry  so  many  cases  in  his  mind.  He  seemed  to  study  every  one 
of  them  with  the  utmost  care.  I  would  sit  down  beside  him  and 
begin  to  tell  him  about  some  bequest,  when  he  would  interrupt 
me  by  saying,  'O  yes,  I  know  all  about  it.'  He  had  studied  the 
laws  of  many  States;  he  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  legal 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


549 


forms;  he  seemed  to  know  everything,  to  remember  everything, 
and  to  be  interested  in  everything." 

I  also  state  a  well-known  fact  in  reference  to  the  anxiety  which 
the  debt  of  the  Missionary  Society  caused  Dr.  Hunt.  All  his  life 
long  he  had  such  an  abhorrence  of  debt  that  in  his  personal  and 
private  relations  he  owed  no  man  anything,  not  even  his  grocer, 
for  the  living  expenses  of  a  few  days,  unless  the  circumstances 
were  exceptional.  This  same  protest  against  indebtedness  he 
carried  into  his  official  life.  Those  who  were  present  at  the 
meeting  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee  of  1894  in  Hanson 
Place  Church,  Brooklyn,  will  remember  his  plea  for  reduced  ap- 
propriations that  the  indebtedness  of  the  Society  might  be  less- 
ened. At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Missionary  Committee  in 
Denver  this  protest  was  renewed.  Bravely  conscientious  in  his 
guardianship  of  the  great  financial  interests  committed  to  his 
trust,  he  registered  a  final  call  for  retrenchment  whose  clarion 
tones  yet  ring  in  the  ears  of  the  wide  Church. 

During  the  last  three  years  of  great  financial  stringency 
throughout  the  country  he  saw,  by  reason  of  the  growth  of  the 
work,  particularly  in  foreign  fields,  a  debt  accumulating  upon  the 
Society  which  gave  him  great  concern.  How  to  reduce  the  debt 
of  nearly  $240,000  without  curtailing  the  work  was  to  him  a 
source  of  great  anxiety  and  a  subject  of  diligent  study. 

A  few  weeks  before  his  death  he  conceived  the  plan  of  sending 
out  an  appeal  to  the  men  and  women  of  the  Church  who  were 
able  to  come  to  the  relief  of  the  Missionary  Society  and  ask 
them  to  send  him  $100  each  toward  the  payment  of  the  debt. 
He  hoped  to  find  at  least  one  thousand  persons  in  the  broad  field 
of  Methodism  who  would  respond  to  his  appeal,  and  thus  put  in 
the  treasury  $100,000  to  apply  at  once  upon  the  debt,  and  so  re- 
lieve the  pressure  upon  the  treasury.  For  two  weeks  before  he 
left  for  his  visit  to  a  few  of  the  Southern  Conferences,  never  to 
return  alive,  he  was  in  his  office  from  half  past  eight  in  the  morn- 
ing until  five  at  night,  constantly  busy  in  sending  out  his  appeal 
in  behalf  of  the  Missionary  Society.  I  frequently  warned  him 
against  overwork  and  the  danger  of  breaking  down  under  the 
strain,  but  he  invariably  replied:  "It  is  the  Lord's  work,  and  it 
must  be  done.  My  anxiety  for  the  Missionary  Society  is  so 
great  that  I  cannot  rest  until  relief  to  the  treasury  is  in  sight." 

We  come  naturally  to  comment  upon  the  unusual  judicial 
qualities  with  which  Dr.  Hunt  was  endowed.  His  admirable 
financial  genius  was  only  one  of  many  faculties  in  the  happy 
balance  of  his  power.  He  had  a  judicial  cast  of  mind.  He  was 
known  as  the  lawyer  of  his  Conference.  This  taste  for  legal 
study  led  him  to  issue  at  different  times  two  books  which  have 
had  a  generous  circulation,  particularly  in  the  Methodism  of  New 
York  State  :  Handbook  for  Trustees  of  Religions  Corporations 
in  the  State  of  New  York  and  Laws  Relating  to  Religious  Cor- 
porations. 

Prolonged  as  is  this  sketch,  it  would  lack  symmetry  did  we 


550 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


not  group,  in  a  few  words,  various  other  qualities  that  were  con- 
spicuous in  Dr.  Hunt.  He  was  a  patriot.  He  loved  his  country 
with  ardent  devotion.  For  two  years  during  the  war  he  was 
Secretary  of  the  United  States  Christian  Commission  for  West- 
ern New  York,  and  twice  he  visited  the  army  to  minister  to  our 
soldiers  in  their  need.  To  his  last  day  he  was  accustomed  to 
visit  the  yearly  memorial  exercises  at  the  tomb  of  General  Grant 
in  New  York  city,  and  took  deep  interest  in  them. 

He  loved  his  Conference,  and  always  continued  a  member  of 
the  body  which  he  originally  joined.  In  it,  by  right  royal  work 
and  by  sterling  qualities,  Dr.  Hunt  pressed  his  way  to  the  front. 
In  1868  he  was  first  sent  by  his  brethren  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence. In  1872  he  was  a  reserve  delegate,  and  from  that  time  he 
sat  in  every  succeeding  General  Conference  until  the  present. 
Twice  during  that  period  he  was  returned  at  the  head  of  his 
delegation,  and  last  fall  the  Genesee  Conference  again  honored 
itself  by  electing  him  as  its  first  representative,  although  he  had 
consented  to  stand  up  and  be  counted  with  a  scant  eighteen  on 
the  unpopular  side  of  a  great  constitutional  question.  To  the 
last  he  cherished  unchanging  love  for  his  home  Conference,  and 
rejoiced  to  pay  it  such  service  as  he  might,  so  that  in  the  midst 
of  the  pressing  cares  of  his  last  years  he  found  time  to  enrich  its 
archives  by  the  publication  of  Methodism  in  Buffalo  from  its 
Origin  to  the  Close  q/1892. 

He  loved  the  educational  interests  of  the  Church.  In  1871  his 
alma  mater  honored  itself,  as  well  as  him,  in  conferring  upon  him 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  Before  the  removal 
of  the  Genesee  College  to  Syracuse  he  was  one  of  its  trustees, 
and  from  that  time  he  was  continuously  a  trustee  of  the  Genesee 
Wesleyan  Seminary,  seldom  failing  to  be  present  at  the  yearly 
business  meetings  of  the  Board. 

He  loved  humanity.  Little  children  had  such  a  hold  upon  his 
heart  that  he  would  stop  even  in  a  public  place  to  speak  to  them, 
and  to  lay  his  hands  upon  their  heads.  To  his  friends  he  was  as 
true  as  steel.  He  knew  not  how  to  be  otherwise.  One  might  as 
soon  doubt  the  beneficence  of  the  shining  sun  as  to  doubt  his 
loyalty.  Sacrifice  for  others  was  the  habit  of  his  years,  and  such 
a  part  of  his  life  record  is  it  that  those  who  know  the  volume 
best  can  read  it  on  every  page.  For  what  he  was  his  friends  pay 
reverent  tribute  now  that  he  is  gone.  Such  a  wealth  of  corre- 
spondence has  poured  into  his  home  since  his  decease  from  those 
he  served  in  the  ministrations  of  friendship  that  they  who  remain 
to  read  the  written  words  feel  themselves  rich  even  in  their  great 
poverty. 

He  loved  his  own  hearthstone.  He  wedded  a  daughter  of 
Rev.  Hiram  May,  a  useful  and  well-known  itinerant  in  pioneer 
Western  Newr  York  Methodism.  With  her  be  walked  in  singular 
wedded  harmony  for  nearly  forty-eight  years.  While  a  quiet 
and  sometimes  preoccupied  man  in  his  everyday  business  rela- 
tions, there  was  a  vein  of  tender  sentiment  in  his  nature,  and  of 


1896.] 


Memoirs, 


551 


wholesome  merriment,  which  made  him  a  choice  companion  at 
his  own  fireside.  To  his  wife  and  his  daughters  he  was  so  much 
beyond  the  ordinary  that  earth  is  a  lonely  place  for  them  now 
that  he  is  gone. 

He  loved  his  God.  Eternal  things  to  him  were  real  and 
precious.  For  the  truth  he  was  ready  to  make  all  sacrifices. 
Without  flaunt  of  banners  he  paid  his  vows  unto  the  Lord.  He 
believed  in  the  fatherhood  of  God;  he  believed  in  Jesus  Christ 
as  his  Elder  Brother;  he  believed  in  the  office  and  work  of  the 
great  Comforter.  All  who  knew  him  are  ready  to  bear  testimony 
to  the  sincerity  and  depth  of  his  religious  experience. 

The  tragic  ending  of  Dr.  Hunt's  busy  career  came  on  the  10th 
of  February,  1896,  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati.  During  the  sum- 
mer of  1894,  according  to  the  best  recollection  of  his  family,  the 
first  impairment  of  his  health  began.  Through  the  long  and  ex- 
cessive heat  of  that  season  he  remained  in  New  York,  with  only 
a  week  or  two  of  rest,  negotiating  loans  for  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety and  anxiously  caring  for  its  crippled  treasury.  About  a 
year  ago  the  first  symptoms  of  angina  pectoris  appeared  while 
he  was  absent  at  a  Conference;  and  for  the  last  year  of  his  life 
he  lived  in  the  knowledge  that  'his  doom  was  sealed  and  that 
the  final  issue  would  be  a  sudden  departure  to  the  spirit  world. 
Yet  such  was  his  resilience  of  bodily  powers  that  he  seemed  at 
times  almost  a  victor  over  disease;  so  great  was  his  force  of  will 
that  he  continued  to  perform  his  full  quota  of  work  until  the 
end ;  and  such  was  his  Christian  trust  that  with  pathetic  tran- 
quillity, and,  at  times,  with  dignified  mirth,  he  spent  his  last 
months  in  the  office  with  his  associates.  In  the  latter  part  of 
January  last  he  left  New  York,  in  company  with  Bishop  Foster 
and  others,  to  visit  some  of  the  Conferences  in  the  South.  At 
Charleston,  in  the  Sunday  morning  love  feast  at  the  Centenary 
Church,  he  gave  his  last  personal  testimony,  which  a  listener 
lias  since  described  as  "  tender  and  full  of  confidence  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  On  the  same  day,  in  the  old  Bethel  Church,  he 
preached  his  last  sermon,  from  the  text,  " Looking  unto  Jesus;" 
and  in  the  evening  at  a  crowded  meeting,  where  hundreds  rose 
for  prayers,  he  addressed  the  seekers  in  words  of  fatherly  Chris- 
tian counsel.  From  Charleston  he  passed  on  to  Atlanta,  the  seat 
of  another  Conference,  and  then  to  Lookout  Mountain,  where  he 
spent  his  last  earthly  Sabbath  in  fellowship  with  an  elder 
brother.  The  next  day  he  journeyed  from  Chattanooga  to  Cin- 
cinnati, through  the  ruggedest  mountain  scenery  of  that  region, 
in  company  with  Bishop  Joyce  and  Drs.  J.  D.  Hammond  and 
W.  S.  Matthew.  The  day  was  for  him  one  of  freedom  from 
pain,  so  far  as  outward  evidence  went,  and  of  buoyant  spirits. 
In  this  respect  it  would  seem  that  a  kind  Providence  had  unusu- 
ally favored  him  during  the  last  two  weeks  of  his  life — a  letter 
t<>  his  wife,  which  arrived  after  his  decease,  making  particular 
mention  of  his  exemption  from  pain  while  on  that  Southern  jour- 
ney.   At  7:30  o'clock  the  party  reached  Cincinnati.    A  few  min- 


552 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


utes  later,  while  entering  the  Grand  Hotel,  an  attack  of  angina 
•pectoris  seized  him.  Fearing,  as  it  would  seem  from  his  hurried 
words,  that  his  final  moment  had  come,  he  turned  to  his  traveling 
companions  for  the  support  of  their  strong  arms,  and  in  their 
arms  he  expired.  The  work  of  the  busy  toiler  was  done.  Had 
he  still  been  only  a  plowman  on  the  farm  in  Western  New  York 
he  might  have  lived,  in  spite  of  weakening  heart,  to  follow  his 
oxen  in  the  furrows,  but  with  the  care  of  the  Church  of  God  upon 
his  shoulders  in  a  double  measure,  as  Publishing  Agent  and 
Missionary  Treasurer,  the  strong  man  could  not  but  stagger  and 
fall.  Coming  up  to  the  very  threshold  of  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Book  Committee,  with  its  quadrennial  report  in  hand,  he 
heard  the  trumpeters  of  the  sky,  and  went  from  the  arms  of  his 
brethren,  who  tenderly  ministered  to  his  dying  needs,  to  the 
brotherhood  of  the  blessed  in  the  heavenly  world. 

4. — Benjamin  Franklin  Crary,  D.D.    Journal,  page  244. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Crary  was  born  in  Jennings  County,  Ind., 
December  21,  1821,  and  died  in  San  Francisco,  March  16,  1895. 

Between  these  two  dates  we  find  the  history  of  an  active, 
earnest,  honest,  Christian  life  worthy  of  honorable  mention. 
Nature  endowed  this  man  with  great  gifts  of  leadership,  and  God 
directed  them  to  wise  and  noble  ends. 

His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  and  at 
Pleasant  Hill  Academy.  But  he  did  not  finish  his  education 
there;  he  was  a  student  for  over  sixty  years.  He  was  proficient 
in  the  languages  and  widely  read  in  the  standard  authors  of  his 
time. 

He  was  converted  at  eighteen  and  joined  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  He  chose  law  as  his  profession,  and  practiced  for  some 
time  at  Lexington,  Ind.  Here  he  obtained  that  legal  training 
that  fitted  him  for  the  executive  and  administrative  work  he  was 
called  upon  to  perform  in  the  interests  of  the  State  and  Church 
in  after  years. 

While  practicing  law  he  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  was  shortly  afterward  licensed  a  local  preacher. 
His  ability  in  the  pulpit  was  soon  recognized,  and  his  brethren 
felt  he  ought  to  join  the  traveling  connection.  His  own  con- 
victions ran  in  the  same  direction.  He  therefore  entered  the 
Indiana  Conference  in  1845. 

As  a  preacher  Dr.  Crary  was  clear,  strong,  and  practical.  The 
great  truths  of  the  Gospel  were  vitalized  with  life  and  power  as 
lie  pressed  them  upon  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men.  He 
preached  the  word  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit.  He  had  a 
marvelous  gift  of  satire  and  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  wit  and 
humor,  and  he  used  them  with  telling  effect  upon  the  sins  and 
follies  of  the  times. 

He  was  always  popular  in  the  pulpit  and  on  the  platform. 
And  yet  this  strong,  brave  man  had  a  heart  as  tender  as  a 
woman's,  a  nature  as  frank  and  open  as  a  child's;  his  great  soul 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


553 


always  sympathized  with  those  who  suffered.  He  passed,  by 
promotion,  from  the  smaller  to  the  largest  appointments  in  his 
Conference.  His  successive  appointments  were  Moorefield  Cir- 
cuit, Vienna  Mission,  Bedford,  Rushville,  Indianapolis,  New  Al- 
bany, Bloomington,  and  as  Presiding  Elder  of  Jeffersonville  Dis- 
trict. 

In  1857  he  was  elected  President  of  Hamline  University,  Minne- 
sota. He  came  to  the  throne  in  the  troublous  times  when  the 
financial  panic  of  that  year,  unparalleled  in  magnitude,  swept 
like  a  cyclone  round  the  world,  leaving  in  its  trail  the  wrecks 
of  great  commercial  firms  and  destroying  the  property  values  of 
the  nation. 

To  guide  an  institution  already  burdened  with  debt  and  strug- 
gling for  existence  through  those  days  of  financial  depression 
required  rare  judgment  and  good  financial  ability.  And  yet  this 
he  did,  showing  another  ,side  of  his  many-sided  character.  The 
position,  however,  was  not  in  accordance  with  his  taste,  the  de- 
tails of  the  office  depressed  him,  his  robust  nature  sighed  for  a 
broader  and  freer  field. 

In  1861  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Ramsey  State  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Instruction.  He  met  all  the  requirements 
of  the  office  to  the  satisfaction  of  those  concerned,  but  his  love 
for  the  pastorate  induced  him  to  return  to  the  ministry,  and  he 
was  stationed  at  Jackson  Street,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

At  this  time  the  nation  was  in  the  midst  of  war.  A  whole 
continent  was  ablaze  with  battle.  Fields  and  forests  swarmed 
with  squadrons  of  horse  and  foot.  Blood  flowed  like  water,  and 
life  was  cheap  as  air.  The  life  of  the  republic  hung  trembling 
in  the  balance  ;  every  patriot  felt  the  crisal  hour  had  come  when 
the  question  must  be  answered,  "  What  will  you  give  that  the  re- 
public may  live?"  In  this  hour  of  national  peril  our  brother 
felt  the  place  for  manhood  was  at  the  front.  Next  to  the  love 
of  God  he  placed  the  love  of  country.  He  enlisted  as  a  soldier, 
but  was  appointed  Chaplain  of  the  Third  Minnesota  Volunteers, 
and  with  his  regiment  marched  off  to  war.  He  was  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Corinth  and  Murfreesboro.  The  discharge  of  a  cannon 
too  close  to  his  ears  brought  on  the  affliction  of  deafness,  from 
which  he  suffered  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  continued  to  serve 
the  government  in  various  important  stations  until  1864,  when  he 
resigned. 

The  General  Conference  of  that  year  elected  him  Editor  of  the 
Central  Christian  Advocate.  This  gave  him  opportunity  for  the 
exercise  of  patriotism  as  well  as  piety.  He  was  intensely  patri- 
otic; by  every  impulse  of  his  nature  he  was  opposed  to  slavery,, 
as  a  citizen  he  loved  the  flag  of  his  country;  therefore  he  used 
every  power  of  voice  and  pen  in  the  interest  of  the  Church  and 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

But  Dr.  Crary  was  a  pioneer  by  instinct.  He  belonged  to 
the  skirmish  line  of  the  army  of  civilization — to  that  class  of 
men  who  light  the  beacon  fires  on  the  mountain  tops,  blaze  their 


554 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


way  through  trackless  forests,  cross  deserts  and  discover  the 
springs,  point  out  the  fords  where  rivers  may  be  crossed,  find  the 
sites  for  great  cities  and  found  homes  and  churches  and  schools, 
those  three  great  factors  of  our  Christian  civilization.  These 
men  are  the  true  architects  and  builders  of  empires,  the  men 
who  make  possible  the  splendid  achievements  of  those  who  are 
liere  to-day. 

This  spirit  prompted  our  brother  to  push  out  to  Colorado  and 
endure  all  the  privations  of  a  pioneer's  life.  As  Presiding  Elder 
in  that  young  Conference  he  traveled  his  great  district,  mingling 
with  ease  among  all  classes  of  men.  His  culture  and  knowledge 
of  human  nature  made  him  as  much  at  home  in  the  mansion  of 
the  millionaire  as  in  the  cabin  of  the  miner.  To  each  he  told  the 
story  of  the  cross  with  calm  confidence  in  its  power  to  save  the 
rich  as  well  as  the  poor,  for  he  knew  God  was  no  respecter  of 
persons. 

As  was  said  of  our  blessed  Lord,  he  that  would  save  others  can- 
not save  himself.  Self  must  be  sacrificed  in  trying  to  save  others. 
Hunger  and  cold  and  nakedness  are  sometimes  the  cost  we  must 
pay  if  we  would  follow  faithfully  in  the  footsteps  of  our  Lord. 

With  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  our  brother  could  say, 
None  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear 
unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy  and  the 
ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

While  other  men  were  laying  the  foundations  of  great  for- 
tunes he  let  splendid  opportunities  pass  that  he  might  lay  the 
foundations  of  the  Church  in  that  great  and  growing  State.  The 
General  Conference  of  1880  in  Cincinnati  elected  him  Editor  of 
the  California  Christian  Advocate,  when  my  acquaintance  with 
him  began.  When  he  came  to  us  he  had  passed  the  zenith  of  his 
youth,  but,  like  Moses,  his  eye  was  undimmed  and  his  strength 
unabated. 

He  soon  placed  himself  en  rapport  with  every  movement  in 
Church  and  State.  The  hour  needed  the  man.  San  Francisco 
was  in  a  ferment.  Dennis  Kearney  with  his  sand-lot  philosophers 
was  breathing  out  threatening  and  slaughter  against  corporations 
and  capital.  The  slogan  of  this  army  of  ragamuffins  was,  "  The 
Chinese  must  go."  The  people  looked  to  their  leaders  in  Church 
and  State  to  guide  them.  The  press  molded  public  opinion. 
Into  the  contest  Dr.  Crary  entered  heart  and  soul.  He  was 
cautious,  yet  bold,  fearless  as  a  lion,  with  the  eye  of  an  eagle. 
No  duty  daunted  him  if  he  could  see  the  finger  of  God's  provi- 
dence pointing  in  that  direction.  His  conscience  was  as  true  as 
the  needle  to  the  pole,  and  he  followed  it  without  wavering. 
Profit  or  place  or  power  formed  no  part  of  his  calculations  when 
principle  was  involved. 

He  felt  that  the  shibboleth  of  Kearney  and  Kalloch  was  not  the  * 
exponent  of  the  best  public  opinion.    All  felt  there  ought  to  be 
restriction  of  some  kind,  but  redress  must  come  through  properly 
constituted  authority.    He  knew  the  law-abiding  element  of  the 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


555 


city  was  strong  enough  to  grind  these  revolutionists  to  powder 
and  throw  their  ashes  in  the  bay.  He  stood  for  law  and  order, 
he  wrote  in  defense  of  life  and  property,  Church  and  fireside,  and 
he  smote  his  enemies  hip  and  thigh.  He  hurled  his  shafts  of  wit, 
ridicule,  and  invective  at  the  leaders  of  the  sand  lot  until  they 
gnashed  their  teeth  and  threatened  his  life  and  property.  But 
they  knew  not  the  spirit  of  the  man. 

The  old  hero  had  that  grandest  and  truest  form  of  heroism 
that  dares  to  be  right  and  do  right  in  the  face  of  unscrupulous 
social  and  commercial  crimes.  As  James  A.  Garfield  once  said, 
"  If  there  is  one  thing  upon  this  earth  that  mankind  loves  and 
admires  better  than  another  it  is  a  brave  man — it  is  the  man  who 
dares  to  look  the  devil  in  the  face  and  tell  him  he  is  a  devil." 
Dr.  Crary  had  that  kind  of  courage.  As  George  McDonald  said, 
"  Why  should  we  be  afraid  of  anything  with  Him  looking  at  us 
who  is  the  Saviour  of  men  ?  "  So  our  brother  felt  as  he  entered 
his  sanctum  and  took  up  his  pen. 

He  was  thoroughly  honest.  He  hated  shams  as  nature  abhors 
a  vacuum.  He  believed  in  genuineness,  whether  in  building  a 
world  or  building  a  character.  He  might  not  always  have  been 
right  in  his  opinions,  but  all  men  gave  him  credit  for  the 
honesty  of  his  convictions.  No  just  cause  ever  appealed  to  him 
in  vain.  There  was  only  one  question  to  be  answered:  "Was  it 
right  ?  Ought  it  to  be  ?  "  Then  he  gave  to  it  all  the  powers  of 
his  mind  and  the  treasures  of  his  heart. 

Power  did  not  spoil  him  nor  separation  from  the  ministry  dry 
up  the  sympathy  in  his  soul  for  brethren  less  fortunate  than  him- 
self. There  was  a  vein  of  tenderness  running  through  all  he 
wrote.  He  felt  deeply  for  the  men  and  their  families  occupying 
the  hard  fields  along  the  Pacific  coast.  He  availed  himself  of 
the  opportunity  his  paper  gave  him  of  appealing  for  better 
things  when  these  were  possible.  He  was  vigilant  in  reading  the 
signs  of  the  times.  Both  sides  of  every  great  question  in  the 
Church  found  ample  opportunity  for  discussion  in  his  paper, 
while  he  reserved  the  right  of  editorial  opinion.  But  these  ques- 
tions were  held  in  love,  for  he  recognized  the  right  of  an  honest 
difference  of  opinion  among  brethren  of  the  same  faith. 

In  his  creed  he  was  thoroughly  orthodox.  He  was  deeply  read 
in  Wesleyan  theology.  He  had  no  faith  in  the  agnosticism  of  to- 
day. He  was  not  a  know-nothing.  He  knew  some  things.  He 
knew  that  Jesus  Christ  by  the  grace  of  God  tasted  death  for 
every  man,  and  that  repentance,  prayer,  and  faith  were  the  steps 
by  which  a  sinner  might  obtain  the  benefits  of  redemption.  He 
did  not  hesitate  to  say  so  in  his  paper.  He  felt  the  power  of 
these  great  truths  as  he  stood  in  the  pulpit,  and  as  he  preached 
them  truth  and  devotion  beamed  in  his  face  bright  as  the  glow 
of  a  summer  sunset. 

Seven  times  his  brethren  sent  him  to  represent  them  in  this 
great  body,  knowing  that  every  cherished  interest  would  be  safe 
in  his  hands.    He  had  the  broadest  Christian  charity,  for  while 


556  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

with  our  sainted  Simpson  he  lived  to  love  his  own  Church  he 
sought  a  league  offensive  and  defensive  with  every  soldier  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

And  now  as  we  sum  up  his  lifework  as  preacher,  teacher, 
soldier,  and  editor  he  stands  before  us  a  magnificent  specimen  of 
American  manhood.  But  the  fingers  on  the  dial-plate  pointed  to 
the  hour  of  rest ;  his  work  was  well  done.  As  he  rose  one  morn- 
ing to  go  as  usual  to  his  office,  without  warning,  as  if  by  a  blow 
from  an  unseen  hand,  he  fell  smitten  with  paralysis.  But  the  end 
was  not  yet.  The  vitality  of  a  marvelous  physical  constitution 
was  not  exhausted.  All  that  medical  skill  and  the  loving  ministry 
of  wife  and  children  could  do  were  enlisted  to  bring  him  back  to 
life.  For  three  years  he  lingered,  feeble  in  body,  but  strong  in 
faith  and  love.  He  waited  patiently  for  the  Master's  coming 
and  wondered  why  he  lingered,  not  repining,  but  resigned.  It 
was  my  privilege  to  visit  him  and  listen  to  his  words  of  wisdom. 
His  faith  and  hope  and  glad  assurance  of  the  future  were  like  a 
benediction  on  my  soul. 

Brethren,  he  loved  you.  How  often  I  have  heard  him  recall 
the  names  of  some  of  the  leaders  who  are  here  to-day,  men  who 
have  stood  with  him  in  shaping  the  polity  of  the  Church. 
Though  shut  in  a  narrow  world  he  still  watched  with  intense 
interest  the  great  battles  you  are  fighting  still.  His  love  for  the 
brethren  increased  as  his  end  drew  nigh.  At  last  the  Master 
came  and  our  brother  went  forth  to  meet  him.  Then  with 
loving  and  reverent  hands  all  that  was  mortal  of  him  was  placed 
to  rest  beside  the  heroic  dead  near  the  Soldiers'  Monument  in  the 
Presidio,  San  Francisco.  There,  with  the  flag  of  his  country 
waving  over  him,  the  stern  evidences  of  war  around  him,  just 
beyond  him  the  glittering  sands  of  the  ocean,  vocal  with  the  end- 
less song  of  the  sea,  the  parting  rays  of  the  setting  sun  as  they 
steal  through  the  golden  gate  linger  for  a  moment  like  a  halo  of 
glory  round  the  grave  where  the  form  of  the  hero  sleeps. 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done  ! 

Thy  glorious  warfare's  past ; 
The  battle's  fought,  the  race  is  run, 

And  thou  art  crowned  at  last." 

5. — Henry  Liebhaet,  D.D.    Journal,  page  244. 

In  the  summer  of  1854  there  landed  in  the  city  of  New  York  a 
tall  young  man  whose  blonde  complexion,  clear  blue  eyes,  and 
honest,  earnest  face  at  once  proclaimed  him  a  German.  He  came 
alone.  No  one  welcomed  him  at  old  Castle  Garden.  On  all  this 
broad  continent  he  knew  not  a  solitary  soul.  He  could  speak  no 
English.  He  had  little  or  no  money.  But  I  fancy  as  he  set  his 
foot  for  the  first  time  on  American  soil  his  eye  must  have  kin- 
dled with  a  strange,  new  light,  and  one  might  have  read  in  that 
eager,  expectant  face  the  token  of  a  new  hope  and  the  purpose 
of  a  strong  and  self-reliant  will.  Like  thousands  of  others,  he 
had  made  choice  of  this  land  of  liberty  for  his  new  fatherland 


1S96.] 


Memoirs. 


557 


and  as  the  place  where  he  should  carve  out  his  fortune.  He 
was  but  twenty-two,  and  had  just  left  the  historic  university 
town  of  Heidelberg.  Alas!  how  many  have  come  to  these  shores 
with  like  high  hopes  and  aspirations  only  to  find  their  ardent  ex- 
pectations turn  to  ashes.  Soon  his  bark,  too,  struck  the  rocks  of 
hard  fortune.  The  test  of  pride  and  honor  came.  Without  any 
means  of  support,  without  friends,  what  should  he  do?  By  his 
academic  training  and  social  standing  wholly  unaccustomed  to 
the  thought  and  much  less  acquainted  with  the  actual  fact  of 
working  with  his  own  hands  for  a  living,  in  this  critical  hour 
he  rose  to  a  new  and  higher  conception  of  the  nobility  of  labor, 
and  was  not  ashamed  to  wear  the  garb  and  do  the  work  of  a 
common  laborer  in  the  stone  quarries  of  Saugerties,  N.  Y. 

This  young  man  Methodism  found,  for  Providence  had  marked 
him  for  a  career  of  distinguished  usefulness  in  the  service  of 
God.  Though  of  high  moral  purpose,  he  was  a  stranger  to  the 
redeeming  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  He  who  afterward  be- 
came the  first  great  organizer  of  the  German  Sunday  school 
work  and  the  chief  founder  of  its  literature  and  song  in  our 
Church  was  himself  led  to  Christ  by  a  little  Sunday  school  girl, 
who  did  not  cease  her  pleadings  till  she  led  the  young  skeptic 
into  a  Methodist  church,  at  whose  altars  he  soon  knelt  as  a  peni- 
tent seeker  for  religion  and  found  salvation.  He  at  once  joined 
the  sect  he  had  before  known  only  to  despise,  and  began  to 
witness  for  his  newly  found  Saviour.  His  gifts  and  grace  were 
soon  recognized,  and  he  received  a  local  preacher's  license.  Four 
years  later  he  was  admitted  into  the  traveling  connection  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  within  the  bounds  of  the  New  York 
Conference.  He  thus  illustrates,  in  his  conversion  within  a  few 
months  after  his  arrival  on  these  shores  and  his  almost  immediate 
call  to  the  ministry,  the  manner  in  which  the  German  portion  of 
our  Church  was  mostly  recruited  in  the  earlier  part  of  its 
history. 

After  serving  seven  years  in  the  pastorate  with  marked  suc- 
cess in  Poughkeepsie,  Boston,  Williamsburg,  and  Baltimore,  in 
the  bounds  of  the  present  East  German  Conference,  Dr.  William 
Nast,  Editor  of  the  Christian  Apologist,  recognizing  in  him  a 
man  of  special  ability  and  promise,  selected  him  as  assistant 
editor  of  that  paper.  This  call  initiated  him  into  the  special 
sphere  of  labor  in  which  he  made  so  distinguished  a  career. 

For  another  period  of  seven  years  he  filled  the  office  of  assist- 
ant editor  of  the  Apologist  and  editor  of  the  Sunday  School 
Bell,  and  was  abundant  in  labors  for  the  Church,  acting  for  five 
years  as  pastor  of  the  German  Methodist  Church  in  Coving- 
ton, Ky. 

His  keen  visions  soon  perceived  the  need  of  a  more  extended 
Sunday  school  literature  for  our  German  work,  and  in  the  year 
1872,  mainly  at  his  instigation,  the  General  Conference  estab- 
lished the  new  German  family  magazine,  Haus  unci  Herd,  and  a 
new  department  of  German  Sunday  school  publications,  electing 


558 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Dr.  Liebhart  unanimously  editor  of  both.  In  this  position  he 
continued  until  his  death,  January  26,  1895. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  overestimate  the  value  of  Dr.  Lieb- 
h art's  services  to  German  Methodism  during  this  period,  cover- 
ing almost  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  was  a  man  of  high  am- 
bition, tireless  industry,  and  manifold  gifts  of  pen  and  voice. 
His  marked  endowments,  together  with  a  strong,  engaging  per- 
sonality, made  him  a  natural  leader. 

In  addition  to  his  regular  editorial  work  on  the  magazine  and 
Sunday  school  paper  he  wrote,  translated,  and  edited  a  number 
of  publications,  such  as  A  Handbook  of  Bible  History,  A  Book 
of  Illustrations,  Stevens's  History  of  Methodism,  Mission  Work  in 
Heathen  Lands,  The  Youths'  Circle,  and  issued  a  series  of  books 
of  narrative  and  biography  under  the  title  of  The  Family  Li- 
brary. The  Sunday  school  lesson  helps  were  also  edited  with 
ability  and  made  to  fully  answer  the  growing  needs  of  our  Ger- 
man Sunday  school  work.  Especially  in  the  realm  of  Church 
hymnology  and  Sunday  school  music  Dr.  Liebhart  rendered  dis- 
tinguished service  to  the  Church,  so  that  to-day  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  possesses  the  richest  and  choicest  collection  of 
German  Sunday  school  music,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  in 
the  world.  Nearly  all  German  evangelical  denominations  have 
borrowed  largely  from  it.  He  was  also  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee which  was  authorized  and  appointed  by  the  General  Con- 
ference to  issue  a  new  German  Methodist  Episcopal  hymnal. 

As  a  pulpit  orator  and  platform  speaker  Dr.  Liebhart  was  in 
much  demand  and  dedicated  over  one  hundred  German  Metho- 
dist churches.  He  was  also  much  interested  in  the  educational 
work  of  German  Methodism,  and  as  member  and  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  German  Wallace  College  in  Berea, 
O.,  for  many  years  rendered  distinguished  service.  He  received 
the  degree  of  D.D.  from  the  Baldwin  University,  Berea,  O. 

When  the  Epworth  League  was  organized  in  this  city  seven 
years  ago  he,  with  many  others,  recognized  in  it  the  dawning  of 
a  new  era  for  the  conserving  and  proper  Church  training  of  our 
young  people,  and  the  Thirteenth  General  Conference  District 
was  organized  as  the  German  Epworth  League  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  with  the  grant  of  special  privileges  to  adapt 
the  movement  more  effectively  to  the  needs  of  the  German  work, 
under  his  guiding  hand.  The  Epworth  Jugendbund  was  launched, 
and  is  now  one  of  the  most  inspiring  factors  contributing  to 
the  full  equipment  of  German  Methodism  in  its  great  mission  to 
the  German  population  of  this  country.  Dr.  Liebhart  was  four 
times  a  delegate  and  twice  a  reserve  delegate  to  the  General 
Conference,  and  also  a  delegate  to  the  Ecumenical  Conference  of 
Methodism  in  London  in  1S81.  By  virtue  of  his  position  as 
editor  of  one  of  our  Church  publications  he  came  into  touch 
with  all  of  the  great  agencies  and  a  large  number  of  the  leading 
minds  of  the  Church.  In  his  personal  character  he  was  invariably 
genial  and  courteous.    His  most  prominent  trait  was  perhaps  his 


1896.] 


Memoirs. 


559 


intense  industry  and  hopefulness.  He  had  a  genius  for  work, 
and  he  was  quick  to  see  an  opportunity  and  grasp  it.  We  can- 
not better  sum  up  his  qualities  of  character  than  by  quoting  the 
words  of  the  publishing  agent  of  the  Western  Methodist  Book 
Concern  in  his  quadrennial  report  to  this  body: 

"  One  scarcely  knew  whether  to  call  Dr.  Liebhart  a  German- 
American  or  an  American-German,  so  evenly  did  he  combine  the 
distinctive  traits  of  the  two  nationalities.  Sturdy  in  his  convic- 
tions, stalwart  in  character  as  in  form,  quick  in  perception,  ready 
in  utterance,  broad,  prompt,  and  direct  in  executive  methods, 
careful  of  time  as  well,  as  of  material  resources,  industrious  and 
systematic,  enterprising  within  reason  and  conservative  only  upon 
reason,  he  was,  taken  altogether,  a  man  of  singular  fitness  for 
such  varied  functions  as  belonged  to  his  office  in  the  Church. 
We  shall  miss  our  cordial,  cheery  German- American  Methodist, 
Brother  Liebhart,  as  well  as  the  hearty  and  devoted  colaborer 
who  in  the  fullness  of  his  strength  was  so  suddenly  taken  from  us." 

Dr.  Liebhart  was  matured  not  only  by  his  arduous  work,  but 
by  a  severe  school  of  suffering.  Born  on  September  5,  1832,  in 
the  city  of  Carlsruhe,  Germany,  he  was,  as  we  have  seen,  severed 
in  his  early  young  manhood  from  his  home  and  native  land. 
God  brought  to  his  side  shortly  after  his  arrival  and  his  conver- 
sion in  this  country  a  companion  for  life's  journey.  For  nearly 
twenty  years  he  enjoyed  the  comfort  of  her  presence  and  the 
rich  counsel  of  her  mind.  She  was  a  woman  of  rare  gifts  and 
sweetness  of  spirit.  After  passing  through  a  long  and  severe  ill- 
ness she  was  taken  from  his  side  November  20,  1875,  leaving  six 
children  behind  her.  Four  years  later  he  married  Anna  Dohr- 
mann,  but  on  February  15,  1892,  she  too  was  taken  from  him. 
Shortly  after  he  was  called  to  mourn  the  death  of  his  first-born 
son,  upon  whom  he  had  built  his  fondest  hopes.  These  bereave- 
ments and  other  afflictions  broke  down  his  health,  and  his  strong 
physical  form  bent  beneath  the  heavy  weight  of  the  sorrows  that 
had  come  upon  him.  The  buoyant  expression  of  his  eye  was 
gone.  In  the  watch-night  service  (1894)  at  the  church  which  he 
habitually  attended,  he  said,  "I  have  learned  during  the  past 
year  that  I  am  approaching  the  end  at  a  quicker  pace  than  ever 
before."  # 

Soon  after  New  Year's,  1895,  he  was  afflicted  with  a  painful 
malady,  which  confined  him  for  some  time  to  his  house.  His  last 
sermon  was  preached  during  a  protracted  meeting  in  the  German 
Church  in  Covington,  on  January  21,  1895,  on  the  text,  Luke  xii, 
35-37:  "Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and  your  lights  burning; 
and  ye  yourselves  like  unto  men  that  wait  for  their  lord,  when 
he  will  return  from  the  wedding  ;  that,  when  he  cometh  and 
knocketh,  they  may  open  unto  him  immediately.  Blessed  are 
those  servants,  whom  the  lord  when  he  cometh  shall  find  watch- 
ing: verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  he  shall  gird  himself,  and  make 
them  to  sit  down  to  meat,  and  will  come  forth  and  serve  them.', 
He  preached  with  a  strange  unction.  The  text  seems  now  almosL 
36 


560 


i 

Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


prophetic.  The  next  day  he  started  for  Montreal,  Canada.  On 
his  return  Saturday  morning,  January  26,  while  his  train  was 
passing  New  Haven,  Mich.,  he  endeavored  to  pass  from  one  car 
into  another,  but  slipped  on  the  icy  platform  and  was  hurled  to 
the  ground,  expiring  almost  instantly.  His  sudden  death  was  a 
tremendous  shock  to  his  family  and  the  whole  Church.  Not  only 
were  memorial  services  of  great  impressiveness  held  in  Coving- 
ton, Ky.,  where  he  lived,  in  which  Americans  as  well  as  Germans 
joined  their  expressions  of  deep  sorrow  and  sympathy  for  the 
sorely  stricken  family,  but  similar  services  were  held  all  over  the 
country. 

The  faithful  servant  has  entered  upon  his  eternal  reward,  but 
his  works  do  follow  him.  He  was  a  workman  who  needed  not  to 
be  ashamed.  The  fruit  of  his  labors  in  behalf  of  German  Metho- 
dism remains  and  will  be  enjoyed  for  a  generation  to  come.  This 
is  his  monument.  His  memory  is  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of 
thousands.  His  portrait  probably  adorns  the  walls  of  every 
German  Methodist  Sunday  school,  and  certainly  of  every  German 
chapter  of  the  Epworth  League,  in  this  country.  His  pen  is  laid 
away,  but  the  twenty-one  volumes  of  the  German  Family  Maga- 
zine^ which  he  raised  to  the  first  place  in  the  list  of  similar  Ger- 
man publications,  remain  in  the  library  of  thousands  of  homes. 
His  voice  is  silent,  but  none  who  ever  heard  the  Gospel  message 
from  his  fervent  lips  will  ever  forget  the  man  or  the  message. 
We  behold  his  tall,  manly  form  no  more;  but  who  that  ever 
knew  him  can  forget  the  peculiar  never-failing  cheerfulness  that 
characterized  his  greeting  ?  He  reserved  his  despondent  moods, 
if  he  had  them,  for  the  privacy  of  his  inner  office  or  his  home. 
He  well  earned  a  rest  from  his  consuming  labors,  and  although 
the  release  came  as  a  swift  and  sudden  shock,  yet  it  was  God's 
method,  and  one  which  was  shared  one  year  later  by  our  beloved 
Dr.  Sandford  Hunt,  one  also  which  many  good  men  have  coveted. 

This  is  but  a  meager  sketch  of  a  very  distinguished  career.  I 
could  wish  that  the  duty  had  been  assigned  to  a  more  competent 
hand,  but  I  am  grateful  to  be  permitted  to  pay  my  humble  trib- 
ute to  his  works  and  his  worth.  The  best  word  that  I  can  say  in 
conclusion  is  that  could  Dr.  Liebhart  speak  to  us  to-day  he  would 
wish  not  to  glorify  himself,  but  to  magnify  the  grace  of  God, 
and  together  with  every  true  believer  write  across  every  page  of 
his  life's  record,  "The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 


APPENDIX  IV. 


A.  — REPORT  OF  BOOK  COMMITTEE. 

B.  — REPORTS  OF  AGENTS. 

C— REPORT  OF  COMMISSION  ON  GENERAL 

CONFERENCE  ENTERTAINMENT. 
D—  REPORTS  OF  SOCIETIES. 


A. 


REPORT  OF  THE  BOOK  COMMITTEE. 


To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  : 

Brethren:  The  members  of  the  Book  Committee  appointed 
by  the  General  Conference  of  1892  met  in  the  parlors  of  the 
Paxton  House,  May  25,  1892,  at  2:30  p.  m. 

Amos  Shinkle  was  elected  chairman  and  Edward  J.  Gray  sec- 
retary. 

In  the  division  of  the  Committee  the  Eastern  Section  was  made 
to  include  the  members  of  the  first,  second,  third,  fourth,  sixth, 
twelfth,  and  fourteenth  districts,  and  the  Local  Committee  of 
New  York,  of  which  E.  L.  Fancher  was  elected  chairman  and 
A.  J.  Palmer  secretary. 

The  Western  Section  was  made  to  include  the  fifth,  seventh, 
eighth,  ninth,  tenth,  eleventh,  and  thirteenth  districts,  besides 
the  Local  Committee  at  Cincinnati,  and  W.  F.  Whitlock  was 
elected  chairman,  with  R.  A.  W.  Bruehl  secretary. 

At  this  meeting  the  salaries  of  the  Bishops,  Book  Agents,  and 
Editors,  the  allowances  to  widows  and  orphans,  and  the  basis  of 
assessment  upon  ministerial  salary  for  support  of  the  Bishops 
were  continued  at  the  same  rate  as  before,  until  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  Book  Committee  in  February,  1893. 

The  General  Book  Committee  has  met  annually  during  the 
quadrennium — in  1893,  in  Chicago;  1894,  in  Cincinnati;  1895,  in 
New  York;  and,  in  1896,  in  Cincinnati.  One  special  meeting 
was  held  September  1,  1892,  in  New  York  city. 

The  two  Local  Committees  living  in  immediate  proximity  to 
our  publishing  houses  have  held  frequent  meetings,  inspecting 
the  business  methods  of  the  Agents  and  carefully  counseling  with 
them  as  to  the  wisest  management  of  our  publishing  interests, 
and  have  made  clear  and  comprehensive  reports  to  the  Book 
Committee  annually. 

Two  vacancies  have  occurred  in  the  Committee  in  the  quad- 
rennium. Amos  Shinkle  died  November  13,  1892,  and  R.  A.  W. 
Bruehl  June  19,  1894.  These  brethren  were  both  members  of 
the  Local  Committee  of  Cincinnati  from  1872,  and  had  given 
special  supervision  of  the  Western  House  through  all  the  inter- 
vening years. 

In  the  annual  meeting  in  1893  W.  F.  Whitlock  was  elected  to 
succeed  Mr.  Shinkle  as  chairman  of  the  General  Book  Committee, 
and  J.  N.  Gamble  to  his  place  as  a  member  of  the  General  Com- 
mittee and  the  Local  Committee  at  Cincinnati.    In  the  annual 


564 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


meeting  in  1895  R.  T.  Miller,  of  Covington,  Ky.,  was  elected  to 
succeed  R.  A.  W.  Bruehl.  Clem.  Studebaker  was  elected  chair- 
man and  M.  A.  Head  secretary  of  the  Western  Section. 

Four  General  Conference  officers,  whose  places  the  Discipline 
requires  the  Book  Committee  to  fill,  have  died  in  the  quadren- 
nium— Rev.  J.  W.  Mendenhall,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Rev.  H.  Liebhart, 
D.D.,  Rev.  B.  F.  Crary,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  Sandford  Hunt,  D.D. 

Dr.  Mendenhall  laid  down  his  pen  and  passed  into  the  future 
three  weeks  after  the  close  of  the  last  General  Conference.  A 
special  meeting  was  held  in  New  York  city,  September  1,  1892, 
to  elect  a  successor,  and  Rev.  H.  A.  Buttz,  D.D.,  was  chosen. 
Dr.  Buttz  was  at  the  time  in  Europe,  and,  upon  his  return,  felt 
compelled  by  other  Church  obligations  to  decline.  Dr.  A.  B. 
Sanford,  the  assistant  editor,  continued  in  charge  until  February, 
1893,  when  Rev.  W.  V.  Kelley,  D.D.,  was  elected  editor,  and 
soon  after  took  charge  of  the  Review. 

The  editorship  vacated  by  the  tragic  death  of  Dr.  Liebhart 
was  filled,  at  our  regular  session  in  1895,  by  the  election  of  Rev. 
Franz  L.  Nagler,  D.D. 

Dr.  Crary  died  March  16,  1895.  He  was  able  to  render  but 
little  service  after  his  last  election.  In  February,  1894,  the  Book 
Committee  authorized  Hunt  &  Eaton  to  employ  an  associate 
editor  and  place  him  in  full  charge  of  the  paper.  They  secured 
the  services  of  Rev.  W.  S.  Matthew,  D.D.,  of  the  Southern  Cali- 
fornia Conference,  and  his  editorial  work  since  shows  the  wisdom 
of  the  choice.  Since  his  appointment  the  Southern  California 
Advocate,  an  unofficial  paper,  has  been  discontinued,  and  the 
California  Advocate  has  been  substituted  in  the  homes  where  it 
had  circulated. 

Dr.  Hunt  passed  instantly  from  labor  to  reward,  February 
10,  1896,  at  Cincinnati,  on  the  eve  of  our  last  annual  meeting, 
which  he  had  come  to  attend.  As  the  interval  between  his  death 
and  this  General  Conference  session  was  so  brief  the  Committee 
did  not  deem  it  wise  to  elect  a  successor.  Dr.  Homer  Eaton  was 
authorized  to  employ  such  help  as  the  exigencies  required. 

The  following  figures  of  the  business  of  the  quadrennium,  and 
of  the  present  assets  and  liabilities  of  the  two  Book  Concerns, 
including  their  depositories  and  the  Detroit  store,  should  be 
carefully  studied  by  those  whose  legislation  controls  our  pub- 
lishing interests.  More  detailed  exhibits  will  be  found  in  the 
reports  of  the  Agents.  In  1895  Hunt  &  Eaton  wisely  made 
their  fiscal  year  close  October  31  instead  of  June  30,  thus  making 
the  fiscal  year  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Book  Concerns  ter- 
minate at  the  same  period.  This  arrangement  makes  the  report 
of  the  Eastern  House,  presented  at  our  last  meeting,  cover  six- 
teen months; 


tP  ISXINO 

J>  00  Tp  i>  CM 

O  Os_  CO_  cO_ 

oo  tp"     ©"  ^-T 


3  : 

•a  fl"  3  2  -g 

o  o  -°  'o 
ai  o  m  2  C  +j 
o^ppPhxQ 
CQ  H 


CM  00  CM  CO 
00  Tp  CO  O 
OlOCOlM 


1-H  CO 

CM  CO 

i>  os 

lO  CO 

oo"  ©" 

*-  tp 

(M  f-t 


'u  Ph  X  Q 

cp  4> 
Ph  Q 


lO  CO  CO  CM 
<N  £~  TP  OS 

j>T  of  of  oo" 


il 
tea*, 


CO    CP    CO   *?    fl  -U 

o  o 
PSH 


.2  S 


.2  2  o  *o 

o  o  o  .t3  5  CP 
S  o-pq     k>  Q 

CP  cp 
Ph  Q 


jp  >g 
"oS  o 


JO  HrtRO) 

O  O  H  Ht- 

CO  CO  CM  ©  '© 

CM^  ©  lO  £-^.-1 

©"  cjT  i-T  cm"  cf 


OS 

© 
o" 

i— 1  iO 


00  CM  CO  i>- 
OJ  CO  CM  f-4 

cm  co  01  a 


5  «9 


5.5  S  *'g 

IB    «    91  ^    C  -P 

Q  ©  ■  -  -  o 

o  7  ec  p-  x  p 

cpe2 


,2  .2 
~  0 


.23  ? 

x  *^  x  +»  c  -3 

o  o  c  ~  =  o 

PhQ 


-  9 
o  o 


©  CM  T?  O 
Ol  00  CO 
M  <C  (D  3"» 


8^ 

.2  o 


05 

©  £~  ©  CM 

TP 

00 

TP 

o> 

CO 

kC  95  tP  © 

00 

ee 

©  Tp  ©  CM 

CM 

0J 

so.©  tp  ia 

Tp 

i> 

cm"  —T  ic"  ©" 

co" 

cm" 

09  TP  Tf  OS 

CO 

© 

«     *  S  a 


N  sis  2 
£   pp  p-  x  a 


o 


«  : 

o  ' 


ll 


O  ©  o  *3  S  cp 
•C  g-PqPnXfi 

Ph  Q 


1-H  CO 

•  © 

/-A  °_ 

CO  ©" 

O  CO 

a 

CO  c" 


x^ 

-h  tp  cm 

CO 

00 

M 

CO  00  CO  00 

t- 

C 

CM  ©  ©  CO 

cO 

10 

c 

CO  00  Tp  CM 

CO 

CM 

CO 

kQ 

XT-  CM  00  CO 

CO 

CM^ 

to" 

io"x>~i— "x^~ 

©" 

cm" 

00" 

00  CO  TP  00 

00 

CO 

CO 

OS 

</> 

00 

CO  00 

CO  l™H 

*~ '  CD 
lO"©" 

TP  © 
©^ 

cm"  cm" 


tP  00 

Tp^ 

tp"co" 


CJi  CM 
CM  X- 

CM  cO_ 
cm"oo" 


a 

o  3 
a  o 


S  a 


s-  © 

^  a 


CC?    W  =4H 

'a-  2  «§ 

^  °  bC 

CP  rc?  c 

a  2 

CC  » 

CP  "73  o 


00  © 
)0  © 
©  CM 


■g  S  S     Ph  Jz;  o 


.!>  S  o> 

e©  CO  i-h 

©~  us  oT 

CM  CO  CO 
CM  CO 


tH  .t-  CM 

CO  ^  o 

CO^  CO_ 

of  to"  oo 

CO  i-i 
i-h  CM 


CM  I-I 

O  CO 

J>  o 

00 

CO  OS 

OS  i- 

CM  00 

CO  £~ 

o 

00 

CO 

Tfl 

O  £- 

<M  I-H 

co 

tO  CM 

iO  CM 

CO  CO 

OS  CM 

»o 

rH  00 

-^£- 

i-  CO 

CO  co^ 

©* 

O~oo~ 

CO 

i>  o" 

OS 

00  f- 

o 

©  iO 

Tfl  CO 

i—  CO 

5fr 

I— 1  I-H 

CO  CM 

5^ 

CM  00 

00 

^  o 


CM  iO- 
00  OS 
CM  O 


00  IO 

p-i.  50 


J>  fl  Ci 

i-h  CM 

00  O  CO 

O  CO 

OS  CM  OS 

CO  CO 

CM  I-1  OS 

O  00 

CO  00  -t- 

£-  CO 

co~co~ 

CO  CO  CM 

■t-  O 

CM  CO 

€©= 

i-h  CM 

IO  1Q 

OS  JO 
CM  CO 


O  OS 

OS  OS 

CO 

co  io 

CM  1© 

CM 

£-  CO 

00  CO 

id 

O  Tt< 

©_cO_ 

©_ 

CO_CM 

SOCC 

CO  CO 

00  o 

CM  CO 

r-H  CM 

Tj<  -H 

CO  O 

CM  rH 


OS  id 

©  CM  . 

OS  00 

CO  00  . 

00  JO 

OS  Tt<  £- 

00  CO  * 

OS  O 

OS  O  Tfi 

IO  CO  • 

OS  os 

i  -  —  »e> 

CM^cO  ■ 

CO 

o"  icT  tjT 

I— l  I-H 

co"co" 

•t-  CM  CO 

oo  i-  ; 

JC—  ,-H 

CM  CO 

m 

5©-rH  ' 

Q  8 


e8 


E  .O 
a>  o 
Ph 


1*8 


.   P3  PL,  ^ 


Is 

«!  O  *E 
M  & 

H  W  Pw 


c 

ft 

63 
P 


60 
CO 

fa 

"CJ  o 

•s  a 

CO  o 


O  O 

o  o 
OO 


^  r-T 


CD  ^ 


"ft  £ 


co  £3 
S3  0> 
0>  -O 


o  13 

CO  £ 

S 


Eh 


o 

CO 

00  J> 

o 

CM 

"# 

OS  CM 

o 

CM 

»£5  OS 

o 

CO 

j>  CO 

00^ 

CM 

cm" 

no 

Jt> 

r-ToT 

CO 

o 

I-H  IO 

CO 

>cH 

CM 

1896.] 


Report  of  the  Booh  Committee. 


567 


It  is  evident,  from  the  study  of  these  figures,  that  the  hard 
times  have  affected  our  trade  in  the  East  more  than  in  the  cen- 
tral West.  It  will  also  be  clearly  seen  that  capital  and  profits 
do  not  bear  such  encouraging  proportions  in  the  East  as  in  the 
West.  It  is  due  to  the  Eastern  House  to  say  that  its  real  estate 
on  Fifth  Avenue  is  not  so  productive  in  rentals  as  was  the  block 
formerly  owned  on  Broadway.  The  new  structure  is  command- 
ing in  appearance  and  complete  in  its  appointments;  but  its  in- 
terior arrangements,  its  uses  in  manufacturing  purposes,  and  the 
financial  pressure  existing  during  most  of  the  quadrennium, 
have  discouraged  changes  and  prevented  rentals  which  more 
prosperous  times  will  evidently  bring.  It  is  also  proper  to  say 
that  the  profits  of  the  Eastern  House  are  less  because  of  dis- 
counts made  to  Conference  stores,  which  discounts  became  estab- 
lished long  before  its  present  management.  Its  increase  in  net 
capital  is  far  less  because  of  the  heavy  subsidies  it  annually  pays 
under  the  direction  of  the  General  Conference.  For  the  last 
sixteen  months  it  paid  in  dividends,  subsidies,  and  other  Church 
expenses,  895,112.17.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  figures  indicate 
a  decline  in  the  sale  of  books.  The  decline  is  in  the  prices  re- 
ceived rather  than  in  the  circulation.  The  purchasers  now  share 
in  the  profits  formerly  made.  In  all  this  there  is  much  service 
to  the  Church,  but  a  diminished  interest  on  invested  capital. 

The  trade  of  the  Western  House,  as  compared  with  the  pre- 
vious quadrennium,  has  been  more  than  sustained.  In  spite  of 
the  financial  pressure,  its  sales  in  1895  were  about  the  same  as 
in  1892.  The  house  and  its  depositories  are  in  chief  centers  of 
Methodist  population  and  influence.  Did  all  our  ministers  real- 
ize how  large  is  our  constituency,  and  how  fully  their  loyalty  and 
patronage  may  be  depended  on  if  appealed  to,  future  results 
would  greatly  exceed  the  present.  In  1876,  owing  to  severe 
losses  by  fire  and  uncollectible  accounts,  the  Western  House  was 
compelled  to  lean  heavily  upon  the  Eastern;  but  in  these  twenty 
years  it  has  risen  above  all  embarrassments,  and  now  has  ample 
equipment  and  resources,  with  facilities  that  command  the  field. 
In  the  last  three  qnadrenniums  it  has  disbursed  more  money  to 
the  Church  than  its  assets  amounted  to  in  1884.  It  has  really 
earned  its  present  capital,  $1,465,203.81,  in  twelve  years. 

The  Eastern  and  Western  Houses  have  disbursed  to  the  Con-  - 
ferences,  in  the  last  quadrennium,  $505,000;  and  the  Book  Com- 
mittee at  its  last  session  appropriated  for  the  present  year 
$125,000.  . 

Who  can  measure  the  direct  and  indirect  influences  of  our 
publications  upon  our  people?  They  bring  to  their  homes  in- 
struction, culture,  and  entertainment;  they  stimulate  loyalty  to- 
ward the  pastor  and  liberality  to  all  the  great  enterprises  of  the 
Church,  and  give  material  aid  to  all  needy  veterans.  The 
Church's  possibility  of  service  through  its  publishing  houses  is 
the  measure  of  its  responsibility. 


568 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


BOOKS. 

The  General  Catalogue  of  both  houses  shows  that  many  val- 
uable books  are  issued  from  our  presses.  They  have  a  fair  cir- 
culation among  our  ministers,  but  too  limited  a  sale  among  our 
membership.  The  chief  reason  is  they  are  not  immediately  ac- 
cessible. There  is  too  great  a  chasm  between  the  publishing 
house  and  its  proper  constituency.  The  fathers  formerly  bridged 
this  chasm,  but  their  sons  and  successors  leave  it  wide  open.  It 
is  difficult  to  crowd  denominational  literature  into  the  general 
trade.  Many  books  of  permanent  value,  and  many  that  would 
meet  a  present  need,  would  certainly  find  a  market  if  our  people 
knew  of  their  existence  and  worth.  How  to  bring  the  products 
and  the  purchasers  together  is  a  problem  worthy  of  thoughtful 
study. 

PERIODICALS. 

Advocates. — We  covet  special  consideration  of  our  periodical 
literature.    It  likewise  has  problems  difficult  of  solution. 

The  editors,  with  few  exceptions,  have  met  with  us  annually 
and  presented  full  reports.  As  to  editorial  oversight,  there  is 
much  to  approve  and  very  little  to  provoke  criticism.  The  co- 
operation of  Editors  and  Agents  to  make  our  papers  of  high 
grade  and  secure  for  them  merited  circulation  has  commanded 
our  admiration.  The  excellence,  variety  in  matter,  and  reason- 
able price  of  the  Advocates  are  generally  conceded.  We  are, 
however,  disappointed  that  there  has  not  been  a  growth  in  circu- 
lation more  nearly  corresponding  to  the  increase  in  Church 
membership.  In  the  last  ten  years  nearly  a  million  of  members, 
above  losses,  have  come  into  our  communion.  A  proportionate 
increase  in  the  subscription  list  to  our  papers  is  not  an  unreason- 
able expectation.  It  has  been  urged  that  a  reduction  in  price 
would  increase  their  circulation,  but  when  made  the  increase  has 
not  met  the  assurances  of  those  urging  the  reduction. 

The  Committee  views  with  concern  the  following  tendencies, 
more  or  less  manifest  throughout  the  Church: 

First.  The  disposition  to  substitute  the  secular  paper  for  the 
denominational  weekly. 

Second.  A  lack  of  active  effort  upon  the  part  of  many  pastors 
to  secure  subscribers.  These  co-proprietors  and  official  agents  of 
the  Book  Concern  sometimes  simply  advertise  our  periodicals 
from  the  pulpit,  or  appoint  some  one,  often  inexperienced  and 
inefficient,  to  canvass  in  their  stead. 

Third.  That  the  unofficial  paper  is  so  often  substituted  for  the 
official.    "  Local  news  "  and  "  half  the  price  "  explain  the  change. 

Are  not  the  following  alternatives  before  the  Church — either 
to  find  a  medium  more  uniformly  operative  and  aggressive  than 
the  pastoral  agency,  give  the  right  of  way  to  unofficial  journal- 
ism, or  publish  the  official  papers  at  prices  that  will  break  down 
competition  and  control  the  field,  without  reference  to  the  loss 
that  would  thereby  be  entailed  upon  the  Superannuate  Fund  ? 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Book  Committee. 


509 


Four  members  of  the  Advocate  family  are  published  at  a  loss. 
The  Pacific  Christian  Advocate  has  used  all  the  subsidy  author- 
ized by  the  General  Conference.  The  Southwestern  Christian 
Advocate,  as  for  many  years  past,  constantly  requires  a  large 
outlay  from  the  Eastern  House.  Its  size  and  price  were  reduced, 
but  the  subscription  list  has  but  slightly  increased,  though  the 
editor  and  managers  have  been  untiring  in  their  efforts.  Its 
constituency  is  widely  scattered,  many  living  a  long  distance 
from  New  Orleans,  and  none  of  them  are  rich  in  this  world's 
goods.  Its  location,  size,  price,  and  possible  resources  and  serv- 
ices should  have  special  study. 

The  California  Christian  Advocate  has  been  subjected  to  un- 
usual expense  for  the  past  two  years,  but  its  circulation  is  in- 
creasing, and,  under  vigorous  management,  it  promises  soon  to 
come  to  a  self-supporting  basis. 

The  price  of  the  Northern  Christian  Advocate  has  been  re- 
duced from  $2  to  $1.50,  which  has  increased  its  circulation  nearly 
fifty  per  cent;  but  the  income  is  not  increased,  and  the  paper  is 
still  published  at  a  small  loss. 

The  Methodist  Review  has  suffered  somewhat  in  circulation, 
yet  has  a  larger  list  of  subscribers  than  any  other  corresponding 
publication.  The  facile  pen  of  its  editor,  the  recognized  ability 
of  its  contributors,  the  variety  and  timeliness  of  its  subject-matter, 
its  happy  combination  of  scholarly  and  popular  qualities,  and  its 
earnest  purpose  to  serve  young  ministers  should  command  in- 
creasing patronage. 

German  Periodicals. — Our  German  ministers,  in  their  loyalty 
to  established  methods,  and  the  German  membership,  in  their  love 
for  the  literature  prepared  for  them,  are  a  standing  rebuke  to 
English-speaking  ministers  and  members.  A  copy  of  the  Chris- 
tian Apologist  is  taken  by  every  third  member,  and  the  Haus 
und  Herd  is  in  nearly  every  household.  These  publications  are 
ably  edited  and  have  much  to  do  in  developing  the  stalwart 
Christian  character  of  those  they  serve. 

Sunday  School  Publications. — Our  Sunday  school  publica- 
tions are  models  of  beauty,  variety,  and  cheapness.  Methodists 
who  know  their  worth  do  not  seek  for  outside  helps.  They  have 
a  great  circulation,  which  explains  their  low  price.  This  is  es- 
pecially true  of  Sunday  school  helps.  The  publishing  agents 
suggest  that  some  of  the  papers  should  be  recast  or  others  begun, 
to  meet  changing  forms  of  competition  and  the  changed  condi- 
tions of  many  young  people.  The  growth  in  circulation,  how- 
ever, we  are  sorry  to  say,  does  not  equal  the  growth  of  the 
Church.  Our  young  people  will  not  be  saved  to  the  Church 
without  the  impress  coming  from  the  Church's  literature.  For 
a  pastor  or  Sunday  school  committee  to  displace  these  publica- 
tions is  to  assume  a  grave  responsibility. 

Epworth  Herald  and  Epworth  League  Publications. — The 
Epworth  Herald  has  had  a  vigorous  growth  from  the  beginning, 
and  now  has  a  commanding  place  in  Methodist  and  American 


570 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[189G. 


journalism.  Its  circulation  is  already  beyond  one  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  it  is  continually  making  additions.  That  it  supplies  a 
demand  and  fills  a  niche  is  not  in  question.  Its  variety  and  full- 
ness of  Church  news,  its  wise  counsels  on  disputed  social  ques- 
tions, its  loyalty  to  Methodist  traditions,  doctrines,  spirit,  and 
polity,  and  its  aggressive  evangelistic  spirit  are  doing  much  to 
arrest  the  attention  of  our  young  people,  to  steady  and  direct 
their  steps,  and  to  stimulate  educational  processes  suited  to  the 
Church's  needs  in  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth  century. 

The  Epworth  League  publications,  edited  by  the  able  Secre- 
tary, are  finding  a  large  sale  and  are  an  inspiring  force  to  their 
readers.  Since  the  profits  on  these  publications  accrue  to  the 
Church  the  Book  Agents  have  been  authorized  to  pay  the  sal- 
aries, the  office  and  traveling  expenses  of  the  editor  of  the  Epworth 
Herald  and  of  the  General  Secretary,  and  the  expenses  ordered 
by  the  Board  of  Control  or  Cabinet. 

Bohemian  Paper. — Since  1893,  at  the  request  of  a  number  of 
Bohemian  missionaries — a  request  indorsed  by  Bishop  Merrill  and 
other  Church  officials  at  Chicago — the  Book  Committee  have 
granted  a  subsidy  of  $40  per  month  to  a  Bohemian  paper  called 
the  Krestanshy  Posel,  published  in  Chicago.  For  a  year  past 
the  donation  of  the  presswork  has  also  been  authorized. 

The  Book  Committee,  during  the  quadrennium,  have  given 
much  anxious  thought  to  the  periodical  literature  of  the  Church. 
They  would  urgently  call  the  attention  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence to  its  merits,  mission,  present  power,  and  possibilities.  We 
do  not  believe  that  any  question  of  more  importance  will  seek 
consideration  at  this  session.  The  prosperity  of  the  Book  Con- 
cerns;'the  intelligence,  loyalty,  and  spirituality  of  our  people; 
the  growth  of  our  benevolences;  the  disbursements  to  Annual 
Conferences,  and  the  recognition  of  the  Church  among  sister 
denominations  are  all  involved  in  the  character  and  circulation 
of  our  literature. 

REAL  ESTATE. 

At  the  opening  of  the  quadrennium  a  new  appraisement  was 
made.  From  offers  received  we  are  convinced  that  the  market- 
able value  of  much  of  our  Book  Concern  realty  is  far  above  that 
given  in  our  reports.  The  Chicago  property  could  have  been 
sold  two  years  ago  for  double  its  appraised  value. 

New  York. — The  New  York  House,  massive  and  symmetrical 
in  structure,  superior  in  location,  and  complete  in  appointments, 
has  attracted  during  the  quadrennium  greatly  improved  sur- 
roundings, and  has  become  the  center  of  the  book  trade  in  the 
metropolis.  The  Presbyterian  Missionary  Building,  a  magnifi- 
cent block,  occupies  the  opposite  corner  on  Twentieth  Street,  and 
the  leading  book  stores  of  the  city  are  in  close  proximity. 

Pittsburg. — Very  advantageous  changes  have  been  made  in 
the  Pittsburg  property.  The  old  property,  though  in  a  valuable 
portion  of  the  city,  was  not  adapted  to  the  Church's  need.  It 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Book  Committee. 


571 


was  sold  for  $100,000,  less  the  commission,  and  a  lot  on  Perm 
Street,  located  amid  fortunate  surroundings  for  trade,  was  pur- 
chased. A  new  building  of  sandstone  and  pressed  brick,  seven 
stories  above  the  basement,  has  been  erected.  It  furnishes 
headquarters,  offices,  and  work  rooms  for  our  publishing  inter- 
ests, a  room  for  ministerial  and  missionary  meetings  and  like 
gatherings  for  Church  work.  We  are  glad  to  say  that  the 
amount  received  for  the  old  property  very  nearly  covered  the 
expenses  of  the  new  purchase  and  structure. 

Cincinnati. — Four  years  ago  the  Book  Committee  reported 
the  purchase  of  a  lot  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Home  Streets, 
and  that  the  initial  steps  had  been  taken  to  put  up  a  new  build- 
ing. It  was  completed  in  the  closing  weeks  of  1893,  and  proper 
dedicatory  services  were  held  at  our  annual  meeting  in  February, 
1894.  Since  the  completion  of  the  new  building  the  old  one  has 
been  brought  to  the  same  elevation  and  its  front  made  to  har- 
monize with  the  new,  the  united  structures  forming  one  of  the 
most  commanding  in  that  great  city.  The  arrangements  and 
appointments  of  this  block  are  models  of  convenience  and  com- 
fort. The  offices  and  salesrooms  are  all  that  can  be  desired,  still 
leaving  much  space  to  be  utilized  in  rentals.  A  striking  feature 
about  this  structure  is  its  small  cost  as  compared  with  its  size  and 
completeness. 

Chicago. — The  Chicago  property  is  already  unequal  to  the 
demands  upon  it.  Our  business  in  the  great  Northwest  requires 
enlarged  and  improved  appointments.  The  site  is  worthy  of  a 
better  structure  than  we  have.  At  our  last  meeting  the  Western 
Agents  and  the  Local  Committee  at  Cincinnati  were  authorized 
to  erect  a  new  building  as  soon  as,  in  their  judgment,  circum- 
stances warrant  a  beginning. 

St.  Louis. — The  Sixth  Street  property  was  sold  at  its  inventory 
value  in  1893.  This  all  parties  interested  regarded  as  a  judicious 
sale.  The  new  property  purchased  in  1890,  on  the  corner  of 
Fifteenth  Street  and  Lucas  Place,  has  proved  a  fortunate  invest- 
ment, as  shown  by  its  adaptation  to  present  uses  and  by  its  in- 
creasing value. 

San  Francisco. — No  purchases,  sales,  or  modifications  have 
been  made  in  San  Francisco  property  since  1892.  The  building 
is  in  good  repair,  furnishes  space  for  all  the  work  of  the  de- 
pository under  one  roof,  and  yields  some  income  from  rental. 

Detroit. — The  "Detroit  Store"  has  changed  its  locality  in 
the  past  year,  securing  cheaper  rent  and  more  inviting  surround- 
ings for  the  business. 

DEPOSITORIES. 

The  figures  we  have  given  show  the  business  done  by  each. 
Most  of  them  are  furnishing  but  meager  profits.  Chicago  and 
St.  Louis  may  be  regarded  exceptions.  Some  of  these  deposito- 
ries are  limited  in  territory,  are  compelled  to  meet  the  sharpest 
competition,  and  to  conduct  business  on  a  very  small  margin. 


572 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


San  Francisco  has  so  great  a  stretch  of  sparsely  settled  territory, 
and  our  Church  members  are  so  widely  scattered,  that  the  con- 
centration of  trade  is  difficult.  If  percentage  of  profit  on  the 
capital  invested  alone  were  taken  into  account  the  discontinu- 
ance of  several  Depositories  would  follow.  But  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  they  have  been  authorized  for  other  reasons  than 
mere  financial  returns.  They  assist  in  the  sale  of  our  books 
and  other  products ;  they  are  centers  that  make  our  publications 
more  immediately  accessible  ;  they  secure  to  many  people  Church 
papers  they  themselves  could  not  sustain,  and  serve  to  distribute 
more  widely  the  teaching  and  influence  of  the  Church.  They 
should  be  established,  however,  only  where  great  territory  is  in- 
accessible to  present  plants. 

EPISCOPAL  FUND. 

The  basis  of  apportionment  has  been,  during  the  quadrennium, 
one  and  a  quarter  per  cent  of  the  amount  reported  for  ministerial 
support,  exclusive  of  missionary  appropriations.  There  was  a 
decrease  in  the  collection  in  1894  and  1895.  Owing  to  a  small 
balance  on  hand  at  the  beginning  of  the  quadrennium,  and  to 
the  fact  that  the  General  Conference  of  1892  directed  that  the 
salaries  of  the  Missionary  Bishops  should  be  paid  out  of  mis- 
sionary funds,  thus  relieving  the  Episcopal  Fund  each  year  by 
the  amount  of  their  salaries,  the  treasury  was  not  quite  exhausted 
January  1,  1896.  A  study  of  the  proportion  between  apportion- 
ments and  collections  among  the  Conferences  will  awaken  sur- 
prises. That  certain  Southern  and  frontier  Conferences  should 
collect  only  a  fraction  of  their  apportionments  is  to  be  expected; 
that  the  fraction  is  generally  so  small,  and  that  some  of  the  older 
and  wealthier  Conferences  are  satisfied  to  raise  half  of  their  ap- 
portionment, while  sister  Conferences  near  by  regularly  raise 
most  or  all  of  their  apportionment,  ought  to  find  an  explanation 
and  remedy.  We  are  satisfied  that  some  of  the  Conferences 
conscientiously  observe  the  law  of  the  Church,  and  that  the  Bish- 
ops share  pro  rata  with  the  presiding  elders  and  pastors ;  while 
in  other  Conferences  the  support  of  the  Bishops  is  still  regarded 
as  a  "  benevolent  collection,"  and  is  made  to  run  its  chances  in 
an  omnibus  envelope,  and  after  a  mere  formal  announcement  by 
the  pastor.  The  Conferences  delight  in  the  services  of  the 
Bishops ;  but  there  is  often  a  great  disproportion  between  the 
episcopal  service  received  and  the  collection  taken  for  the  Episco- 
pal Fund.  It  is  evident  that  our  people  are  more  than  willing  to 
support  the  Bishops.  The  attention  of  the  General  Conference  is 
called  to  the  need  of  a  uniform  system,  whose  application  shall  be 
made  imperative  throughout  the  Church  in  providing  the  funds. 

GENERAL  CONFERENCE. 

The  General  Conference  of  1892  delegated  to  the  Book  Com- 
mittee the  selection  of  the  place  for  the  present  session,  and  all 
arrangements  pertaining  to  the  transportation,  work,  and  comfort 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Book  Committee. 


573 


of  its  members.  In  1893  a  Commission,  or  Committee  on  Enter- 
tainment, was  raised,  consisting  of  J.  R.  Creighton,  Richard 
Dymond,  E.  J.  Gray,  M.  A.  Head,  A.  J.  Palmer,  L.  C.  Queal, 
and  W.  F.  Whitlock.  Subsequently  A.  F.  Chase  was  added. 
This  Commission  organized  in  the  election  of  A.  J.  Palmer, 
chairman;  W.  F.  Whitlock,  secretary;  and  Richard  Dymond, 
treasurer.  In  1893  the  Commission  visited,  in  the  following 
order,  Saratoga,  Cleveland,  Indianapolis,  Detroit,  and  Chicago — 
the  cities  asking  for  the  present  session — examining  equipments 
and  receiving  propositions  from  all  save  Chicago,  which,  after  our 
arrival,  withdrew  its  invitation.  The  Commission  presented  to 
the  Book  Committee  at  its  session  in  February,  1894,  a  report  of 
its  visitations  and  findings,  when  an  opportunity  was  also  given 
to  delegations  from  these  cities  to  appear  and  present  their  re- 
quests, propositions,  and  claims.  After  hearing  all  parties  ap- 
pearing, and  the  fullest  conference  among  ourselves,  the  Book 
Committee  adopted  the  following: 

"  We  recognize  gratefully  the  kind  and  generous  invitations 
asking  for  the  next  session  of  the  General  Conference,  and  we 
are  persuaded  that  any  one  of  the  cities  inviting  the  session 
would  take  excellent  care  of  the  same." 

The  duty  of  accepting  some  one  of  these  invitations  having 
been  placed  on  this  committee  the  following  is  respectfully 
offered  for  your  adoption: 

"  Whereas,  The  city  of  Cleveland  first  presented  its  invitation, 
and  has  for  several  years  urged  it  upon  the  Church;  and, 

"  Whereas,  It  has  never  had  a  session  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence; and, 

"  Whereas,  It  is  so  located  and  related  that  a  General  Confer- 
ence session  will  especially  serve  our  general  Methodism;  there- 
fore, 

"Resolved,  That  Cleveland,  O.,  be  selected  for  the  session  of 
the  General  Conference  in  1896;  provided,  that  all  propositions, 
and  all  details  in  arrangements  as  to  auditorium,  committee 
rooms,  printing  facilities,  hotel  accommodations,  railroad  rates, 
and  whatever  may  pertain  to  the  success  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence session,  be  acceptable  to  the  Committee  on  Entertainment — 
this  agreement  to  be  made  in  writing." 

At  the  same  session  an  estimate  of  the  probable  expenses  of 
the  General  Conference  was  made,  and  also  an  apportionment  to 
the  Annual  Conferences  on  a  basis  of  one  and  a  quarter  per  cent 
of  the  amount  reported  for  ministerial  support.  The  Commis- 
sion was  authorized  to  take  charge  of  the  apportionment  and  the 
collection,  and  to  deposit  the  same  with  the  Book  Agents.  The 
members  of  the  Book  Committee  representing  General  Confer- 
ence districts  were  charged  with  a  special  oversight  of  the  collec- 
tions within  the  bounds  of  their  respective  districts.  The  Com- 
mission, through  the  chairman  and  secretary,  sent  circular  letters 
to  all  presiding  elders  and  pastors,  made  appeals  through  the 
Church  papers,  and  have  written  many  personal  letters,  especially 


574 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896, 


to  the  presiding  elders,  praying  that  all  needed  effort  be  made  to 
raise  the  apportionment.  It  is  not  possible  to  tell  at  this  writing 
the  degree  of  success,  but  we  have  reason  to  believe  the  Church 
has  liberally  responded. 

When  Cleveland  was  agreed  upon  as  the  seat  of  the  General 
Conference  we  had  every  assurance  that  a  great  building,  styled 
the  "  Armory,"  would  be  completed,  and  that  there  would  be 
furnished  under  one  roof  an  auditorium  and  all  needful  com- 
mittee rooms  and  conveniences  for  the  General  Conference. 
That  this  has  not  been  done  is  not  the  fault  of  the  Local  Com- 
mittee of  Cleveland  or  the  County  Commissioners  having  in 
charge  the  structure;  the  latter  were  enjoined  by  certain  dissatis- 
fied parties  from  completing  the  building  at  the  expense  of  the 
county,  because  State  troops  were  to  use  it.  The  Local  Com- 
mittee having  put  the  auditorium  in  preparation  for  you,  its  less 
finished  appearance  will  not  detract  from  its  comfort.  Committee 
rooms  in  abundance  are  found  near  by. 

MATTERS  REFERRED  FOR  SPECIAL  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  ACTION. 
1.   SUNDAY  SCHOOL  PAPERS. 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  the  General  Conference  that 
the  Classmate  and  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  shall  be  improved 
and  enlarged,  and  the  former  also  published  weekly.  The  name 
of  Classmate  should  be  so  changed  that  neither  the  name  of 
Sunday  school  nor  Epworth  League  should  appear  in  it. 

2.   SOUTHWESTERN  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE. 

Whereas,  The  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate  has  been  pub- 
lished at  New  Orleans  for  a  number  of  years  at  great  expense 
and  loss  to  our  Book  Concern;  and, 

Whereas,  It  appears  that,  in  consequence  of  the  remote  loca- 
tion of  the  said  paper  from  the  central  South  and  great  news 
centers  of  our  country,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  the  paper 
live;  and, 

Whereas,  Charleston,  S.  C,  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  con- 
stituency of  over  46,000  members  of  our  Church  in  South  Caro- 
lina, with  the  Savannah,  North  Carolina,  and  Florida  Conferences 
in  close  proximity,  with  the  advantage  of  cheap  freights  by 
water  and  rapid  transit  of  news  from  New  York;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  ask  the  next  General  Confer- 
ence to  take  into  consideration  the  advisability  of  removing  the 
Southwestern  Christian  Advocate  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  chang- 
ing its  name  to  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate,  with  the  view 
of  making  it  self-supporting. 

3.   UNOFFICIAL  PAPERS. 

Special  attention  of  the  General  Conference  is  asked  to  the 
following  statement: 

The  multiplication  of  unofficial  papers  in  a  number  of  our  Con- 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Book  Committee. 


575 


ferences;  the  consequent  decrease  of  the  circulation  and  profits 
of  official  papers;  the  peril  to  our  Superannuate  Fund,  which 
arises  in  part  from  our  periodical  literature;  the  increased  diffi- 
culty and  expense  of  finding  a  market  for  our  books  when  un- 
official papers  displace  the  official;  and  the  dissatisfaction  among 
our  ministers  and  people  not  sustaining  Conference  or  local 
organs,  are  facts  that  give  us  serious  concern.  It  is  conceded 
by  all  that  the  unity  and  connectional  interests  of  Methodism 
should  everywhere  be  emphasized  and  promoted.  It  is  also  clear 
that  especial  patronage  should  be  given  by  our  Conferences  to 
the  enterprises  of  the  Church  which  return  profits  to  all  the  Con- 
ferences, and  that  any  real  or  seeming  lack  of  loyalty  in  building 
up  and  applying  a  local  or  Conference  Fund  affecting  the  size  of 
the  Superannuate  Fund  coming  from  our  Book  Concerns,  should 
challenge  the  most  careful  consideration  and  the  fullest  confer- 
ence of  those  directly  responsible. 

If  a  final  word  could  emphasize  the  importance  of  our  Book 
Concerns  in  the  service  they  render  the  Church  we  should  be 
delighted  to  write  it.  Their  great  plants  are  monuments  to  the 
Church's  enterprise  in  the  chief  cities  of  trade;  many  millions  of 
pages  of  instructive  and  religious  literature  issue  annually  from 
their  presses,  and  they  are  the  studious  servants  of  the  entire 
membership,  from  those  most  exalted  in  acquisitions  and  posi- 
tion to  the  humblest  and  youngest;  they  reach  out  into  great 
distances  their  strong  arms  and  support  the  weak,  forming  for 
them  centers  of  material  aid  and  influence,  until  they  can  become 
self-supporting;  their  credit  system  has  given  Conference  enter- 
prises, having  practically  no  capital,  a  beginning,  and  then  pros- 
perity; they  disburse  annually  to  Conference  claimants  and  varied 
Church  interests  an  average  of  $150,000  in  cash,  never  receiving 
yet  always  giving,  ever  ready  to  give  instruction,  entertainment, 
mental  and  spiritual  stimulus,  and  mental  aid,  in  many  ways 
strengthening  the  centers  and  extending  the  borders  of  our  be- 
loved Church  and  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

We  plead  that  all  our  ministers  and  members  may  give  our 
Book  Concerns  their  sympathy  and  patronage,  that  their  resources 
and  potency  for  good  may  be  increasingly  multiplied. 

By  order  of  the  Committee, 

W.  F.  Whitlock,  Chairman. 

E.  J.  Gray,  Secretary. 
37 


B. 

REPORTS  OF  AGENTS. 


New  York  Book  Concern.    Journal,  page  91. 
To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  It  is  with  unspeakable  sadness 
that  the  writer  of  this  report  records  the  death  of  his  honored  asso- 
ciate, the  senior  agent,  Sandford  Hunt,  D.D.,  who,  on  February  10, 
1896,  ceased  at  once  to  work  and  live.  He  had  served  as  one  of 
the  Publishing  Agents  at  New  York  for  seventeen  years,  and 
was  untiring  in  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  Book  Concern. 
He  wrought  faithfully  and  well,  and  has  now  entered  upon  his 
eternal  reward. 

The  report  herewith  presented  covers  a  period  of  four  years 
and  four  months,  from  June  30,  1891,  to  October  31,  1895.  The 
change  in  the  time  of  closing  our  fiscal  year  was  made  in  accord- 
ance with  the  request  of  the  Book  Committee.  This  change 
will  make  the  fiscal  year  of  the  two  houses,  East  and  West,  cover 
hereafter  the  same  period. 

The  business  of  the  Book  Concern  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  com- 
mon with  all  business  houses  throughout  the  country,  has  suffered 
during  the  last  four  years  from  the  general  financial  depression 
which  began  early  in  the  quadrennium,  and  is  still  severely  felt. 
Our  sales  have  fallen  off  very  materially,  greatly  lessening  the 
volume  of  our  business  and  the  amount  of  our  profits.  We  have 
reason,  however,  for  devout  thanksgiving  to  God  that  we  have 
been  able  from  year  to  year  to  show  a  fair  profit,  and  to  continue 
the  payment  of  large  dividends  to  the  Annual  Conferences. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  during  the  last  quadrennium  the 
business  of  the  Book  Concern  in  New  York  has  been  conducted 
under  very  different  conditions  from  those  formerly  prevailing. 
We  have  exchanged  an  underground  salesroom  for  one  of  the 
finest  stores  on  Fifth  Avenue.  The  property  used  for  manu- 
facturing purposes  is  far  more  valuable  than  that  on  Mulberry 
Street  and  entails  additional  expense.  Instead  of  receiving 
$30,000  for  rentals  to  be  added  to  the  profits  of  the  business,  as 
was  the  case  when  occupying  our  former  building  at  805  Broad- 
way, we  are  paying  more  than  half  that  sum  to  the  Missionary 
Society  on  joint  account,  and  the  expenses  of  maintaining  the 
large  building  we  now  occupy  are  necessarily  great.  In  addition 
to  this  tax  upon  our  resources,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a 
very  large  reduction  has  been  made  in  the  prices  of  our  books 
and  periodicals,  lessening  the  profits  in  a  corresponding  ratio;  that 
we  are  obliged  to  come  into  sharp  competition  with  independent 
papers,  and  that  at  the  present  day  business  generally  is  con- 
ducted on  the  principle  of  large  sales  and  small  profits. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  profits  of  the  business  have  fallen 
off  in  greater  proportion  than  have  the  sales.  This  is  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  during  the  first  three  years  of  the  quadren- 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  New  York. 


577 


niam  ending  in  1892  we  received  in  cash  for  rentals  about 
$85,000,  which  went  into  the  showing  of  profits  on  the  business, 
while,  during  the  quadrennium  just  closed,  we  have  received 
nothing  from  rentals,  but  have  actually  paid  out,  to  the  Mis- 
sionary Society,  many  thousands  of  dollars  for  that  portion  of 
the  building  owned  by  the  Missionary  Society,  and  which  we 
have  been  compelled  to  occupy  in  part. 

The  amount  of  our  business  during  the  quadrennium  has  been 
materially  reduced,  not  only  by  the  stringency  of  the  times,  but 
also  by  the  transfer  of  the  publication  of  the  Chautauqua  books 
to  other  parties.  A  contract  for  the  manufacture  of  these  books 
for  five  years  expired  in  July,  1892,  and  we  had  been  led  to  ex- 
pect its  renewal,  but  a  new  contract  was  made  with  other 
parties  without  any  notification  to  us  or  any  opportunity  to  offer 
competing  terms.  The  value  of  the  books  which  we  had  manu- 
factured for  some  years  under  contract  with  the  Chautauqua 
Association  exceeded  $100,000  annually. 

Notes  axd  Accounts. — The  exhibit  which  we  submit  here- 
with shows  the  Concern  to  be  owing  more  on  notes  and  accounts 
than  four  years  ago.  We  hold  a  mortgage  on  the  old  building 
at  805  Broad  way  for  $100,000,  and  other  securities  for  special 
loans  on  interest  amounting  to  $84,640.  To  meet  the  requirements 
of  our  business  and  pay  the  large  dividends  to  Annual  Confer- 
ences, together  with  the  subsidies  to  varions  periodicals  ordered 
by  General  Conference,  we  have  been  compelled  to  borrow  a  sum 
equal  to  that  due  on  mortgage  and  special  loans.  We  are  also 
carrying  a  debt  of  $48,551.88  on  our  new  Pittsburg  property. 
These  items  more  than  make  the  difference  between  our  liabilities 
at  the  close  of  our  last  fiscal  year  and  our  liabilities  four  years  ago. 

Real  Estate. — Very  little  change  has  been  made  in  the  ap- 
praised value  of  our  real  estate,  except  at  Pittsburg,  although  our 
property  at  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twentieth  Street,  New  York,  has 
increased  in  value  at  least  40  per  cent. 

By  advice  of  the  Local  Committee,  we  sold  our  old  property  in 
Pittsburg  and  purchased  lots  on  a  more  eligible  site,  upon  which 
a  new  and  commodious  building  has  been  erected.  The  old 
property  was  sold  for  $100,000.  The  new  property  cost  us,  for 
the  lots  and  an  eight-story  fire-proof  building,  $144,583.  Before 
the  completion  of  the  building  every  part  of  its  available  space 
was  rented  to  desirable  tenants,  and  the  yearly  returns  amount 
to  over  $9,000.  The  property,  therefore,  pays  six  per  cent  upon 
its  cost,  and  gives  the  Depository  and  the  Pittsburg  Christian 
Advocate  all  the  room  needed  for  their  purposes  rent  free.  The 
whole  indebtedness,  after  the  completion  of  the  building,  was 
$48,551.88.  Not  many  years  will  be  required,  however,  for  the 
receipts  from  rentals  to  wipe  out  the  entire  indebtedness,  and 
thereafter  the  property  will  be  a  source  of  handsome  revenue  to 
the  Book  Concern. 

The  following  is  a  synopsis  of  the  exhibit  furnished  to  the 
Book  Committee  in  our  last  annual  report  : 


578 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


EXHIBIT  FOR  THE  YEAR  ENDING  OCTOBER  31,  1895. 
ASSETS. 

1.  Real  Estate:  , 

*  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twentieth  Street,  N.  Y. .  $740,000  00 

Building  and  Lot,  San  Francisco,  Cal   70,000  00 

Building  and  Lot,  Pittsburg,  Pa   144,583  81 

Building  and  Lot,  West  Twentieth  Street,  NY.     37,000  00 

Total  Real  Estate  ,   $991,583  81 

2.  Merchandise  Department: 

Bound  Books,  Stationery,  etc  $111,938  70 

Printed  Sheets   49,391  14 

Stock  in  Depositories: 

Boston   16,971  84 

Buffalo   5,000  00 

Pittsburg   26,398  41 

San  Francisco   52,934  14 

Store  in  Detroit   40,323  81 

Stock,  Accounts,  Notes,  Plates,  etc.,  in  Sub- 
scription Book  Department   237,219  53 

Stock  and  Dividends  Internat'l  Bible  Agency.     30,403  81 

Total  Merchandise    570,681  38 

3.  Manufacturing  Department: 

Shafting  and  Machinery   $16,262  31 

Stereotype  Plates,  Steel   Engravings,  Wood- 
cuts, etc   203,199  81 

Presses,  Type,  Paper,  etc.,  in  Printing  Depart- 
ment *   128,471  40 

Materials  and  Tools  in  Bindery   49,503  45 

Total    397,436  9T 

4.  Furniture  and  Fixtures: 

Editors'  Library     $3,000  00 

Safes,  Office  and  Store  Fixtures   25,204  69 

Total    28,204  69 

5.  Notes  and  Accounts  : 

Notes  in  New  York   $24,770  83 

Accounts  in  New  York  ,   224,374  56 

Notes  and  Accounts  in  Boston   26.358  79 

"  Pittsburg   39,335  58 

"  "  San  Francisco   25,978  93 

«  "  Detroit   19,311  88 

$360,130  57 

To  Suspense   6,333  08 

$353,797  49 

Less  ten  per  cent   35,379  74 

$318,417  75 

Mortgages  and  Special  Loans  on  Interest   184,640  61 

  503,058  36 

6.  Cash: 

Cash  on  hand  in  New  York   $44,450  02 

"        Boston   213  58 

"  "         Pittsburg   53  87 

"  "        San  Francisco   40  59 

"  "        Detroit   442  05 

Total  Cash    45,200  11 

Total  Assets   $2,536,065  32 

*  This  represents  two  thirds  of  the  joint  property  of  the  Book  Concern  and  Missionary 
Society. 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Agents  at  Nevs  York. 


579 


LIABILITIES. 

7.  Notes: 

The  Concern  owes  on  Notes  $272,259  18 

8.  Accounts: 

*The  Concern  owes  on  Accounts   218.672  99 

  $490,932  17 

Net  Capital,  October  31,  1895   $2,045,133  15 

Net  Capital,  June  30,  1894   $2,015,840  34 

Amount  added  to  Net  Capital   $29,292  81 

PROFITS. 

At  New  York   $116,920  10 

rt.  Boston   3,391  42 

"  Pittsburg   3,596  10 

"  San  Francisco   214  66 

"  Detroit   282  70 

 $124,404  98 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Dividends  to  Annual  Conferences  $67,018  00 

California  Christian  Advocate   7,000  00 

Pacific  Christian  Advocate  >   6,500  00 

Southwestern  Christian  Advocate   5,061  37 

Vidnesbyrdet   450  00 

Epworth  League  Expenses   3,697  35 

Book  Committee  Expenses   2,001  04 

General  Minutes  of  Conferences   2,771  86 

Judicial  Conferences   296  53 

Sundry  General  Conference  Expenses   316  02 

  $95,112  17 

Added  to  Net  Capital   29,292  81 

Net  Profit   $124,404  98 

SALES  FOR  THE  QUADRENNIUM. 

During  the  year  1892  the  sales  were  $1,076,451  41 

During  the  year  1893  the  sales  were   1,074,447  11 

During  the  year  1894  the  sales  were   980,361  91 

During  the  year  1895  (16  months)  the  sales  were   1,278,572  15 

$4,409,832  58 

Of  this  amount  $509,427.20  worth  were  sold  to  the  Depositories. 
Deducting  this  sum  from  the  amount  of  our  gross  sales  leaves 
our  net  sales  for  the  quadrennium  $3,900,405.38. 
The  entire  sales  for  the  quadrennium  ending  in 

1892  were  $4,235,203  78 

Less  sales  to  Depositories   304,789  01 

$3,930,414  77 

Decrease  for  the  four  years   30,009  39 

PROFITS. 

The  profits  during  the  quadrennium  are   $387,993  20 

Being  a  decrease  of .   161,961  89 

The  net  capital  in  1892  was   2,000,618  26 

The  net  capital  in  1896  is   2,045,133  15 

Being  an  increase  of   44,514  89 


*  $48,551.88  of  this  amount  represents  the  debt  upon  the  Pittsburg  property. 


580 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


We  have  paid  out  during  the  four  years: 


Dividends  to  Annual  Conferences  

Subsidy  to  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate  

Subsidy  to  California  Christian  Advocate  

Subsidy  to  Pacific  Christian  Advocate  

Subsidy  to  Vidnesbyrdet  

General  Conference  Journal  

General  Minutes  of  Conferences  

Der  Christelige  Talsman  

Epworth  League  Expenses  

Expenses  of  Delegates  to  British  and  Irish  Conferences..  . 

Book  Committee  Expenses  

Judicial  Conference  Expenses  

Sundry  General  Conference  Expenses  


$270,024  37 


19,041  40 
10,000  00 
12,500  00 
1,050  00 
2,250  00 
12,211  89 


200  00 
13,237  06 
350  00 
2,001  04 

,  296  53 
316  02 


$343,478  31 


SPECIAL  EXPENDITURES. 


We  have  been  compelled  during  the  quadrennium  to  purchase 
new  presses,  machinery  for  the  bindery,  etc.,  to  take  the  place  of 
old  presses  and  machinery  that  had  become  practically  worthless, 
and  which,  by  annual  reductions  for  wear  and  tear,  had  prac- 
tically disappeared  from  our  inventory.  The  amount  expended 
for  these  purposes  is  about  $27,000. 

DEPOSITORIES. 

The  profits  and  losses  at  the  Depositories  during  the  quadren- 
nium are  as  follows: 

Boston  Profits,  $21,951  66 

Pittsburg   "       12,747  85 

Detroit  (store)   "        6,477  41 

San  Francisco  Loss,  237  29 

We  regret  that  the  Depositories  do  not  show  larger  earnings. 
While  they  are  important  distributing  centers  for  our  publica- 
tions, none  of  them  are  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  secure  a  largely 
increased  trade. 

The  Boston  Depository  is  in  the  midst  of  great  publishing 
houses  and  a  teeming  book  market,  and  is  compelled  to  meet  the 
sharpest  competition.  Its  sales,  therefore,  are  necessarily  made 
on  a  slight  margin  of  profit,  and  its  earnings  are  much  less  than 
they  otherwise  would  be. 

The  Pittsburg  Depository  is  circumscribed  in  its  field,  and 
must  content  itself  with  comparatively  limited  sales.  It  has 
made  an  excellent  record,  however,  as  the  valuable  property  it 
has  accumulated  and  the  amount  of  money  it  has  earned  for  the 
Book  Concern  attest. 

The  Sax  Francisco  Depository  occupies  a  difficult  field  and 
labors  under  embarrassments  peculiar  to  itself  and  hard  to  be 
overcome.  Its  patronizing  territory  includes  a  wide  stretch  of 
country  broken  by  high  mountain  ranges,  many  of  the  churches 
which  should  send  to  it  for  their  supplies  being  a  thousand  miles 
from  Depository  headquarters.  To  add  to  its  embarrassments 
many  of  the  pastors  and  churches  within  its  territory  send  direct 


IS 96.]  Report  of  the  Agents  at  New  York. 


581 


to  New  York,  Cincinnati,  or  Chicago  for  their  supplies,  thus 
depriving  the  Depository  of  much  of  its  legitimate  trade.  If  the 
Depository  could  receive  the  benefit  of  the  trade  that  originates 
in  its  territory  the  business  of  the  Pacific  coast  would  show  a  large 
profit.  For  the  quadrennium  ending  in  1892  the  Depository 
showed  a  loss  of  $5,136.21,  while  the  loss  for  the  last  quadren- 
nium is  only  $237.29,  showing  a  decided  improvement  in  its 
business.  The  Depository  has  accumulated,  largely  from  its  own 
earnings,  a  real  estate  property  in  San  Francisco  now  valued  at 
§70,000,  and  easily  worth  much  more  than  that  sum. 

The  Detroit  Store  shows  but  small  profits  on  its  business  for 
the  quadrennium.  This  is  accounted  for  in  part  by  the  great 
financial  stringency,  and  in  part  by  the  fact  that  we  have  been 
compelled  to  remove  to  a  new  store,  the  expense  of  removal 
having  been  paid  from  the  profits  of  the  business.  In  the  new 
location  a  large  saving  is  made  in  rent,  and  the  prospects  for  the 
future  are  encouraging. 

In  our  annual  inventory  of  stock  in  the  Depositories  we  have 
sought  to  make  conservative  estimates  of  values,  but  we  are  per- 
suaded that  there  is  much  old  stock,  especially  in  San  Francisco 
and  Detroit,  that  should  be  taken  from  the  inventory  entirely. 
While  this  would  make  an  unfavorable  showing  for  these  De- 
positories in  their  next  annual  report,  it  would  put  them  upon  a 
more  satisfactory  basis  and  enable  them  thereafter  to  show  better 
results  from  their  business.  We  shall  be  glad  to  act  upon  any 
recommendations  you  may  be  pleased  to  make  on  the  subject. 

PERIODICALS. 

The  Methodist  Review. — The  Review  maintains  a  circulation 
of  a  little  over  5,000  copies.  This  is  a  much  larger  subscription 
list  than  that  of  any  other  periodical  of  its  kind  in  America,  but 
we  have  ceased  to  expect  any  revenue  from  it.  It  has  always 
been  published  at  a  loss,  and  yet  no  one  can  seriously  think  of 
discontinuing  its  publication. 

The  Christian  Advocate. — We  regret  to  report  that,  through 
a  combination  of  unfavorable  conditions,  the  circulation  of  The 
Christian  Advocate  has  fallen  off  somewhat  during  the  quadren- 
nium. Many  of  our  people  in  the  great  manufacturing  districts 
of  the  East  have  been  thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  shutting 
down  of  mills  and  factories  and,  in  consequence,  have  been  com- 
pelled to  cut  off  their  subscriptions  to  the  paper.  This,  together 
with  the  multiplication  of  cheap  papers,  has  served  to  reduce  the 
subscription  list  of  the  Advocate.  It  still  has  a  large  circulation, 
however,  and  brings  a  good  revenue  to  the  Book  Concern. 

The  Northern  Christian  Advocate. — The  patronizing  ter- 
ritory of  this  paper  being  limited,  and  cheaper  papers  having  for 
many  years  been  forced  upon  the  attention  of  our  people  in  that 
territory,  it  has  been  found  difficult  to  retain  subscribers  to  the 
Northern.  In  view  of  these  facts,  we  deemed  it  wise  to  reduce 
the  price  of  the  paper  from  $2  to  $1.50,  commencing  with  Jan- 


582 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


nary  1,  1895.  Since  that  time  the  subscription  list  has  in- 
creased from  about  8,500  to  13,500.  This  increase,  however,  has 
not  been  sufficient  to  improve  its  financial  showing.  The  paper 
is  published  at  a  small  loss. 

The  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate. — The  subsidy  au- 
thorized by  the  General  Conference  for  this  paper  is  $2,000  and 
the  white  paper  upon  which  it  is  printed.  We  have  found  it  im- 
possible to  maintain  the  Southwestern  without  exceeding  this 
appropriation.  We  brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the 
Book  Committee  and,  with  its  advice  and  consent,  reduced  the 
size  of  the  paper,  and  sought  to  curtail  expenses  in  every  way 
possible.  While  we  have  made  something  of  a  saving  we  have 
not  been  able  to  bring  the  expenditures  within  the  limit  of  the 
subsidy.  This  being  the  only  official  paper  ordered  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  especially  designed  for  the  colored  membership 
of  our  Church,  the  Book  Committee  and  the  Publishing  Agents 
were  reluctant  to  order  its  publication  discontinued.  We  be- 
speak your  careful  consideration  of  this  important  subject,  and 
trust  that  you,  in  your  wisdom,  may  decide  to  authorize  the  Pub- 
lishing Agents  to  continue  the  publication  of  an  official  paper 
for  our  great  and  rapidly-growing  colored  constituency. 

The  California  Christian  Advocate. — The  California  Chris- 
tian Advocate  has  been  subjected  to  extraordinary  expenses  dur- 
ing the  quadrennium  on  account  of  the  prolonged  sickness  of  Dr. 
Crary,  its  editor.  Dr.  Crary  was  in  feeble  health  when  reelected 
to  the  position  by  the  last  General  Conference,  and  he  grew  more 
and  more  feeble  until  he  utterly  broke  down  more  than  two  years 
ago.  By  direction  of  the  Book  Committee  we  employed  an 
associate  editor,  which  made  it  necessary  to  pay  a  much  larger 
amount  in  salaries  than  could  be  met  from  the  income  of  the 
paper.  We  were  required,  therefore,  to  advance  a  sufficient  sum 
to  meet  the  deficiency.  Within  the  last  few  months  the  circu- 
lation of  the  paper  has  increased,  and  we  have  reason  to  expect 
that  its  income  will  soon  be  sufficient  to  meet  its  expenses  with 
the  help  of  the  subsidy  of  $1,000,  which  the  General  Conference 
has  for  many  years  allowed  it.  Dr.  Crary,  the  veteran  editor, 
died  in  the  early  months  of  last  year. 

The  Pacific  Christian  Advocate. — We  did  not  pay  the  full 
amount  of  the  subsidy  from  year  to  year  to  which  the  paper  was 
entitled,  by  order  of  the  last  General  Conference  ;  but,  in  order  to 
meet  its  obligations,  we  were  required  during  the  year  just  closed 
to  advance  the  balance  due  it  on  subsidy  account.  This  paper 
sustains  an  important  relation  to  the  development  of  Methodism 
on  the  north  Pacific  coast,  and  while  the  cost  of  maintaining  it 
is  now  great  it  furnishes  a  valuable  advertising  medium  for  our 
books  and  periodicals,  and  helps  greatly  in  raising  our  missionary 
and  benevolent  moneys. 

Sunday  School  Papers  and  Helps. — We  invite  especial  at- 
tention to  the  high  grade  of  our  Sunday  school  papers  and  lesson 
helps.    Both  The  Sunday  School  Advocate  and  The  Classmate 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Agents  at  New  York. 


583 


have  been  enlarged  and  improved.  The  Sunday  SchoolJournal, 
for  teachers,  has  also  been  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  sixteen 
pages.  There  is  a  demand  in  some  quarters  for  a  weekly  paper 
somewhat  like  The  Classmate,  though  of  a  little  higher  grade, 
for  the  older  boys  aud  girls  of  our  schools.  We  commend  the 
subject  to  your  careful  consideration. 

The  Circulation  of  Periodicals  for  the  year  ending  De- 
cember 31,  1895,  was  as  follows:  Methodist  Review,  5,200;  The 
Christian  Advocate,  41,600;  Northern  Christian  Advocate,  13,- 
300;  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate,  4,1 '00;  California  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  3,000;  Pacific  Christian  Advocate,  2, 800;  Sunday 
School  Journal,  104,500;  Sunday  School  Advocate,  115,000; 
Sunday  School  Classmate,  28,000;  Picture  Lesson  Paper,  220,- 
000;  Berean  Intermediate  Lesson  Quarterly,  705,000;  Berean 
Beginners  Lesson  Quarterly,  145,000;  Berean  Senior  Lesson 
Quarterly,  192,000;  Berean  Lesson  Pictures,  65,000;  Leaf  Cluster, 
3,300;  Good  Tidings,  40,000. 

BOOKS. 

Elsewhere  we  give  a  list  of  new  books  published  by  us  during 
the  quadrennium.  You  will  observe,  by  looking  through  the 
list,  that  some  of  the  largest  and  most  valuable  books  ever  issued 
by  the  Book  Concern  have  come  from  our  presses  within  the  last 
four  years.  Notable  among  these  is  The  Exhaustive  Concordance 
of  the  Bible,  by  Dr.  James  Strong,  late  Professor  of  Hebrew  in 
Drew  Theological  Seminary;  two  stout  volumes,  entitled  System- 
atic Theology,  by  Dr.  John  Miley,  late  Professor  of  Systematic 
Theology  in  Drew  Theological  Seminary;  the  fourth  volume  of 
Bishop  Foster's  great  work  on  Studies  in  Theology,  entitled 
Creation;  an  8vo  volume,  profusely  illustrated,  entitled  Travels 
in  Three  Continents,  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley;  a  large  8vo  volume 
by  Bishop  John  F.  Hurst,  entitled  The  Literature  of  Theology, 
and  many  other  smaller  volumes.  The  books  named  above  were 
expensive  books  to  make,  but  they  are  standards  on  the  subjects 
treated  and  must  command  a  large  and  long  continued  sale. 

In  our  Subscription  Book  Department  we  have  brought  out 
some  valuable  and  popular  books,  among  which  are  What  a  Boy 
Saw  in  the  Army,  by  Dr.  Jesse  Bowman  Young,  and  The  Story 
of  My  Life,  by  Bishop  William  Taylor. 

We  record  with  pleasure  our  indebtedness  to  the  Local  Com- 
mittee for  the  valuable  assistance  they  have  rendered  us  by  their 
wise  counsels  and  timely  service. 

Respectfully  submitted, 


New  York,  May  1,  1896. 


Agents. 


584 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.      >  [1896. 


APPENDIX. 


List  of  new  publications  issued  since  the  last  General  Confer- 


ence : 

4tO.  PAGES. 

Exhaustive  Concordance    of  the 

Bible.    Strong  1809 

The  Epic  of  Life.    Ridpath   12 

8vo. 

Union  of  Episcopal  Methodisms. 

Foster   91 

Minutes  of  Spring  Conferences,  1892  262 
Minutes  of  Fall  Conferences,  1892.  363 
Minutes  of  Spring  Conferences,  1893  2*72 
Minutes  of  Fall  Conferences,  1893.  357 
Minutes  of  Spring  Conferences,  1894  261 
Minutes  of  Fall  Conferences,  1894.  350 
Minutes  of  Spring  Conferences,  1895  274 
Minutes  of  Fall  Conferences,  1895.  366 
Illustrative  Notes,  1893.  Hurlbut 

and  Doherty   387 

Illustrative  Notes,  1894.  Hurlbut 

and  Doherty   396 

Illustrative  Notes,  1895.  Hurlbut 

and  Doherty.   365 

Illustrative  Notes,  1896.  Hurlbut 

and  Doherty   384 

Manual    of    Methodist  Episcopal 

Church  History.    Curtiss   373 

The  Student's  Commentary- — Book 

of  Ecclesiastes.    Strong   144 

Annotations  Upon  Popular  Hymns. 

Robinson   581 

Systematic  Theology,  Vol.  II.  Miley  537 
Theological  Encyclopaedia  and  Meth- 
odology. Revised  Edition.  Crooks 

and  Hurst   627 

The  Land  of  the  Veda.  Revised 

Edition.    Butler   575 

Travels  in  Three  Continents.  Buck- 
ley  614 

Three  Score  Years  and  Beyond. 

Revised  Edition.    De  Puy   550 

Christianity  in  the  United  States. 

Revised  Edition.  Dorchester...  814 
Studies    in    Theology  —  Creation. 

Foster   365 

Literature  of  Theology.  Hurst. .  .  757 
Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 

1892   776 

Mexico  in  Transition.    Butler   325 

The  Beginnings  of  the  "Wesleyan 
Movement  in  -  America.  Atkin- 
son  460 

Crown  8vo. 

Classic  Greek  Course  in  English. 

Wilkinson   314 

Grecian  History.    Joy   298 


PAGES. 

Stories    from    Indian  Wigwams. 

Young   293 

Through  Christ  to  God.    Beet  373 

Methodist  Year  Book,  1893.  Sanford  140 
Methodist  Year  Book,  1894.  Sanford  114 
Methodist  Year  Book,  1895.  Sanford  112 
Methodist  Year  Book,  1896.  Sanford  128 
Revised  Normal  Lessons.  Hurlbut  111 
Exegetical  Studies: 

The  Gospels  and  Pauline  Epistles. 
Horswell   24 

The    Pentateuch    and  Isaiah. 

Warren   46 

Study  of  the  Book  of  Books.    Groat.  59 

Pulpit  and  Platform.    Tiffany   251 

Outlines  of  Economics.    Ely  432 

Our  Boys.    Stoddart   192 

Brave  Lads  and  Bonnie  Lassies. 

Colby   339 

Anti-Higher  Criticism.  Munhall. .  358 
Home  Talks  About  the  Word.  Miller  286 
Three  of  Us ;  Barney,  Cossack,  Rex. 

Chandler   327 

The  Problem  of  Religious  Progress. 

Revised  Edition.    Dorchester...  768 
Grandmont;  Stories  of  an  Old  Mon- 
astery.   Griffin   .  272 

The  New  Life  in  Christ.    Beet  347 

The  Christ  Dream.    Banks   275 

The  Shorter  Bible.    Meyer   963 

From  Dan  to  Beersheba.  Newman.  500 

12  mo. 

The  Methodist  Episcopacy  Valid. 

Hawley   64 

The  Church  of  To-morrow.  Dawson.  338 
The    Siberian     Exile's  Children. 

Hodder   402 

A  Hereditary  Consumptive's  Suc- 
cessful Battle  for  Life.    Buckley.  99 
Religion  for  the  Times.    Clark.  ...  421 

That  Boy  Mick.    Perram   193 

Quest  and  Vision.     Dawson   233 

Thrilling   Scenes  in  the  Persian 

Kingdom.    McMinn   323 

The  Bishop's  Conversion.  Maxwell.  384 
A  Fellowship  of  Hearts.  Bigelow.  348 
On  Wheels,  and  How  I  Came  There. 

Smith   338 

Christ  Enthroned  in  the  Industrial 

World.    Roads   287 

Miss  Millie's  Trying.    Bamford   320 

March  of  Methodism.    McGee. ...  147 
Representative  Women  of  Metho- 
dism.    Buoy   476 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Agents  at  New  York. 


585 


PAGES. 


The  Bible  in  the  World's  Education. 

Warren   320 

The  Deaconess  and  Her  Vocation. 

Thoburn   127 

Christus  Consolator.     Haven   264 

Four  Wonderful  Years.    Berry...  121 

Work  and  Workers.  Parkhurst. .  85 
The  Book  of  Books  Series : 

The  Story  of  a  Letter.  Vincent .  .  44 
Two    Letters    to    a  Minister. 

Vincent   47 

A  Physician's  Notes  on  Apostolic 

Times.    Robinson   43 

Paul's  Letter  to  the  Colossians. 

Pascoe   46 

Amos  Truelove.    Parsons   240 

The    Prophecies   of   Daniel  Ex- 
pounded.   Terry   136 

Sybil's  Repentance.    Haycraft   152 

Jacob     Winterton's  Inheritance. 

Searchfield   159 

Hollywood  Series:  Wise. 

Stephen  and  His  Tempter   254 

Florence  Baldwin's  Picnic   266 

Lionel's  Courage   291 

Florence  Rewarded   283 

Nat  and  His  Chums   276 

Elbert's  Return   280 

Life's  Battle  Won.    De  Witt   372 

The  Primary  Teacher.    VanMarter  166 

Lady  Marjorie.    Leslie   217 

Sunday  Service  and  Select  Psalms. 

Wesley   262 

Only  Judith.    Rouse   231 

Paula  Clayton.    Joy   134 

Cracked  Hearthstone.    Bamford..  .  180 

Manual  for  Church  Officers.  Dryer  216 

Tom  Heron  of  Sax.    Greene   320 

The  Norsk  Gopher.    Sinuett   262 

For  the  Sake  o'  the  Siller.    Swan. .  256 

Sketches  of  Mexico.    Butler   316 

A  Summer  Revival.    Allen   200 

Christianity  and  the  Christ.  Ray- 
mond  250 

Revival  and  the  Pastor.    Peck..  . .  279 
First  Words  from  God.    TJpham.. .  166 
Organic  Law  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.    Sibley   93 

The  Lord's  Day  our  Sabbath.  Potts  61 

The  Raid  from  Beausejour.  Roberts  230 
The  Kindergarten  of  the  Church. 

Foster   227 

Sarah  Dakota.    Brush   315 

Martha's  Mistakes.    Bradley   348 

Three  Times  and  Out.    Dickinson.  137 

Up  the  Susquehanna.    Pardoe. ...  184 

The  Nine  Blessings.    Norris   128 

Oowikapun.    Young   240 

Epworth    League   Bible  Studies. 

First  Series,  1895.  Schell  and  Steel  59 


PAGES. 


Epworth    League   Bible  Studies. 
Second  Series,  1895.    Schell  and 

Steel   66 

Airlie's  Mission.  Swan   94 

Essential  Christianity.    Hughes...  287 
Growth  in  Holiness  toward  Perfec- 
tion.   Mudge   316 

The  Way  Out.    Montgomery   320 

The  Christless  Nations.    Thoburn.  214 

My  Brother  and  I.    Haven   303 

Cornish  Stories.    Pearse   175 

A  Great  Appointment.    Plantz ....  145 

Reube  Dare's  Shad  Boat.    Roberts.  272 

A  Golden  Week.    Tray   222 

Bessie  and  Bee.    Brine   87 

The  Lord's  Return,  and  Kindred 

Truth.     Munhall   217 

The  Highest  Critics  vs.  the  Higher 

Critics.    Munhall   249 

Christianity  Vindicated  by  Its  Ene- 
mies.   Dorchester   187 

Beauty  for  Ashes.    Wilbor   63 

A  Defense  of  Christian  Perfection. 

Steele   136 

A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa.  McAllis- 
ter  295 

Moral  Law  and  Civil  Law.    Ritter.  212 

The  Sacraments.    Watson   117 

lGmo. 

Discipline,  1892   352 

A  Tiff  With  the  Tiffins.  Currie.  . .  170 
Seven   Graded    Sunday  Schools. 

Hurlbut   120 

Thoughts  on  God  and  Man.  Rob- 
ertson  306 

The  Probationer's  Companion.  Peck  80 
Thoughts  for  the  Thoughtful.  Seav- 

erns   368 

Alert  Library.    8  vols   413 

Corn  Flower  Stories.    6  vols   384 

Gala  Day  Books.  4  vols.  Currie.  299 
Wesley's  Letters  to  Young  Women. 

Porter   169 

Polly  Books.     5  vols   371 

The  Flight  of  the  Humming  Bird. 

Peck   67 

18mo. 

Fifty  Social  Evenings.     Smiley. . .  70 

Epworth  Guards.     Harkness   74 

Beginner's  Lesson  Book,  1893.  . .  .  198 

Beginner's  Lesson  Book,  1894   175 

Beginner's  Lesson  Book,  1895.  . .  .  185 

Beginner's  Lesson  Book,  1896.  . .  .  190 

Intermediate  Lesson  Book,  1893.  .  188 

Intermediate  Lesson  Book,  1894.  .  187 

Intermediate  Lesson  Book,  1895..  212 

Intermediate  Lesson  Book,  1896..  208 

Senior  Lesson  Book,  1893   202 


586 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


PAGES. 


Senior  Lesson  Book,  1894   201 

Senior  Lesson  Book,  1895   230 

Senior  Lesson  Book,  1896   272 

Books  of  the  Bible.    Pease   37 

Old  Testament  History.    Pease...  38 

Concerning  the  Collection.    Schell.  109 

Furnishing  for  Workers.   Munhall.  118 

Gold  and  Incense.    Pearse   88 

How  to  Make  the  Wheel  Go.   Hel-  . 

man   115 

24mo. 

Golden  Text  Book,  1894    32 

Golden  Text  Book,  1895   32 

Golden  Text  Book,  1896   32 

God's  Tenth.    Cooper   16 

Epworth  League  Annual,  1894.. .  .  56 

Epworth  League  Handbook,  1895. .  64 

Epworth  League  Handbook,  1896.  88 

MUSIC  BOOKS. 

Imperial  Songs.    Hurlbut  and  Ford  208 

Selected  Hymns  and  Tunes   64 

The  Junior  Hymnal.    Schell  and 

Foster   136 

TRACTS  AND  SERVICES. 

Pocket  Series,  1  number   8 

24mo  Tracts,  74  numbers   592 

18mo  Tracts,  22  numbers   240 

Hand  Bills,  10  numbers   20 

Ten  Minute  Series.  Supplemental 

Lessons,  7  numbers   324 

Norwegian  and  Danish  Tracts,  7 

numbers   80 

Swedish  Tracts,  4  numbers   16 


PAGES. 


Sunday  Evening  Responsive  Serv- 
ice, 10  numbers   20 

Epworth  Vesper  Service   32 

Epworth  League  Responsive  Serv- 
ices   8 

Jesus  Our  Star   8 

Star  Thoughts   8 

The  King's  Birthday   8 

Prince  and  Saviour   8 

Christ  the  Lord   8 

The  Children's  King   8 

The  Shepherd's  Watch   8 

The  Lifted  Gates   8 

Easter  Tidings   8 

The  King's  Dominion   8 

The  Story  of  Easter   8 

What  of  the  Night?   8 

The  Conversion  of  the  World?   16 

The  Field  is  the  World   8 

The  Morning  Cometh   8 

Good  Tidings  of  Great  Joy  to  All 

People   8 

From  the  Way  of  the  East   8 

Epworth  League  Anniversary  Pro- 
grammes, 1892-1896   60 


PERIODICAL. 

Kindergarten  of  the  Church  Leaflet, 
with  Hand  Work. 


SUBSCRIPTION  BOOKS. 

What  a  Boy  Saw  in  the  Army. . . .  400 

The  Story  of  My  Life   750 

People's  Cyclopedia.   New  edition. 
6  vols  4000 

New  titles  added  to  Catalogue   347 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


587 


Western  Book  Concern.    Journal,  page  91. 
To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church: 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  With  grateful  recognition  of 
the  favor  of  Almighty  God  toward  the  Western  Methodist  Book 
Concern  we  respectfully  present  our  report  for  the  four  fiscal 
years  included  between  November  1,  1891,  and  October  31,  1895. 
In  the  comparative  exhibits  of  1§91  and  1895,  and  in  the  tabu- 
lated summaries  following,  may  be  found  all  details  necessary 
to  an  understanding  of  the  progress  and  present  condition  of  the 
interests  in  our  care. 

For  those  who  may  not  find  opportunity  for  a  critical  exam- 
ination of  even  these  condensed  data  we  submit  here  a  few  aggre- 
gates: 

The  total  sales  of  the  House  for  the  four  years  were  $4,049,- 
691.26 — an  increase  of  $651,209.13  over  the  previous  term. 
The  earnings  at  the  several  points  were  as  follows: 


At  Cincinnati     $387,698  80 

At  Chicago   108,663  40 

At  St.  Louis   49,272  22 

  $545,634  42 

Added  by  revaluation  of  Chicago  realty   37,379  65 

Net  gain  shown  by  ledger   $583,014  07 

Difference  in  percentage  deduction  for  probable  losses  on  accounts 

of  1891  and  of  1895   5,846  54 

Xet  gain  as  shown  by  ledger   $577,167  53 

Amount  disbursed  in  dividends,  etc.,  etc   265,621  70 

Added  to  net  capital   $311,545  83 

Xet  capital,  October  31,  1891   1,153,657  98 

Net  capital,  October  31,  1895,  shown  by  ledger   $1,465,203  81 

Real  Estate.— All  real  estate  is  subject  to  quadrennial  reap- 
praisement  by  the  Book  Committee.  The  present  valuation  of 
the  realty  at  Cincinnati  represents  the  appraisement  of  eight 
years  ago,  with  the  cost  of  all  improvements  added.  We  believe 
that,  while  no  interest  would  suffer,  a  better  adjustment  of  values 
would  be  reached  if  the  appraisement  of  the  property  at  Chicago 
were  increased  to  a  figure  nearer  its  actual  value,  and  that  at  Cin- 
cinnati correspondingly  decreased. 

The  report  of  the  Book  Committee  makes  mention  of  the  sale 
of  the  old  and  purchase  of  new  property  at  St.  Louis.  We  need 
not  repeat  it  here. 

Other  Inventory  Values. — Illustrative  of  the  method  by 
which  we  guard  the  inventories  against  every  semblance  of  in- 
flation we  give  a  few  actual  figures  from  the  books.  In  1891 
our  machinery  at  Cincinnati  alone  was  valued  at  $79,471.70.  We 
purchased  new  machinery  there  to  the  value  of  $27,691  during 
the  four  years,  and  yet  the  present  valuation  on  all  the  ma- 


588 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


chinery,  old  and  new,  is  but  $70,550.99.  In  other  words,  the 
reduction  for  wear  and  tear  was  $36,611.71.  The  value  of  book 
plates  was  discounted  during  the  same  period  to  the  amount  of 
$31,614.42;  merchandise  and  sheet  stock,  $46,725.57.  Furniture 
and  fixtures  and  other  items  have  been  treated  similarly.  The 
total  reduction  at  Cincinnati  alone  was  $122,044.98.  We  think 
these  figures  fairly  justify  our  claim  that  the  plant  has  been  con- 
servatively valued,  and  that  the« House  is  upon  solid  foundations. 

The  comparative  exhibit  for  the  years  1891  and  1895  will  be 
found  very  suggestive  to  those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  analyzing 
and  interpreting  such  statements.  They  will  note  especially  the 
large  reduction  of  over  $52,000  in  outstanding  accounts,  the 
equally  cheering  decrease  of  over  $92,000  in  liabilities,  and 
the  almost  $150,000  increase  of  surplus  represented  by  the 
special  loans  at  interest.  Taken  in  connection  with  the  dis- 
bursements on  dividend  account,  etc.,  of  $265,621.70,  these  fig- 
ures indicate  a  healthy  growth  and  a  hopeful  outlook. 

The  New  Building. — We  gave  our  utmost  care  and  diligence 
to  the  special  trust  confided  in  us  in  connection  with  the  Local 
Committee  in  the  erection  of  the  new  building  in  Cincinnati,  the 
design  for  which  was  on  exhibition  at  Omaha  during  the  last 
General  Conference.  It  is  of  modern  construction,  with  steel 
framework,  pressed  brick  exterior,  and  terra-cotta  decorations. 
With  no  extravagant  or  needless  expenditure  we  have  a  durable, 
convenient,  well  lighted,  handsomely  finished  business  block  that 
is  at  once  attractive  and  imposing  and  an  ornament  to  the  promi- 
nent street  on  which  it  stands.  Our  total  expenditure  on  this 
permanent  improvement  was  about  $160,000. 

The  building  is  outfitted  for  the  use  of  either  gas  or  electric 
light;  may  be  heated  with  only  one-pound  pressure  of  exhaust 
steam,  and  is  protected  against  expensive  repairs  by  the  use  of 
indestructible  material  in  the  corridors,  lavatories,  and  stairways. 

Thirty-three  feet  of  the  Fourth  Street  frontage  being  held 
on  perpetual  lease,  at  a  fixed  yearly  rental,  the  wisdom  of  re- 
constructing the  building  thereon  so  as  to  make  that  part  of 
the  property,  if  possible,  self-supporting  at  least,  will  be  readily 
apparent. 

Insurance  Reserve  Fund. — In  view  of  the  large  amounts 
paid  from  year  to  year  for  fire  insurance,  and  believing  the  rates 
excessive,  we  recommended  to  the  Book  Committee  in  1893  the 
creation  of  a  Fire  Insurance  Reserve  Fund  by  the  setting  apart 
of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a  year  from  the  profits  of  each 
House  until  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  should  be 
provided  and  securely  invested;  the  insurance  carried  to  be 
gradually  reduced  in  the  meantime,  until  the  two  Concerns  could 
safely  become  joint  insurers  against  any  fire  loss  by  either.  The 
Committee  approved  the  plan,  and  we  have  already  in  hand  our 
proportion  of  this  fund.  The  interest  earned  by  its  investment 
is  to  be  added  to  the  dividends  declared  annually,  out  of  the 
profits  of  the  business,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Conferences.  This 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


589 


provision  was  a  clearly  stated  feature  of  the  original  suggestion, 
and  was  adopted  by  the  Book  Committee  with  the  plan  itself. 

THE  DEPOSITORIES. 

Chicago. — At  Chicago  the  storeroom  has  been  remodeled,  the 
counting  room  removed  to  the  second  floor,  and  a  printing  plant 
installed  by  which  we  are  enabled  to  produce  the  Northwestern 
and  Herald  under  our  own  roof,  besides  doing  something  at  job 
work.  Taken  altogether,  this  Depository  has  made  excellent 
progress  since  our  last  report.  Its  sales  appear  in  the  table  on 
page  596.  Its  earnings  for  the  four  years  are  $108,663.40 — by 
far  the  best  showing  in  its  history.  With  sufficient  room  for 
presses  and  a  new  power  plant  the  business  could  be  still  more 
enlarged;  but  this  is  impracticable  in  the  present  building.  The 
Book  Committee  has  approved  our  recommendation  looking  to 
the  early  and  substantial  improvement  of  this  very  valuable  site, 
but  it  has  been  deemed  best  to  wait  for  better  financial  condi- 
tions throughout  the  country,  as  well  as  more  satisfactory  rental 
prospects  in  Chicago. 

St.  Louis. — It  is  well  understood  that  much  of  the  territory 
tributary  to  St.  Louis  has  been  without  harvests  for  the  past  two 
years,  and  that  thousands  of  our  people  in  the  West  have  actually 
required  help  from  Eastern  friends.  Hence  business  has  been 
seriously  impeded  in  all  lines.  Pastors  have  suffered  in  their 
allowance,  so  that  in  many  instances  they  were  unable  to  buy 
books  or  meet  bills  already  incurred  at  the  Depository.  All 
things  considered,  they  have  done  marvelously  by  the  Concern, 
and  it  has  been  one  of  the  satisfactions  of  our  work  that  we 
could  send,  besides  the  liberal  dividends  from  the  profits  of  the 
House,  considerable  gatherings  from  the  churches  in  the  Central 
Western  States  for  their  relief. 

The  earnings  of  the  Depository  in  the  presence  of  these  de- 
pressing conditions  are  very  gratifying,  amounting  to  $49,272.22 
for  the  four  years — an  average  of  $12,318.05  per  year  on  sales 
averaging  8194,692.89  for  that  period. 

The  Advocates. — Our  Advocates  have  been  ably  edited,  con- 
stantly improved,  warmly  commended  by  our  thinking  people, 
industriously  pushed  by  the  publishers,  their  merits  certified  by 
Conference  resolutions,  followed  in  many  cases  by  faithful  work 
on  the  part  of  pastors,  and  yet  there  has  not  been  satisfactory 
increase  in  their  circulation.  This  is  the  most  important  prob- 
lem now  confronting  the  management  of  the  Book  Concern. 

As  the  only  direct  and  ready  medium  of  communication  be- 
tween general  and  division  headquarters  and  the  widely  separated 
fields  occupied  by  the  Church,  as  well  as  between  the  many  de- 
partments of  denominational  enterprise,  the  Advocates  are  inval- 
uable. 

Affording  the  only  ecclesiastical  forum  in  which  the  layman 
may  voice  his  convictions  or  his  plea,  they  are  as  absolutely  in- 
dispensable to  the  laity  as  to  the  Bishop,  presiding  elder,  or 


590 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


pastor.  If  beyond  the  range  of  our  pulpits  the  Church  press  is 
the  sole  exponent  of  our  doctrine  and  polity  to  the  outside 
world,  it  is  no  less  to  the  Church  itself  of  its  own  life,  tend- 
encies, opportunities,  and  perils. 

All  this  and  much  more  may  be  said  of  the  value  of  the 
Church  paper;  and  yet  it  seems  hard  to  impress  our  people  with 
these  facts.  While  some  pastors  are  indifferent  to  this  duty  the 
faithful  majority,  who  devote  time  and  labor  to  the  task,  meet 
many  discouragements.  The  competition  of  the  secular  paper  is 
increasingly  active,  and  in  recent  years  we  have  had  a  new  and 
lively  religious  competitor.  It  has  come  to  pass  that  every  de- 
partment of  Church  work  publishes  its  special  organ.  There 
being  a  limit  to  the  pastor's  time  as  well  as  the  patron's  money, 
and  every  such  special  organ  making  its  demand  upon  both,  the 
circulation  of  the  specialist  papers  has  come  to  be  seriously  felt 
by  the  general  organs  of  the  Church.  The  mother  hen  who 
scratches  for  her  growing  brood  until  every  individual  chick 
becomes  a  vigorous  scratcher  for  itself  must  find  herself  pres- 
ently confronting  the  law  of  self-preservation.  Perhaps  just 
here  is  the  crucial  test  of  maternal  duty  as  well  as  of  the  filial 
devotion  of  the  offspring.  Between  the  several  interests  he  rep- 
resents the  pastor  stands  as  an  often  overworked  and  sadly  per- 
plexed umpire. 

Doubtless  the  multiplication  of  these  minor  special  organs  has 
had  to  do  with  the  demand  for  "cheaper"  Advocates,  as  well  as 
with  the  limited  circulation  of  these  general  organs  of  the  Church. 
Other  factors  also  enter  into  the  problem,  but  they  cannot  be 
discussed  in  this  report. 

The  Epworth  Herald. — Meanwhile  the  rapidly-growing  Ep- 
worth  League  has  heartily  pushed  The  Epworth  Herald.  Two 
years  ago  the  editor  and  publishers  began  to  entertain  the  hope 
that  this  report  might  convey  to  the  General  Conference  in  1896 
the  cheering  announcement  that  The  Epworth  Herald  had  out- 
stripped even  itself  and  reached  the  circulation  predicted  by  its 
most  sanguine  friends,  one  hundred  thousand  subscribers.  That 
enthusiastic  ambition  has  been  realized,  and  this  youthful  giant 
among  young  people's  papers  seems  to  be  endowed  with  ample 
reserve  energy  for  yet  larger  achievements.  It  is  now  yielding 
a  satisfactory  revenue,  being  greatly  appreciated  by  the  best 
class  of  advertisers.  How  far  it  has  affected  the  circulation  of 
the  Advocates  is  a  question  concerning  which  those  most  inter- 
ested do  not  agree.  The  low  price  doubtless  gives  it  some  lever- 
age against  the  older  papers. 

The  German  Department. — We  use  this  term  for  want  of  a 
better.  It  does  not  imply  a  department  with  separate  accounts 
or  with  which  a  special  account  is  kept.  It  means  rather  that 
the  entire  business  of  the  Concern  in  German  books  and  period- 
icals is  under  the  supervision  of  a  special  superintendent  whose 
responsibility  is  not  confined  to  Cincinnati,  but  extends  alike  to 
Chicago  and  St.  Louis.    We  have  found  this  plan  quite  as  satis- 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


591 


factory  to  the  German  brethren  as  it  is  to  the  Agents.  The  busi- 
ness goes  forward  smoothly,  the  trade  gradually  increases,  and 
almost  without  exception  the  bills  of  our  German  preachers  and 
charges  are  promptly  paid.  The  total  sales  for  the  four  years 
were  $447,174.03.  The  literature  is  industriously  circulated  by 
the  pastors,  after  the  old  and  always  successful  method  of  the 
fathers,  and  as  a  result  we  have  a  German  laity  steadfast  in  doc- 
trine, sound  in  ethics,  and  loyal  to  every  interest  of  the  Church. 

The  success  of  the  periodicals  in  this  language  has  been  re- 
markable. The  Apologist  and  Hans  und  Herd  are  giving  excel- 
lent satisfaction,  circulating  30,000  copies  among  our  60,000 
German  Methodists.  We  doubt  if  a  parallel  to  this  fact  can  be 
cited  in  the  statistical  records  of  any  denominational  periodical 
in  any  language.  Of  the  sad  death  of  Dr.  Liebhart  we  speak 
elsewhere.  Dr.  Nagler  zealously  and  intelligently  addressed 
himself  to  the  editorship  of  Hans  und  Herd,  to  which  he  was 
chosen  under  such  distressing  circumstances,  and  has  commended 
himself  to  the  publishers  and  to  all  his  new  associates  both  as 
a  genial  gentleman  and  an  earnest  colaborer,  with  ample  ability 
and  a  just  conception  of  his  official  trust. 

The  venerable  Dr.  Nast  moves  among  us  like  an  abiding  bene- 
diction. Relief  from  official  responsibility  has  not  diminished 
his  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  brethren.  His  patriarchal  con- 
cern for  their  future  in  these  days  of  agitation  and  unrest  in  our 
great  body  is  both  tender  and  devout.  Impressing  all  in  contact 
with  him,  we  do  not  see  how  it  can  fail  to  command  the  sym- 
pathetic respect  of  the  Church  and  the  beneficent  regard  of 
divine  Providence  as  well.  May  this  venerable  apostle  have  the 
desire  of  his  soul  and  fall  asleep  at  last  under  a  serene  sky  shel- 
tering his  beloved  Church  in  gracious  peace,  with  his  spiritual 
children  still  content  around  the  old  altars  where  they  were  born 
to  God  ! 

Sunday  School  Literature. — Our  Church  has  been  admira- 
bly served  in  this  department.  No  denominational  system  has 
been  more  complete  and  satisfactory  than  our  own.  We  believe, 
however,  that  the  time  has  come  for  a  marked  improvement  in 
our  Sunday  school  papers.  We  can  afford  a  larger  outlay,  and 
the  interests  involved  are  such  as  to  justify  liberal  provision. 
We  are  glad  to  note  that  the  Book  Committee  has  brought  to 
your  notice  the  suggestions  contained  in  our  last  annual  report. 
Granting  all  that  may  be  due  to  lack  of  funds  in  many  schools, 
the  circulation  of  our  Sunday  school  papers  is  not  satisfactory. 
Both  the  Sunday  School  Journal  and  the  Lesson  Quarterlies  do 
so  much  better,  relatively,  as  to  suggest  the  need  of  special  atten- 
tion to  these  young  people's  papers. 

In  this  connection  we  should  state  that,  upon  the  suggestion 
of  the  last  General  Conference,  an  important  change  in  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  and  Sunday  School  Class- 
mate was  made  in  January,  1893.  The  first  named,  a  semi- 
monthlv,  at  sixteen  cents  per  year,  became  a  weekly.  The 
38 


092 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Classmate,  also  formerly  published  at  sixteen  cents,  was  doubled 
in  size  and  continued  as  a  semimonthly.  By  this  change  we  sup- 
plied twice  the  matter  theretofore  offered,  and  the  proportionate 
price  would  have  been  thirty-two  cents  per  year,  but  the  Agents 
agreed  upon  a  twenty-live  cent  rate  for  each  paper — a  practical 
reduction  of  about  thirty  per  cent  from  the  old  figures.  The  first 
year  we  circulated  212,500  copies  of  the  weekly  Sunday  School 
Advocate  as  against  202,400  of  the  former  semimonthly,  which 
means  practically  doubling  the  circulation  and  20,190  over.  The 
eight-page  Classmate,  on  the  other  hand,  fell  off  materially,  and 
has  not  recovered  its  losses.    The  subject  needs  fresh  treatment. 

Our  Hymnal. — We  earnestly  ask  the  attention  of  the  General 
Conference  to  the  character  of  the  music  books  used  in  many  of 
our  congregations  in  place  of  the  Church  Hymnal.  This  body 
does  not  need  instruction,  either  as  to  the  facts  or  their  tendency. 
Our  public  worship  has  lost  much  of  its  impressiveness,  as  well 
as  devoutness,  by  the  substitution.  The  abuse  cannot  be  legis- 
lated away.  Added  to  the  earnest  remonstrance  and  affectionate 
admonition  of  General  Conference  should  be,  in  our  judgment, 
some  action  looking  to  the  revision  of  our  Hymnal,  and  such  re- 
duction in  the  size  of  it  as  will  bring  the  price  down  to  the  aver- 
age cost  of  the  modern  singing  book.  This  would  meet  the 
financial  argument  for  the  inferior  substitute,  and  there  is  no 
question  that  a  hymnal  can  be  provided  which  will  afford  all 
needed  variety  of  selections  and  contain  twice  as  many  hymns  as 
will  ordinarily  be  required,  and  yet  be  sold  at  a  price  not  to  ex- 
ceed thirty  dollars  per  hundred — possibly  as  low  as  twenty-five. 
Such  a  book  would  go  far  toward  redeeming  our  congregational 
music.  Then  the  Church  ought  to  supply  her  standard  hymn 
book,  with  her  Articles  of  Religion,  General  Rules,  Ritual,  and 
such  other  parts  of  the  Discipline  as  the  laity  should  always 
have  at  hand,  all  substantially  bound  in  one  volume,  at  a  price 
not  to  exceed  fifty  cents  retail.  With  a  properly  reconstructed 
and  revised  hymnal  this  would  be  easily  possible. 

The  Miscellaneous  Book  Business. — In  our  report  to  the 
Book  Committee  in  February,  1893,  we  called  attention  to  the 
relative  sales  of  our  own  and  outside  books  by  our  several  stores. 
We  found  our  book  stock  at  Cincinnati  at  that  date  about  evenly 
divided  between  our  General  Catalogue  and  the  books  of  other 
publishers.  Our  two  Depositories  had  sold  during  the  year  clos- 
ing October  31,  1892,  books  to  the  amount  of  $257,658.19.  Their 
book  purchases  from  our  own  Church  presses  that  year  were 
$103,025.69.  During  the  four  years  they  have  purchased  of  out- 
side books  nearly  $300,000  worth.  At  Cincinnati  the  proportion 
has  changed  for  the  better  since  1893. 

We  felt  called  upon  to  represent  to  the  Book  Committee  that, 
apart  from  the  accommodation  to  our  patrons,  business  consid- 
erations would  not  justify  the  Concern  in  keeping  up  consider- 
able stocks  of  outside  publications,  which  require  large  capital 
and  special  display — more  than  doubling  the  room  needed  for 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


593 


our  stores — while  they  yield  but  a  small  percentage  of  profit 
after  'dividing  discounts  with  ministers,  and,  like  all  other  ex- 
posed stock,  rapidly  deteriorate  in  the  smoky  atmosphere  of  our 
great  cities. 

The  chief  reason  for  maintaining  such  lines  in  our  stores  has 
been  that  orders  may  be  filled  more  promptly.  But  considering 
present  facilities  of  transportation  as  well  as  of  communication 
we  must,  for  the  reasons  given,  still  question  the  wisdom  of  the 
policy  that  has  grown  with  and  into  the  business  of  the  Concern. 
W e  have  not  felt  at  liberty,  however,  to  make  so  radical  a  change 
in  administration  as  to  close  out  these  stocks  and  confine  our- 
selves to  a  commission  business  in  such  publications  without  the 
sanction  of  the  Book  Committee  or  of  General  Conference. 
Limiting  merchandise  stock  to  our  own  products  only,  all  that 
class  of  expenses  that  attach  to  the  competitive  display  and  sale 
of  goods  handled  by  several  parties  in  the  same  locality  would  be 
at  once  cut  off,  our  large  store  rooms  could  be  rented,  our  own 
business  transacted  on  upper  floors,  and  hence  prices  be  brought 
yet  lower  or  profits  correspondingly  increased.  That  we  could 
still  control  the  greater  part  of  the  demand  of*  our.  own  people 
and  preachers  for  miscellaneous  books  is  as  apparent  as  that  a 
book  mailed  by  our  order  from  ISFew  York  or  Boston  is  as  val- 
uable to  the  buyer  as  if  mailed  by  us  direct  from  Cincinnati  or 
Chicago  at  the  same  price. 

We  thus  briefly  present  the  subject.  We  do  not  care  to  carry 
the  responsibility  for  the  present  practice.  Doubtless  many  will 
be  ready  to  give  reasons  in  its  defense.  Having  done  what  seems 
to  us  our  plain  duty  in  the  premises,  we  shall  cheerfully  submit  to 
the  conclusion  of  the  General  Conference  concerning  this  very 
important  question. 

Our  World's  Fair  Exhibit. — In  accordance  with  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  last  General  Conference  we  prepared  in  connection 
with  the  Eastern  House  an  exhibit  for  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition.  We  aimed  to  show  a  copy  of  every  work  issued  by 
both  Houses  since  the  organization  of  the  Concern  at  Philadel- 
phia. We  were  in  a  large  measure  successful  in  this  undertak- 
ing, making  our  exhibit  at  once  a  demonstration  of  the  growth 
of  our  Church  publishing  enterprises  and  the  improvement  in  book- 
making  during  the  one  hundred  years  covered  by  our  history. 

Personal. — We  were  sorely  bereaved  during  the  quadrennium 
in  the  death  of  two  of  the  three  local  committeemen,  with  whom 
we  had  been  for  years  delightfully  associated,  and  of  whom  we 
make  more  extended  mention  elsewhere.  The  Western  House 
will  long  reap  the  benefit  of  the  intelligent  and  devoted  services 
gratuitously  rendered  by  Amos  Shinkle  and  R.  A.  W.  Bruehl. 
The  surviving  member  of  the  Committee,  Mr.  Richard  Dymoncl, 
and  Messrs.  James  N.  Gamble  and  Robert  T.  Miller,  the  chosen 
successors  of  our  deceased  brethren,  have  been  unwearying  in 
their  attention  to  the  trust  confided  to  them,  uniformly  courteous 
in  their  counsels,  and  generous  in  their  appreciation  of  our 


594 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


administrative  work.  They  deserve  the  gratitude  of  the  entire 
Church. 

To  these  brethren,  as  also  to  the  members  of  the  General  Book 
Committee,  and  to  our  faithful  helpers  in  the  several  counting 
rooms,  stores,  and  manufacturing  departments  of  the  Concern, 
and  to  the  noble  company  of  pastor  agents,  without  whose  loyal 
cooperation  all  others  would  have  labored  in  vain,  we  here  make 
our  grateful  acknowledgment  for  all  they  have  done  to  promote 
the  success  of  the  Concern,  as  well  as  for  the  inspiration  we  have 
received  through  their  confidence  and  personal  good  will. 

It  cannot  be  amiss  for  us  to  here  record  our  sense  of  personal 
loss  in  the  death  of  our  late  colleague,  Dr.  Sandford  Hunt.  We 
have  read  no  word  of  eulogy  passed  upon  his  character  and  career 
by  any  of  his  brethren  that  appeared  to  us  extravagant.  Dr. 
Hunt  was  indeed  a  rare  man.  His  modesty  concealed  his  ability 
from  those  who  did  not  know  him  intimately.  In  the  perspective 
of  history  his  personality  will  become  commanding.  Withal,  he 
was  a  patient  toiler  and  a  sagacious  business  man,  as  well  as  a 
brother  constant  .and  beloved.  He  will  be  sadly  missed  from  his 
place  among  the  wisest  and  most  trusted  counselors  of  the 
Church,  and  still  more  from  the  closer  circle  of  publishing  Agents, 
in  which  he  was  the  elder  brother. 

Very  respectfully, 

Cranston  &  Cuets. 

Comparative  Exhibit  of  the  Western  Methodist  Book  Concern  for  the  years 

1891  and  1895. 

ASSETS. 

1891.  1895. 

Real  Estate  :  ,  .  ,  ,  ■  , 

In  Cincinnati  $292,000  00  $462,300  00 

In  Chicago   106,125  00  150,500  00 

In  St.  Louis   65,500  00  30,000  00 

 $463,625  00   $642,800  00 

Merchandise  Department  : 
Books,  bound  and  in  sheets, 
Stationery,  etc., 

In  Cincinnati  $166,352  81  $171,900  94 

In  Chicago   44,127  72  45,478  53 

In  St.  Louis   12,894  82  11,498  09 

  223,375  35    228,877  56 

Manufacturing  Department  : 
In  Cincinnati- 
Presses,  plates, 
printing  -  paper, 

etc  $154,027  27  $145,337  48 

Machinery,  tools, 
and  materials  in 

bindery   25,496  02  21,414  43 

Machinery,  cuts, 
and  materials  in 
electrotype  foun- 
dry  9,750  00   

Electric  lieht  plant     3,1&5  00  3,365  00 

Engine  and  boilers     5,075  00  7,055  00 

 $197,483  29   $177,171  91 

In  Chicago- 
Engine,  boilers,  electric  light 

plant,  presses,  etc   10,731  09  18,571  99 

In  St.  Louis- 
Type,  cases,  etc   445  00  1,700  00 

  208,659  38    197,443  90 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati.  595 


ASSETS.— Continued. 

1891.  1895. 


Brought  forward   $895,659  73  $1,069,121  46 

Furniture  and  Fixtures, 

And  heating  apparatus  in  Cin- 
cinnati  $4,300  00  $3,782  00 

Office  and  store  furniture  and 

fixtures  in  Chicago   5,000  00  2,943  78 

Office  and  store  furniture  and 

fixtures  in  St.  Louis   3,000  00  2,000  00 

  12,300  00  .   8,725  78 


Notes  and  accounts: 
In  Cincinnati,  as  per 

ledger  $130,346  92  $84,081  72 

To  suspense..     1,923  11  1,515  89 

 $128,423  81    $82,565  83 

In  Chicago,  as  per  $51,426  77 

ledger                 $54,441  72  4,264  44 

To  suspense..       752  95   53,688  77    47,162  33 

In  St.  Louis,  as  per  $48,078  40 

ledger                $52,521  41  3,070  49 

To  suspense..     1,431  49   51,089  92    45,007  91 

Aggregate  remaining  in  net 

capital  $233,202  50  $174,736  07 

Less  ten  per  cent  for  possible 

  23,320  25  17,473  61 


$209,882  25  $157,262  46 

211,475  98 

261,882  25    368,738  44 


In  Cincinnati- 
Special  loans  on  interest  *. . . .    52,000  00  211,475 


*  Including  (1895)  $50,000  insurance  reserve. 

Cash  on  Hand: 

In  Cincinnati   $94,336  41  $55,737  72 

In  Chicago   15,795  22  2,899  71 

In  St.  Louis   1,704  00  1,231  84 

  111,835  63    59,869  2't 


$1,281,677  61  $1,506,454  95 


LIABILITIES. 


In  Cincinnati— Accounts  $104,371  78  $33,322  09 

In  Chicago   37,572  66  20,378  16 

In  St.  Louis   9,395  34  5,024  50 

  151,339  78    58,724  75 


Net  capital,  October  31, 1891  $1,130  337  83  October  81, 1895  $1,447,730  20 

RESULTS. 

Addition  to  capital  $317,392  37 

Disbursements   265,621  70 


$583,014  07 

Deduct  for  revaluation  Chicago  realty   37,379  65 


Actual  earnings  $545,634  42 

CRANSTON  &  CURTS,  Agents. 


596 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


t— 4 

t-H 

CM  T-H 

00 

CO  ©5 

o 

00 

CO 

00 

SO 

SO  CM 

CO^ 

°~ 

"** 

©  00 

3- 

OS 

OS 

00 

© 

CO 

©^ 

^  CO 

t-  W  O) 
«D  CO^  e-t 

©"  icT  oT 
(M  CO  CO 
CM  CO 


<N 

CO  ^  © 
SO^_  CO^ 

oT  so"  oo" 

SO 

y*  CM 


co"i>^ 


00 

CO 

IS 

00  CO 

»o 

x> 

CO 

© 

t- 

i-H 

OS 

CM  1Q 

so 

00 

00  OS 

00 

CM 

CO 

to 

1Q 

©" 

oT 

icTso" 

oT 

OS 

00 

00 

SO  £~ 

00 

JO 

CO 

o* 

4* 

4* 

©  O  00 
CO  CO  CM 
CM  CO 


SO  CO 
©  CO 
J>  SO 

so~co~ 
J>  © 

r-H  CM 


co'so" 


I-H  CO 

OS  OS 

CS  so^ 
cs"co" 

CO  OS 
CM  i-i 


CM  lO  CM 
00  CO  lO 
©_SO^ 

to"oo""i-T 

SO  CO'-<f 
CM  CO 


00  ©  . 

1-1  CM  . 


©  00 
X-  OS 
00 

co"i-T 

00  CM 


CM 

© 


© 

CM  CO 
CM  CO 


00  CO 
1Q  SO 
CM  SO 


o 
o 


OS  © 
os  os 

CO  Tt< 


O  03 
00  «P 

S  5* 

SO  o 

i— r  s 


•  O 

S  ^  .2 

O  o  Qj  o 

<1 


•  !  "3 

X 

:  w  £ 

mo' 

—  .2 

e-  o  e 

32  £  rP 

25  Ph 


1896. 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


597 


O      cc  xa  <m  us  OS 

C  TC  !N  !0>  « 

00_  00_  '^•t^<:^'^.  *>. 
<n"  oo"  £"»  CO* tr-i-4  oT 

cm  a     to  ~*  \a 

CO  CM  t-h  i— I  <M 


OQONtOfflOO 

O  O  W  O  •*  T(<  H 

»c  «  t»  ©^cc^cc^ 
r-T  OS*"  tt"  cT  cm"  oo"  cc" 

CM  O    l-H    CO   l-H  1-t 

!OlMN  rt  H 

•A* 


©  O  TJH  00  00  CO  CO 
O  Ci  CM  »C  O  O  >— i 
O  «  C  *  IC^OO^CM^ 

oo"  — "  tjT  cT  co"  "*" 

00  O 

lO  (S  N        i—i  i— i  i— i 


O  CO  t-  C»  O  O  00 
©  CM  £~  CM  ©  ©  CC 
O  -t-  00  OS  00  c  t- 

cm"    r-^  co*  oT  i— T  cT 

fO  — I  O  i-t  Cl  00  <M 
12  C<1  <M        i-i  i-t 


(St-iOC0t)C« 
CO  CO^CO_CC^OO  o_oo 
cc"  cc"  co"  cm"  oT  of  r-T 

CO  CM  O  i-H  O  O  — 
t*<  CM  CM        CM  — < 


©  cc 
©  cc 

O  CN 


O  CM  00  — I 
©  CM  CC  £- 
O  CC  CC  -t— 
0"r-Tr-T£~." 


O  O  (M  ^ 
O  CO  Oi  id 

of     r-T  icT 


95 


3  * 

at  o 

5- 

V  =  5 


2  =  0 


i  1 1 1 1  il 

05  CQ     fx,  52;  DQ  © 


3 


©  co 
©  CO 
©  00 


2  1  s. 


3 


^  d 

o  rt 

«1 

CP 

fl  d 

o>  <p 

!E  d 
o  o 


<»  s  2 

CP  3 

Ijd 
C3  CP 
O  ^3  d 

jd  1  s 

©  ff  IT? 


SZ3 


cc  i- 

CO^CC^ 


CM 
CM  OS 
CO^CC_ 

o"i>" 


to  O 

%  t 

O  (H 


to  2 


CP  X! 

o 
E-i 


0  d 

„  Li 

co  3 

■s-s 


*3  « 

*to  I 


CP  £5 
d  m 

£  d 


.0  ;g 
.52  ? 
Q  <1 


698              Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

LIST  OF  NEW  BOOKS  ISSUED  LAST  FOUR  YEARS. 

Pages.  Copies. 

Who  Shall  Serve  ?    Swan   442  3,500 

Pilgrim's  Vision.    Baines   121  2,000 

In  His  Own  Way.    C.  B.  Holding   296  3,000 

Organic  Union.    Bishop  Merrill   112  2,500 

Christian  Life  and  Ethics.    Paulus   415  3,500 

Joy  of  Prayer.    Rohde   161  2,550 

Ca'rlowrie.     Swan   320  2,750 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  South.    Stevenson   36  2,250 

Imperfect  Angel.    Selby   281  2,750 

Deaconesses.    Meyer   242  1,500 

Save  Your  Minutes.    Gillett   428  3,250 

Governing  Conference  in  Methodism.    Neely   452  3,750 

Official  Recognition  of  Woman  in  the  Church.    Rishell   67  2,050 

Seven  Great  Lights.    McDowell   188  2,250 

Corner  Work.    Plantz   277  1,000 

Mistaken.    Swan   140  1,500 

Blasts  from  a  Ram's  Horn.    Brown   388  2,750 

Questions  of  the  Heart.    Tuckley   257  1,000 

Practical  Hints  on  Junior  League  Work.    Ferguson   103  4,000 

Discipline  Methodist  Episcopal  Church   352  69,250 

Guinea  Stamp.    Swan   350  1,750 

India  and  Malaysia.    Thoburn   562  6,250 

Four  Centuries  of  Silence.    Redford   258  2,000 

Good-Night  Thoughts  About  God.    Poole   137  1,500 

Comfort  for  the  Sick.    McLennan   32  1,500 

The  True  Sabbath.    Beardsley   188  1,000 

Daniel.    Smith   335  1,500 

Bridge  of  History  Over  the  Gulf  of  Time.    Cooper   162  1,500 

Little  Chicken  Thieves.    Robinson   145  2,000 

Gist.    Gracev   203  4,000 

Probationer's  Manual.    Bass   78  13,000 

Wealth.    Barker  \   48  2,000 

Pathway  of  Victory.    Girdlestone   85  1,500 

Christ  and  Full  Salvation.    Figgis   226  1,500 

Unequal  Four.    Odell   442  1,500 

Song  of  Songs.    Terry   64  2,000 

Laws  of  the  Soul.    Gifford   204  1,700 

Twice  Tried.    Swan   256  2,000 

Joy  the  Deaconess.    E.  E.  Holding   213  2,000 

Aldersyde.     Swan   318  2,000 

Vox  Dei.    Redford   344  1,200 

Latter-Day  Eden.    Tuckley   251  1,200 

The  Master  Sower.    Davis   196  1,500 

Witness  of  the  World  to  Christ.    Matthews   240  1,200 

Galilean  Gospel.    Bruce   232  ■  1,500 

Non-Biblical  Svstem  of  Religion.    (Symposium)   243  1,200 

Camerton  Slope.    Bishop   320  1,500 

Higher  Criticism.    Rishell   214  1,500 

Holy  Waiting.    Bishop  Vincent   90  3,000 

Praver  that  Teaches  to  Pray.    Dods   176  6,000 

Paul's  Ideal  Church  and  People.    Rowland   287  1,200 

The  Lamb  of  God.    Nicoll   124  1,750 

Christianity  in  Civilization.    Weir   115  1,500 

Evolution.    Cooper   188  1,500 

Masses  and  Classes.    Tucklev  , .  179  1,700 

How  I  Became  a  Preacher.    Gillett   436  1,200 

Selected  Essays.    Bishop  Thomson   128  2,000 

Gospel  Kodak  Abroad.    Winchester   342  1,200 

The  New  Generation.    Schell   218  5,000 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


599 


Pages.  Copies. 

A  Vexed  Inheritance.    Swan   256  1,200 

A  Divided  House.    Swan   250  1,200 

Facts  and  Fallacies  of  Christian  Science.    Patten   30  1,200 

The  King's  Palace.    (Subscription.)    Hammell   282  2,500 

Wrongs  Righted.    Swan   190  1,000 

Shadowed  Lives.    Swan   123  1,000 

Everv-Day  Religion.    Smith   242  1,000 

Joshua  and  the  Land  of  Promise.    Meyer   210  500 

Constitutional  Law  Questions.    Warren   244  1,200 

Accidents  and  Emergencies.     Blackstone   122  4,250 

None  Like  It.    Parker   271  1,000 

In  Sunnv  France.    Tuckley   249  1,000 

Betwixt  Two  Fires.    Wray   283  1,000 

Rambles  in  the  Old  World.    Terry   342  1,000 

Footprints  of  the  Jesuits.    R.  W.  Thompson   509  2,200 

A  Troublesome  Name.    Holmes   413  1,000 

Life  of  Lincoln.    D.D.Thompson   236  5,050 

Harmony  of  the  Gospels.    Withrow   194  1,000 

Arminianism  in  History.    Curtiss   237  1,000 

Providential  Epochs.  "Bristol   269  1,500 

Little  Book-Man.    Willing   264  1,000 

Life  on  a  Backwoods  Farm.    Halstead   258  1,000 

Comfort  for  the  Bereaved.    McLennan   44  1,000 

Christ  in  Myth  and  Legend.    Wright  ,   130  1,000 

Heavenly  Trade- Winds.    Banks   351  1,000 

His  Way  and  Hers.    Robinson   149  1,000 

Mary  of  Nazareth.    Bishop  Merrill   192  1,000 

Religion  of  the  Republic  and  Law  of  Religious  Corporations. 

Kynett   892  500 

An  Odd  Fellow.    C.  B.  Holding   391  1,000 

Story  of  Bohemia.    Gregor   486  1,000 

One  "Woman's  Story.    Lutz   300  1,000 

The  Parliamentarian.    Neely   90  1,000 

One  Rich  Man's  Son.    Super   209  1,000 

Little  Arthur.    Potts   96  1,000 

Barbara  Heck.    Withrow   238  1,000 

At  Last.    Lander   310  500 

The  Least  of  These.    Meade   250  1,000 

Next  Door  Neighbors.    Thurston   327  1,000 

Nature  as  a  Book  of  Symbols.    Marshall   277  1,000 

The  Child  Jesus.    Macleod   270  1,000 

German  Books. 

The  Lost  Brother.    Voelkner   242  1,000 

New  Sermon  Studies.    Nagler   344  1,500 

Life  in  a  Poorhouse.    Liebhart   332  500 

Through  Battle  to  Victory.    Paulus   178  1,000 

Boy3'  League  of  Waldorf.    Roser   210  1,000 

Teutonia.     Zesch   420  1,000 

True  unto  Death.    Liebhart   318  1,000 

Signor  Carlo.    Steen   308  1,000 

Discipline   352  3,000 

Music  Books. 

Songs  of  the  Soul   261,000 

Ep worth  Songs  . . . .  110,600 

Unfading  Treasures   60,000 

Golden  Gate  Anthems   3,000 

Die  Perle.    (German)   26,000 

Polyhymnia.     (German.)   1,500 

Number  new  books  catalogued  last  four  years,  1891-1895   118 


600 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


AGGREGATE  OF  VOLUMES. 


No.  volumes  Catalogue  books  printed,  old  and  new   569,000 

"       "       Methodist  Hymnal   102,500 

"        "       Methodist  Discipline   69,250 

"       Sunday  school  singing  books   565,100 

"       "       Pamphlets  and  Catechisms   241,500 

"        "       German  Catalogue  books   62,300 

"        "           "      Hymnals   16,800 

"        "           u      Sunday  school  singing  books   48,000 

"        u            "       Tracts  and  Catechisms   98,000 

"       Epworth  League  handbooks,  leaflets,  etc   1,735,300 


Total  volumes  3,507,750 

Total  bound  volumes   1,432,950 

Total  unbound  volumes   2,074,800 

 3,507,750 


N.  B. — Children's  day  exercises,  Easter  programs,  Christmas  exercises,  etc.,  not 
included  in  the  above. 

IN  MEMORIAM. 

Having  now  canvassed  all  the  essential  facts  relating  to  the 
interests  in  our  care,  we  beg  leave  to  incorporate,  as  a  part  of 
this  report,  the  brief  tributes  offered  in  our  annual  reports  of 
1892  and  1894,  to  the  memory  of  three  beloved  coworkers  in  the 
Cincinnati  House. 

Amos  Shinkle. 

As  a  member  of  the  Local  Committee  at  Cincinnati,  Mr. 
Shinkle  had  been  for  many  years  closely  identified  with  the 
Western  House  and  intimately  related  to  the  Agents.  Outside 
his  own  family,  perhaps  none  of  the  associates  of  his  later  years 
will  miss  him  more  than  ourselves  and  the  surviving  members  of 
our  Local  Committee.  While  entertaining  only  the  most  dutiful 
respect  for  lawful  authority,  we  yet  confess  that  we  shall  not 
so  much  miss  the  chief  official  as  the  noble  man,  Amos  Shinkle. 
Indeed,  he  was  so  rarely  conscious  of  his  official  headship  and 
so  constantly  the  wise,  gentle,  brotherly  associate  and  friend  that 
we  were  seldom  reminded  of  his  position.  Authority  did  not  ap- 
pear to  be  an  element  in  his  influence. 

He  won  our  love  by  his  considerateness  and  commanded  our 
respect  for  his  judgment  by  generous  regard  for  ours.  Not  to 
mourn  such  a  man  would  be  to  confess  ourselves  unworthy  of  as- 
sociation with  him.  Successful  men  are  very  liable  to  be  not  only 
positive  in  their  opinions  but  arrogant  in  asserting  them.  Not 
so  Amos  Shinkle.  What  he  believed  he  advocated  strongly,  but 
never  stubbornly.  If  unsuccessful  in  pushing  his  views  to  adop- 
tion, his  disappointment  never  turned  to  resentment,  though  his 
misgivings  on  account  of  what  he  regarded  as  mistaken  action, 
affecting  important  interests  of  the  Church,  doubtless  cost  him 
many  a  sleepless  hour.  No  man  ever  held  a  higher  conception  of 
the  sacredness  of  a  trust  than  he,  and  in  accepting  any  delegated 
responsibility  he  considered  himself  pledged  to  give  to  it  what- 
ever time  was  necessary  to  its  best  discharge.    However  exacting 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


601 


the  demands  of  his  large  and  often  perplexing  personal  affairs, 
no  impatient  inflection  of  voice  ever  came  over  the  wire  when  we 
called  him  by  telephone  to  Local  Committee  meeting,  Trustees' 
Executive  Committee,  Freedmen's  Aid  Board,  or  Sj)ecial  Com- 
mittee, though  frequently  summoned  for  almost  immediate  at- 
tendance. An  engagement  in  one  trust  relation  he  would  not 
abandon  for  another,  but  private  interests  were  ever  subordinate 
to  the  call  of  the  Church. 

As  Chairman  of  the  Book  Committee,  he  aimed  at  absolute  im- 
partiality. He  never  dishonored  the  Chair  by  using  it  to  further 
any  measure  that  could  not  win  in  fair  debate  upon  the  floor, 
however  great  his  personal  desire  for  its  success.  In  making  up 
the  committees  he  was  wont  to  ask  over  and  over  of  those  near 
him  who  were  in  position  to  answer  if  he  had  fairly  considered 
the  good  of  the  work,  the  interests  of  both  sections,  and  the  just 
expectations  of  individual  members.  Dr.  Hunt's  cordial  decla- 
ration, uttered  since  Mr.  Shinkle's  decease,  that  if,  as  chairman, 
he  had  ever  favored  either  section  in  his  administration  it  was 
the  East  rather  than  the  West,  would  have  been  accepted  as  high 
tribute  by  that  admirable  presiding  officer.  The  unanimity  with 
which  he  was  the  third  time  invested  with  this  delicate  trust 
must  have  assured  him  that  he  had  not  fallen  short  of  his  own 
lofty  ideal. 

Naturally  conservative  in  his  business  habits  and  methods, 
Mr.  Shinkle  was  conscientiously  careful  in  the  financial  affairs 
of  the  Church.  But  while  he  had  a  banker's  dread  of  the  danger 
of  growing  debts,  he  believed  also  that  a  prosperous  institution 
should  be  progressive,  and  gave  hearty  approval  to  every  im- 
provement we  suggested,  whether  of  machinery,  buildings,  or 
product.  His  first  and  usually  only  question  was,  "  Can  you 
afford  it  ?  "  That  point  assured,  his  concern  was  that  whatever 
was  undertaken  might  be  well  done. 

Others  have  appropriately  spoken  and  written  of  Mr.  Shinkle 
in  the  various  relations  he  sustained.  We  might  say  much  more 
of  his  freely  rendered  and  always  valuable  services  to  the  Book 
Concern  during  his  twenty  years  of  official  connection  with  it. 
We  could  have  said  no  less  and  been  true  to  his  memory  or  to 
the  promptings  of  our  own  hearts. 

R.  A.  W.  Bruehl. 
Born  in  Germany — and  in  Romanism — in  the  year  1828,  R.  A. 
W.  Bruehl  became  from  choice  first  a  Protestant,  then  an  Amer- 
ican, and  finally  a  Methodist.  The  history  compressed  into  this 
single  sentence  would  read  like  a  romance.  In  the  year  1854, 
three  years  after  his  conversion,  he  came  from  Baltimore  to  Cin- 
cinnati to  take  charge  of  the  German  department  in  the  Western 
Book  Concern.  For  six  years  he  rendered  devoted  service  in 
that  relation,  giving  night  as  well  as  day  to  his  duties,  and  then 
engaged  in  business  in  this  city  on  his  own  account.  In  1872  he 
was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Local  Committee. 


602 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


He  entered  upon  this  unremunerated  service  with  the  same 
diligence  and  zeal  that  had  characterized  his  record  as  an  em- 
ployee of  the  House.  His  knowledge  of  its  business  methods 
was  of  special  value  in  his  new  relation,  and  he  made  the  ledgers 
give  up  every  fact  he  deemed  essential  to  a  satisfactory  knowl- 
edge of  the  condition  of  the  Concern  and  the  drift  of  its  affairs. 
When  preparing  his  reports  as  secretary  of  the  Local  Committee 
he  would,  even  in  these  later  years  after  he  had  turned  three- 
score, figure  on  and  on  into  the  small  hours  of  the  morning, 
carefully  analyzing  every  account  and  laboriously  calculating 
significant  percentages.  It  was  useless  to  chide  him  for  this 
overtaxing  of  himself.  He  appeared  to  delight  in  it,  especially 
when  the  results  of  his  calculations  were  indicative  of  the  pros- 
perity of  the  business*.  Rarely  were  his  figures  at  fault,  and 
he  was  as  sensitive  to  a  suggestion  of  possible  inaccuracy  as  he 
would  have  been  to  a  suspicion  of  dishonesty.  The  same  industry 
and  scrupulous  exactness  characterized  him  in  every  trust  he  held 
in  behalf  of  the  Church. 

He  stood  for  the  sacredness  of  Book  Concern  profits  to  their 
only  lawful  use  and  championed  the  payment  of  the  largest 
possible  dividends.  When  it  was  once  proposed  to  vote  him 
compensation  for  some  long  and  laborious  task,  undertaken  by 
special  assignment,  he  almost  hotly  resented  the  intended  recog- 
nition. He  had  special  pleasure  in  the  growth  of  the  German 
department  and  a  just  pride  in  the  fidelity  of  the  German  preach- 
ers, both  as  to  the  circulation  of  our  literature  and  the  payment 
of  their  accounts. 

His  end  was  triumphant — victory  over  lingering  and  slowly 
wasting  disease,  and  then  victory  over  death.  As  a  local  preacher, 
he  had,  in  many  pulpits,  proclaimed  Christ  as  a  perfect  Saviour, 
and  such  he  proved  him  during  the  long  months  he  awaited  the 
hour  of  his  release.  We  shall  cherish  the  recollection  of  his 
genial  friendship,  his  clear  Christian  testimony,  and  his  cheerful 
good-bye,  until  he  greets  us  again  where  his  crown  was  awaiting 
him.    He  entered  into  rest  June  19,  1894. 

Twenty-two  years  of  such  service  without  compensation — one 
third  of  his  lifetime  promptly  obedient  to  the  call  of  official  duty, 
without  expectation  of  pay  or  promotion  except  at  the  Master's 
hand !  It  is  a  noble  record.  He  deserves  a  better  tribute  than 
we  can  pay. 

Henry  J.  Liebhart. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  1895,  Dr.  Liebhart  was  killed  by  be- 
ing blown  or  falling  from  a  railway  train  near  New  Haven,  Mich. 
The  shock  of  this  awful  calamity,  thus  suddenly  communicated, 
was  quickly  followed  by  a  distressing  realization  both  of  the 
overwhelming  bereavement  suffered  by  his  motherless  family,  and 
of  the  loss  sustained  by  the  Church,  especially  by  the  Publishing 
House  and  by  German  Methodism,  in  Dr.  Liebhart's  death. 

Nearly  half  his  lifetime  had  been  spent  in  our  editorial  work, 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati. 


603 


and  in  the  special  authorship  attaching  to  his  position.  Although 
in  his  sixty-third  year,  he  appeared  to  be  still  in  the  prime  of  his 
powers  and  usefulness,  and  gave  promise  of  another  decade  of 
excellent  service  to  the  cause  that  had  claimed  his  life.  This  is 
not  the  fitting  place  for  an  estimate  of  his  character  and  labors, 
but  it  is  the  only  place  in  which,  either  officially  or  personally,  we 
may  offer  our  brief  tribute. 

One  scarcely  knew  whether  to  call  Dr.  Liebhart  a  German- 
American  or  an  American-German,  so  evenly  did  he  combine  the 
distinctive  traits  of  the  two  nationalities.  Sturdy  in  his  convic- 
tions, stalwart  in  character  as  in  form,  quick  in  perception,  ready 
in  utterance,  broad  in  sympathies,  prompt  and  direct  in  executive 
methods,  careful  of  time  as  well  as  of  material  resources,  indus- 
trious and  systematic,  enterprising  within  reason,  and  conserva- 
tive only  upon  reason,  he  was,  taken  altogether,  a  man  of  singular 
fitness  for  such  varied  functions  as  belonged  to  his  office  in  the 
Church. 

Aside  from  his  unquestioned  ability  as  an  editor,  and  his  gen- 
ial presence  and  wTide  usefulness  as  a  man,  Dr.  Liebhart  had 
always  shown  a  deep  concern  for  the  financial  success  of  the  de- 
partment under  his  editorial  direction.  Ambitious  for  the  liter- 
ary and  artistic  excellence  of  his  periodicals,  he  was,  nevertheless, 
moderate  in  his  requests  of  the  publishers,  and  careful  in  his  ex- 
penditures. With  the  close  of  the  year,  he  was  anxious  to  know 
whether  results  were  on  the  side  of  profit  or  of  loss.  If  the  lat- 
ter, he  at  once  set  himself  the  task  of  devising  some  new  turn  to 
offset  the  deficiency  without  injury  to  the  periodical. 

We  shall  miss  our  cordial,  cheery,  German- American  Metho- 
dist, Brother  Liebhart,  as  well  as  the  hearty  and  devoted  co- 
laborer,  who,  in  the  fullness  of  his  strength,  was  so  suddenly 
taken  from  us. 

To  have  communed  again  for  a  little  while  with  the  memory 
of  such  men  is  to  turn  with  sobered  purpose  and  loftier  courage 
to  the  tasks  that  remain  to  us  in  the  service  of  God  and  his 
Church.  If  they  were  called  in  the  midst  of  their  usefulness,  who 
among  us  can  claim  exemption  because  of  duties  yet  to  be  done  ? 
If  such  fidelity  as  characterized  these  men  may  be  justly  expected 
of  us  all,  with  what  prayer  and  watchfulness  ought  we  to  go  about 
the  work  of  God.  Respectfully, 

Cranston  &  Curts. 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  GENERAL 
CONFERENCE  ENTERTAINMENT. 


The  General  Conference  of  1892  intrusted  the  matter  of  the 
entertainment  of  the  General  Conference  of  1896  to  the  Book 
Committee,  which  Committee,  at  its  session  in  Chicago  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1893,  appointed  a  sub-committee  of  its  own  number  as  a 
Special  Committee  on  General  Conference  Entertainment.  The 
Special  Committee  thus  appointed  was  duly  organized  as  follows: 
A.  J.  Palmer,  Chairman,  New  York;  W.  F.Whitlock,  Secretary, 
Delaware,  O. ;  Richard  Dymond,  Treasurer,  Cincinnati,  O.;  A.  F. 
Chase,  Rockport,  Me.;  J.  R.  Creighton,  Milwaukee,  Wis.;  E.  J. 
Gray,  Williamsport,  Pa.;  M.  A.  Head,  Grant  Park,  111.;  L.  C. 
Queal,  Moravia,  N.  Y. 

The  five  places  which  had  made  overtures  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  General  Conference  of  1896  were:  Saratoga,  Cleve- 
land, Cincinnati,  Detroit,  and  Chicago.  They  were  visited  in 
turn  by  the  Committee  and  at  the  session  of  the  Book  Committee 
in  1894,  at  Cincinnati,  Cleveland  received  a  majority  of  the 
votes  and  was  selected  as  the  seat  of  the  coming  General  Confer- 
ence. The  Book  Committee  also  made  an  apportionment  for  the 
expenses  of  the  General  Conference  to  the  amount  of  one  and 
one  fourth  of  one  per  cent  of  every  one  hundred  dollars  for  min- 
isterial support,  not  including  the  missionary  money  in  the  for- 
eign field. 

From  that  time  the  Committee,  by  correspondence  and  visita- 
tion of  the  Conferences,  urged  the  raising  of  this  money.  The 
Cleveland  people  were  required  to  furnish  the  buildings  for  the 
use  of  the  General  Conference  and  to  pay  all  local  expenses  con- 
nected therewith.  A  sub-committee,  consisting  of  the  chair- 
man, secretary,  and  treasurer,  visited  Cleveland,  and  in  entire 
harmony  adjusted  the  arrangement  with  the  people  there.  The 
armory  building  was  fitted  up  at  the  expense  of  the  local  Church 
authorities  at  Cleveland  and  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
General  Conference  for  all  services,  except  five  evenings  which 
they  were  allowed  to  reserve  for  entertainments,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  aid  them  in  defraying  the  expense  of  construction. 

The  General  Entertainment  Committee,  desiring  to  find  some 
means  of  revenue  which  might  defray  its  expenses,  proposed 


1S96.J  Committee  on  General  Conference  Entertainment.  605 

to  the  Cleveland  Committee  that  if  it  would  do  the  work  of 
leasing  certain  boxes  and  chairs,  which  were  desirable  in  the 
room,  during  the  sessions  of  the  General  Conference,  that  they 
would  share  the  proceeds.  The  result  of  which,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  treasurer's  report,  was  that  $1,676.18  from  this  source 
went  to  the  Cleveland  brethren  to  aid  in  liquidation  of  their 
liability,  and  the  same  amount  came  to  the  Entertainment  Com- 
mittee, which  more  than  paid  the  entire  traveling  and  hotel  ex- 
penses of  that  Committee  during  the  quadrennium. 

One  difficulty  that  confronted  the  Committee  in  arranging  for 
entertainment  at  Cleveland  was  the  limited  hotel  accommoda- 
tions. The  rate  of  two  dollars  per  day  had  been  guaranteed  by 
the  Cleveland  brethren  as  that  at  which  the  delegates  could  be 
suitably  cared  for.  We  were,  however,  only  able  to  arrange  for 
some  three  hundred  at  that  rate,  and  the  three  most  prominent 
hotels  would  not  take  any  delegates  at  a  lower  rate  than  two 
dollars  and  a  half  per  day.  It  was  evident  that  in  administering 
the  Church's  money  there  could  be  no  partiality,  and  as  we  were 
unable  to  assign  the  whole  five  hundred  to  hotels  which  would 
only  accommodate  three  hundred,  a  circular  was  sent  to  each 
delegate,  stating  the  situation  and  suggesting  that  any  one  who 
was  willing,  by  paying  a  slight  excess  of  fifty  cents  per  day, 
could  be  entertained  at  the  three  most  conspicuous  hotels.  A 
sufficient  number  accepted  these  conditions  and  thus  partiality 
was  avoided  while  entertainment  was  furnished  as  good  as  the 
city  would  afford  to  all.  To  this  device,  also,  is  to  be  attributed 
not  a  little  the  fine  credit  balance  which  will  appear  in  the 
treasurer's  report,  which  is  herewith  appended. 

Another  arrangement,  which  contributed  largely  to  the  con- 
tentment of  those  whose  entertainment  was  in  the  less  conspicu- 
ous hotels,  was  that  the  Bishops,  instead  of  being  assigned  to  one 
hotel,  were  distributed  among  all,  preference  being  given  in  the 
order  of  their  seniority.  It  conduced  greatly  to  the  general 
satisfaction,  as  no  one  would  complain  of  accommodations  which 
were  shared  by  some  of  our  honored  chief  pastors.  Moreover, 
those  Bishops  greatly  endeared  themselves  to  their  brethren 
among  whom  they  dwelt  for  the  month  of  May. 

The  entertainment  of  the  colored  delegates  has  been  a  difficult 
matter  at  previous  General  Conferences.  In  Cleveland  they 
were  distributed  to  all  the  hotels  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
other  delegates  thus  assigned.  The  hotel  proprietors  agreed 
faithfully  to  treat  them  precisely  the  same  as  their  white  col- 
leagues, and  we  are  happy  to  report  that,  so  far  as  we  have 
learned,  such  agreements  were  faithfully  fulfilled. 

The  report  of  the  treasurer  is  as  follows,  showing  the  appor- 
tionment to  each  Conference,  the  amount  received,  and  the 
amount  paid  for  each  delegation: 


606 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


CONFERENCES. 


Alabama  

Atlanta  

Arizona  

Arkansas  

Austin  

Baltimore  

Bengal-Burmah 

Black  Hills  

Blue  Ridge. .... 

Bombay  

Bulgaria  

California  

Califo1niaGerm1n 
Central  Alabama 
Central  China . . . 
Central  German. 
Central  Illinois. . 
Central  Missouri. 
Cent'l  New  York 

Central  Ohio  

Cent.Pennsyl'nia 
Central  Swedish. 
Cent'l  Tennessee 
Chicago  German. 

Cincinnati  

Colorado  

Columbia  River. 

Congo  

Delaware  

Dakota  

Denmark  

Des  Moines  

Detroit  

East  German  — 

East  Maine  

East  Ohio  

East  Tennessee. . 

Erie  

Finland  and 
St.  Petersburg 

Florida  

Foo-Chow  

Genesee  

Georgia  

Gulf  

Holston  

Idaho  

Illinois  

Indiana  

Iowa  

Italy   

Japan  

Kansas  

Kentucky   

Korea  

Lexington  

Liberia  

Little  Rock  .. 

Louisiana  

Lower  California 

Maine  

Malaysia  

Mexico  

Michigan  

Minnesota  

Mississippi  

Missouri  

Montana  

Navajo  Indian.. 

Nebraska  

Nevada   

Newark  

New  England . . 
N.  E.  Southern . 
New  Hampshire 
New  Jersey  — 


Appor- 
tion- 
ment. 


$05 


184 
160 
2,471 


62 


142 
178 

1*002 
2,084 

337 
2,027 
1,672 
2,630 

161 
76 

535 
2,124 
1,002 

480 

'756 


2,011 

2,805 
599 
833 

2,732 
139 

1,976 


108 
21 
2,610 
41 

'402 
147 
2,847 
1,248 
1,497 
18 
19 
1,295 
511 

'444 
20 
98 
595 

95i 


2,647 
2,136 

277 
1,043 

310 

1,350 


3,560 
2.118 
1,078 
2,588 


Receipts. 


$33  90 
10  00 

'  '64  05 

39 
2,016  50 


13  00 
84  70 

'606 
37  00 
25  75 

*72i  50 
853  70 
83  55 

1,054  00 
853  15 

1,829  00 
161  50 
212  00 
335  00 
865  53 
244  00 
114  10 

439  66 
5  00 

'925  70 
738  77 
433  00 
405  00 

1,530  25 
41  99 

1,024  19 


39  00 

'821  08 
18  00 

"66  66 
63  00 
1,387  60 
867  76 
993  41 
18  00 
20  45 
617  00 
141  29 

' '74  75 
20  00 
70  75 
154  25 

'467  50 

"i7  02 
861  23 
465  62 
93  07 
516  00 
147  00 

194  83 

2,i07  66 
1,202  65 
1,034  00 
684  44 
2,022  00 


Expenses. 


$178  35 


220  10 
246  71 
389  0' 
581  18 

165  "9 
548  50 

1,480  60 
438  00 
210  21 

307  66 
540  10 
370  19 
510  61 
335  53 
638  11 
138  00 
143  27 
275  63 
470  10 
416  50 
772  10 

304  45 


585  60 
621  25 
154  76 
385  31 
384  95 
157  20 
424  60 


195  96 
711  94 
493  27 
171  80 

345  40 
354  35 
677  52 
616  20 
488  52 
549  90 
1,039  4 
478  93 
296  51 

316  25 
1,153  50 
206  30 
539  13 


391  77 

595  05 

462  17 
455  00 
448  73 
318  44 

485  25 

596  17 
695  50 
525  08 

463  37 
568  79 


CONFERENCES. 


N'wMex.English 
N'wMex.Spanish 

New  York  

New  York  East. 
North  Carolina. 
North  China..  . 
North  Dakota. . . 
North  Germany 

North  India  

North  Indiana.. 
North  Montana. 
North  Nebraska 

North  Ohio  

N.PaciflcGerman 
North'rn  German 
Northern 

Minnesota 
N'rth'nNewYork 
North 'n  Swedish 
N'rthw'stGerm'n 
Northwest  India. 
N.  W.  Indiana. . . 
Northwest  Iowa. 
Northw't  Kansas 
N.  W.  Nebraska. 

Norway  

Norwegian 

and  Danish 

Ohio  

Oklahoma  

Oregon  

Philadelphia .... 

Pittsburg  

Puget  Sound  

Rock  River  

St.  John's  River. 

St.  Louis  

St.  Louis  German 

Savannah  

South  America.. 
South  Carolina. . 
South  Dakota — 
South  Germany. . 

South  India  

South  Kansas  

S'uthe'st  Indiana 
So'th'n  Califo'nia 
South 'rn  German 
Southern  Illinois 
So'thw'st  Kansas 

Sweden  

Switzerland  

Tennessee  

Texas  

Troy  

Upper  Iowra  

UpperMississippi 

Utah  

Vermont  

Virginia  

Washington  

West  China  

West  German  . . . 
West  Nebraska.. 

West  Texas  

West  Virginia. . . 
West  Wisconsin. 
Western  Nor- 
wegian-Danish 
Western  Swedish 

Wilmington  

Wisconsin  

Wyoming  

Wyoming  Missi'n 


Appor- 
tion- 
ment. 


$4,019 
4,709 
225 
4 
294 
150 
62 
1,83 
71 
886 


375 


1,692 

287 
63 
1,443 
1,471 
753 
104 
65 


85 
643 
4,144 
2,536 
762 
3,708 
138 

It 

363 
394 
503 
817 
150 
52 
1,075 

1,100 

1,121 
147 

1,197 

1,203 
205 
138 
137 
327 

2,S43 

2,05 
182 


132 


472 
575 
266 
1,172 
1,347 

62 
118 
1,736 
1,651 
2,101 


Receipts. 


$2,665  00 
2,273  50 
40  00 
4  00 
302  75 
106  50 

1,430  66 
19  00 
141  90 
812  86 

241  i5 

262  00 
1,081  00 

252  66 
62  00 

716  15 

848 

174  80 
84  00 


196  90 
983  12 

36  52 
208  60 
2,558  80 
973 
235  50 
1,586  51 

54  50 
695  00 
434  00 
161  70 

65  55 
202  14 
179  38 
150  00 

39  85 
647  45 

26  00 
491  00 
142  60 
560  88 
430  00 
192  53 
138  00 

23  60 
156  00 
2,104  00 
1,351  00 

80  50 

443  90 
84  00 
360  00 

258  27 
54  00 
103  00 
574  75 


3  00 
70  07 
1,330  00 
565  90 
1,335  00 


$63,113  72  $57,516  13 


1896.]  Committee  on  Ge?ieral  Cojiference  Entertainment.  607 


SUMMARY. 

Expenses  paid  as  follows  for  Delegates  and  General  Conference  officials : 


Home  traveling  expenses  $18,359  29 

Foreign  traveling  expenses— 35  delegates  and  2  Missionary  Bishops   11,279  55 

Hotels'  and  boarding   29,628  30 


$59,207  14 

Miscellaneous  Expenses. 

Balance  expenses  Omaha  General  Conference   $51  25 

Fraternal  delegates   370  44 

Secretaries  General  Conference,  for  stationery,  etc   93  29 

General  Conference,  printing  and  souvenirs  1,245  36 

Official  stenographer,  salary,  etc   226  51 

Pages  and  doorkeepers   167  67 

Clerical  help   23  00 

Committee  Entertainment  of  General  Conference,  traveling  and  hotel 

expenses  during  quadrennium  1,240  67 

  3,418  19 


Receipts  from  Conferences  $63,113  72  $62,685  33 

Rent  boxes  and  chairs  at  Cleveland.   1,676  18 

  64,789  90 


Credit  balance   $2, 104  57 


Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  J.  Palmer,  Chairman, 
W.  F.  Whitlock,  Secretary, 
Richard  Dymond,  Treasurer. 

39 


D. 

REPORTS  OF  SOCIETIES. 


Report  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Episcopal  Fund. 
Journal,  page  91. 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church : 

Brethren:  The  drafts  upon  the  Episcopal  Fund  during  the 
last  four  years  have  been  less  than  those  of  the  preceding  four 
years.  The  salaries  of  the  two  Missionary  Bishops  have  been 
paid  by  the  Missionary  Society,  lessening  the  claims  upon  the 
treasury  of  the  Episcopal  Fund  to  the  amount  of  $9,000  per  an- 
num. The  percentage  of  apportionments  to  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences has  been  lessened,  and  yet  the  receipts  have  been  greater 
than  the  expenditures.  The  receipts  for  the  quadrennium  have 
been  $354,369.48,  and  the  expenditures  $342,267.40 — making  the 
gain  in  receipts  over  expenditures  $12,102.08.  Add  to  this  the 
amount  in  the  treasury  at  the  beginning  of  the  quadrennium — 
$11,722.58 — and  the  treasury  shows  a  balance  on  hand  of 
$23,824.66. 

By  direction  of  the  General  Conference  the  basis  of  apportion- 
ment to  the  several  Annual  Conferences  is  the  amount  paid  for 
ministerial  support.  The  ratio  of  apportionment  fixed  by  the 
Book  Committee  is  one  and  one  fourth  per  cent  on  the  above 
amount. 

The  receipts  have  been  as  follows  : 


In  1892   $89,708  99 

In  1893   92,748  12 

In  1894   88,224  65 

In  1895   83,489  72 


Total  $354,369  48 

The  expenditures  have  been  as  follows  : 

In  1892  $90,034  55 

In  1893   83,857  05 

In  1894   82,328  75 

In  1895   86,047  05 


Total  $342,267  40 

Of  this  amount  there  was  paid  : 

For  salaries  and  house  rent  $313,250  00 

For  traveling  and  moving  expenses   25,579  52 

For  printing,  postage,  etc   3,437  88 


Total  $342,267  40 


1896.]    Report  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Episcopal  Fund.  609 

The  total  sum  of  apportionments  to  the  several  Annual  Con- 
ferences for  the  four  years  and  the  receipts  from  the  same  are  as 
follows  : 


Apportionments 

Receipts 

for 

Co  qi  ere  n  ces  . 

for  four  years. 

four  years. 

.A-fricsi 

$18 

$.. 

A  In  V\o  m  C4 

J.1 1 

62 

00 

A  rlrc*nQfi  a 

785 

83 

00 

3 

00 

All  Q^lTl 

270 

00 

"R  q  1 1 1  m  r\  ro  . 

10  218 

10,754 

63 

T^onnrsil  Tlnrmflh 

305 

497 

92 

00 

289 

54 

00 

192 

"Riilcs-i  ri  a 

8 

.  . 

1,9 1  i  "f  r^T*n  i  5J 

7  626 

3,739 

38 

ritilifrirniQ  fJ-prrnQn 

646 

253 

00 

Central  \lsb3,in3( 

839 

130 

00 

38 

4  164 

3,4i9 

03 

i,c»ntrcil  Tllinr\ic 

8  623 

5,751 

45 

Central  Missouri 

1  413 

350 

13 

tf^PTi  trd  1   "NTp  wt  "V*  r&T*lf* 

8  672 

6,004 

75 

("Ion  f"ri  1  OTi5/*\ 

7  218 

6,016 

00 

lion  t  t*q  1    Pon  "n  qttI  t'qtii  q 

10  685 

9,922 

00 

559 

20 

tro  1  TonnOGGOD 

31 4. 

79 

25 

l!liipAo'rt  IrOrmon 

2  147 

2,214 

50 

6,928 

74 

4  327 

2,419 

50 

2  025 

658 

00 

873 

270 

00 

T  )ol  U  Uf  q  t*o 

2  974 

2,140 

00 

T)pn  mfj  rlr 

. 

T)pQ   \f Ainoa 

8  457 

6,228 

54 

Detroit 

1 1  645 

6,303 

93 

2  446 

2,337 

00 

3  514 

2,078 

00 

Fa^t  Ohm 

11  212 

8,554 

00 

590 

130 

00 

Erie 

8  246 

5,200 

90 

12 

00 

JQft 

220 

00 

61 

47 

89 

Genesee 

11  265 

6,828 

50 

1 71 

56 

05 

4.0Q 

572 

93 

Gulf 

26 

00 

Holston    . . . 

1  704 

401 

00 

629 

43 

20 

11,697 

6,816 

00 

17 

10 

5,203 

4,112 

50 

5,728 

5,110 

07 

68 

33 

00 

73 

69 

58 

5,343 

3,370 

00 

2,204 

733 

75 

610 


Journal  of  the 


General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Conferences. 

Apportionments 

Receipts 

for 

for  four  years. 

four  years. 

$1,922 

$424 

95 

32 

Tiffin  n a/iV 

465 

32 

75 

2,535 

500 

00 

3,925 

2,509 

19 

109 

87 

77 

10,9*79 

6,579 

24 

9,550 

3,808 

76 

1,194 

236 

65 

4,306 

2,253 

50 

1,412 

541 

00 



5,518 

1,899 

56 

637 

392 

00 

12,204 

11,383 

00 

14,86*7 

7,461 

45 

8,789 

5,450 

00 

4,551 

3,597 

75 

10,766 

10,308 

50 

216 

55 

00 

18 

00 

XT  T7"  1- 

16,584 

12,623 

24 

19,241 

14,322 

00 

792 

177 

00 

8 

1,828 

683 

00 

300 

257 

135 

82 

7,383 

6,686 

67 

152 

63 

00 

3,597 

1,181 

00 

6,232 

4,932 

00 

XT       ,  i     t">       •  r»  _  /~i  

102 

124 

00 

1,555 

1,621 

25 

XT        i_  1                  H(T*  —  _  A. 

477 

50 

■XT        .  1_                XT  _     _  Tf  ^ 

7,318 

5,608 

72 



124 

00 

1,161 

1,050 

00 

lib 

40 

23 

5,905 

4,858 

68 

5,926 

4,273 

21 

2,937 

1,230 

63 

OAQ 

92 

00 

l,ZO» 

1,216 

04 

252 

110 

72 

1,196 

653 

90 

8,564 

7,330 

92 

170 

114 

65 

2,587 

1,406 

55 

17,008 

15,360 

8& 

10,358 

7,029 

97 

1,161 

00 

15,070 

10,461 

95 

605 

193 

60 

5,096 

2,788 

80 

3,332 

2,251 

15 

1,646 

675 

32 

788 

1896.]    Report  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Episcopal  Fund.  611 


Apportionments 

Receipts 

for 

Conferences. 

for  four  years. 

four  years. 

$465 

77 

514 

00 

300 

369 

00 

70 

93 

3  195 

50 

4,539 

3  080 

75 

4,712 

2,909 

46 

586 

358 

00 

2,667 

00 

3  392 

90 

977 

60 

421 

28 

670 

63 

10 

593 

60 

11,729 

9,842 

80 

8,461 

6  358 

50 

1,087 

131 

15 

294 

27 

00 

3,813 

2  540 

00 

582 

375 

21 

3,320 

1,385 

00 

1,892 

1  209 

00 

2,447 

*750 

10 

1,095 

563 

00 

4,741 

2,667 

37 

5,520 

2,460 

00 

124 

43 

00 

239 

00 

7,122 

6,426 

00 

6,885 

3,789 

42 

8,599 

6,293 

00 

212 

117 

00 

$523,531 

$354,369 

48 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Homer  Eaton,  Treasurer. 

Lewis  Curts,  Assistant  Treasurer. 

New  York,  May  1,  1896. 


Report  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee.  Journal^ 

page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  quadrennium  now  closing 
has  been  the  most  fruitful  in  conversions  and  additions  to  the 
Church  in  the  foreign  field  of  any  like  period  in  the  history  of 
the  Missionary  Society.  The  aggregate  membership,  including 
probationers,  reported  four  years  ago  was  91,325.  The  Annual 
Report  of  the  Society  for  1895  gives  an  aggregate  of  members 
and  probationers  numbering  147,203 — a  gain  of  55,878.  The 
number  of  Sunday  school  scholars  four  years  ago  was  111,365  ; 
the  number  reported  now  is  154,267 — showing  a  gain  of  42,902. 
The  sum  collected  in  1895  for  self-support  for  all  purposes 
amounts  to  $348,553,  and  we  are  glad  to  say  that  there  is  a  steady 
advance  in  this  regard  in  all  parts  of  our  widely  extended  foreign 
field. 


612 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


The  estimated  value  of  churches  and  chapels  in  the  foreign  field 
in  1891  was  $2,027,284  ;  in  1895,  $2,581,703— a  gain  of  $554,419. 
In  1891  there  were  185  foreign  missionaries  and  166  assistant 
missionaries* — a  total  of  351.  In  1895,  225  missionaries  and  224 
assistant  missionaries — a  total  of  449,  a  gain  of  98.  In  1891 
there  were  475  native  ordained  preachers  ;  in  1895,  661 — a 
gain  of  186.  In  1891  there  were  1,013  native  unordained  preach- 
ers ;  in  1895,  1,159 — a  gain  of  146.  In  1891  there  were  1,181 
local  preachers  and  other  helpers,  etc. ;  in  1895,  1,651 — a  gain  of 
470.  In  1891  there  were  73,566  reported  adherents;  in  1895, 
156,283— a  gain  of  82,717. 

The  Society  has  aided  in  supporting  about  4,000  Domestic 
Missions  (Missions  in  the  United  States),  in  59  English-speaking 
Conferences  and  in  15  Conferences  in  which  foreign  languages 
exclusively  are  spoken,  also  in  11  Missions  organized  outside  of 
Annual  Conferences.  Our  missionaries  are  preaching  the  Gospel 
in  this  country  in  not  less  than  14  different  languages,  besides 
several  Indian  dialects,  and  ministering  to  the  spiritual  needs  of 
probably  not  less  than  400,000  members  and  probationers. 

During  this  period  of  unequaled  growth  in  our  mission  fields, 
foreign  and  domestic,  our  country  has  been  suffering  from  un- 
precedented financial  and  industrial  stringency  and  depression, 
which  has  affected  unfavorably  the  income  of  the  Society.  The 
extent  to  which  the  income  has  been  affected  may  be  seen  by  the 
following  statement: 


Total  income  1884-87  $3,603,178  60 

Total  income  1888-91   4,522,048  13 

Showing  a  gain  of   918,869  53 

for  the  quadrennium  ending  with  1891. 
Again, 

Total  income  1888-91  $4,522,048  13 

Total  income  1892-95   4,766,343  93 

Showing  a  gain  of   244,295  80 


Though  there  has  been  a  gain  during  the  quadrennium  of 
$244,295.80,  there  has  been  a  relative  falling  off,  as  compared 
with  the  previous  one,  of  $673,573.73.  It  is  cause  for  thanks- 
giving that  during  this  period  of  financial  disaster  to  many  busi- 
ness interests,  the  Society  has  not  only  held  the  standard  it  had 
reached  when  the  "  hard  times "  commenced,  but  has  made  an 
average  gain  for  the  quadrennium  of  $61,323.95,  showing  that 
this  cause  is  deeply  rooted  in  the  affections  of  our  people.  It 
should  be  stated,  however,  that  during  the  quadrennium  now 
closing  special  gifts  have  been  larger  than  ever  before,  aggre- 
gating a  sum  about  equal  to  the  gain  above  given,  so  that  the 
sum  at  the  disposal  of  the  Society  with  which  to  support  the 
work  under  its  care  has  been  about  the  same  as  during  the  quad- 
rennium preceding.  There  having  been  no  gain  available  for 
the  support  of  the  rapidly  expanding  work,  the  Society  found 
that  fields  already  occupied  must  be  abandoned,  or  a  debt  must 


*  Wives  of  missionaries. 


1896.]     Report  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee.  613 

be  contracted.  It  was  not  believed  that  the  Church  would 
approve  of  the  former  course,  and  so  the  latter  was  adopted. 
The  maintenance  of  the  work  has  occasioned  a  debt  which,  at  the 
close  of  the  fiscal  year,  October  31,  1895,  amounted  to  $239,055. 
An  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  Church  to  provide  for  this  debt 
through  a  Dr.  Sandford  Hunt  Memorial  Fund,  and  a  generous 
response  is  being  made.  Such  a  memorial  is  deemed  a  fitting 
monument  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the  most  faithful  and  devoted 
treasurers  who  has  served  the  Society  during  its  entire  history. 

The  Society  has  been  deeply  bereaved  during  the  quadrennium 
by  the  death  of  one  of  its  executive  ofiicers  and  one  member  of 
the  General  Missionary  Committee.  Rev.  Jonas  Oramel  Peck, 
D.D.,  Corresponding  Secretary,  who  filled  the  position  to  which 
he  had  been  twice  elected  by  your  body,  for  the  period  of  six 
years,  was  stricken  down  May  17,  1894.  His  eloquence  in  the 
pulpit  and  on  the  platform,  together  with  his  masterful  grasp  of 
the  whole  work  of  the  Society,  made  him  at  once  an  effective  ad- 
vocate of  the  cause  of  Missions  and  an  executive  officer  whose 
judgment  was  always  reliable. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Hargis  was  called  to  his  reward  on  August  8,  1895. 
He  was  an  able  and  devoted  member  of  the  General  Committee, 
and  his  presence  and  usefulness  have  been  seriously  missed  in  our 
counsels. 

Rev.  Sandford  Hunt,  D.D.,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Society,  fell 
suddenly  at  Cincinnati,  O.,  February  10,  1896.  He  was  a  man 
of  conservative  spirit,  calm  judgment,  untiring  industry,  and 
unusual  ability,  and  all  these  qualities  he  cheerfully  and  con- 
stantly employed  as  occasion  demanded,  in  faithfully  discharging 
the  trust  committed  to  his  care. 

The  property  of  the  Society  at  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York, 
is  in  excellent  condition,  and  has  afforded  during  the  quadren- 
nium an  income  from  rentals  amounting  to  $78,681.31. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted,  with  accompanying 
statistical  tables,  showing  receipts  and  appropriations  for  the 
quadrennium.  C.  C.  McCabe, 

A.  B.  Leonard, 
Correspondin  g  Secretaries. 


RECEIPTS  FROM  CONFERENCES  AND  MISSIONS  DURING  THE  YEARS 

1892-1895. 


Conferences. 

1893. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

Total. 

Africa  

$ 

$ 

$ 

$  

$  

Black  Hills  

Bombay  

516  66 
672  54 
846  30 
1,211  50 
43,503  91 

790  40 
324  00 

204  50 

415  05 
721  36 
830  52 
604  25 
44,692  07 
55  00 
667  00 
220  40 
83  50 
232  22 

319  00 
883  00 
840  05 
1,053  20 
44,869  80 

"933*65 
331  10 
106  60 
277  40 

254  00 
913  60 
714  41 
929  25 
43,347  58 
65  27 
725  80 
230  00 
172  62 
129  13 

1,504  05 
3,190  50 
3,231  28 
3,798  20 
176,413  36 
120  27 
3,116  85 
1,105  50 
362  72 
843  25 

♦Missions. 


614 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 
Receipts. —  Continued. 


[1896. 


Conferences. 


California  

California  German  

Central  Alabama  

Central  China  

Central  German  

Central  Illinois  

Central  Missouri  

Central  New  York  

Central  Ohio  

Central  Pennsylvania  

Central  Swedish  

Central  Tennessee  

Chicago  German  

Cincinnati  

Colorado   

Columbia  River  

Dakota  

Delaware  

Denmark*  

Des  Moines  

Detroit  

East  German  

East  Maine  

East  Ohio  

East  Tennessee  

Erie  

Finland  &  St.  Petersburg 

Florida  

Foo-Chow  

Genesee  

Georgia  

Germany  

Gulf*  

Holston  

Id  aho  

Illinois..   

Indian  

Indiana  

Iowa  

Italy  

Japan  

Kansas  

Kentucky  

Korea*  

Lexington  

Little  Rock  

Louisiana  

Maine  

Malaysia*  

Mexico  

Michigan  

Minnesota  

Mississippi  

Missouri  

Montana  

Nebraska  

Nevada*  

Newark  

New  Englaud  

New  England  Southern. 

New  Hampshire  

New  Jersey  

New  Mexico  English*. . . 
New  Mexico  Spanish*. . . 

New  York  

New  York  East  

North  Carolina  

North  China*  

North  Dakota  

Northern  German  

Northern  Minnesota  

Northern  New  York.. .  . 
Northern  Swedish*  


$10,630  28 
885  00 
420  75 
299  59 
8,481  77 
20,376  61 
409  80 
19,542  69 
20,821  10 
40,867  75 


433  55 
4,391  00 

23,738  18 
6,483  22 
2,622  00 
6,429  77 
3,129  00 
1,787  67 

27,269  97 

17,577  51 
8,065  69 
2,999  45 

28,924  09 
226  00 

17,303  54 


673  58 
264  40 
22,327  09 
223  15 
2,484  05 


3,838  93 
475  85 
29,956  01 
144  95 
11,113  80 
12,720  45 
315  52 
147  11 
6,169  01 
2,339  50 


539  00 
205  30 
1,074  00 
5,767  72 


411  72 
16,435  45 
12,271  67 
308  55 
6,984  34 
1,880  25 
4,873  22 
976  65 
36,084  32 
27,266  25 
13,484  31 
8,605  63 
32,194  48 
701  80 
275  00 
48,472  73 
52,658  91 
458  70 
546  05 
3,174  40 
2,402  65 


13,963  71 


$10,814  40 
879  00 
312  15 
157  53 
7,901  48 
20,551  73 
408  10 
20,799  79 
20,183  84 
42,778  24 

" "456*66! 

4,227  50; 
22,685  32! 
6,406  49| 
2,055  30 


1894. 


3,227  36 
937  00 
27,933  93 
15,419  07 
7,112  51 
3,584  45 
30,137  57 
261  00 
17,836  17 
139  03 
669  47 
236  83 
22,425  23 
236  00 
1,313  71 
71  00 
1,372  31 
498  97 
27,303  36 


10,792  21 
12,904  05 
340  00 
110  06 
6,566  27 
2,112  75 

"616 'l6 
271  35 
957  15 

6,053  92 


340  71 
17,485  85 
11,385  63 
315  18 
6,788  60 
1,505  98 
5,335  92 
1,040  00 
37,141  88 
28,669  53 
15,106  43 
9,154  76 
31,343  85 
794  00 
300  00 
48,828  06 
50,425  66 
321  20 
327  70 
1,695  00 
1,960  00 


$10,036  04 
818  00 
275  87 
149  85 
7,916  80 
20,451  51 
362  34 
21  496  89 
20,226  05 
41,684  49 
3,115  88 
456  00 
4,140  46 
21,851  10 
4,998  52 
1,762  20 


3,353  14 
882  21 
27,859  42 
15,632  44 
7,397  40 
3,765 
30,582  09 
217  00 
17,464  76 
146  00 
747  00 
223  17 
22,192  31 
199  75 


110  57 
1,269  00 
335  60 
28,960  71 


10,654  65 
13,229  66 
275  50 
111  63 
6,492  71 
2,146  12 


14,478  00 


483  51 
402  25 
911  20 
5,942  14 
52  60 
371  90 
14,506  03 
11,489  84 
594  96 
7,090  23 
1,419  60 
4,826  " 
983  00 
35,487  83 
28,114  73 
14,481  36 
8,795 
29,818  62 
600  10 
303  00 
45,373  14 
46,051  67 
355  36 
184  98 
2,081  30 
2,112  35 


14,660  79 
1,275  01 


$8,874  66 
855  00 
246  28 
217  87 
8,067  04 
20,150 

407  63 
21,126  17 
21,250  72 
41,264  09 
3,&38  50 
440  00 
4,105  50 
21,399  18 
5,179 
2,170  40 


3,309  00 
863  78 
26,348  61 
15,438 
6,378  00 
3,658  07 
30,186  18 
94  88 
17,104  93 
226  00 
603  00 
212  80 
22,323  38 
182  80 


116  45 
1,319  86 
312  75 
30,853  61 


21,260  61 
14,081  49 

288  00 
99  78 

6,606  24 
2,183  03 

"338  25 
291  40 
933  3' 
5,304  20 
19  32 
322  90 
17,558  80 
6,485  38 
430  02 
7,197  64 
1,660  60 
3,674  95 
1,014  50 
33,271  72 
28,0&3  75 
13,690  13 
8,390  18 
26,712  24 
734  00 
285  00 
41,166  56 
51,582  49 

289  50 
318  89 

2,189  86 
2,206  70 
5,373  30 
12,615  14 
1,384  00 


Total. 


$40,355  38 
3,437  00 
1,255  05 
8*4  84 
32,367  09 
81,530  64 
1,587  87 
82,965  54 
82,481  71 
166,594  57 
6,454  38 
1,785  55 
16,864  46 
89,673  78 
23,068  09 
8,609  90 
6,429  77 
13,018  50 
4,470  66 
109,411  93 
64,067  71 
28,953  60 
14,007  70 
119,829  93 
798  88 
69,709  40 
511  03 
2,693  05 
937  20 
89,268  01 
841  70 
3,797  76 
298  02 
7,800  10 
1,623  17 
117,073  69 
144  95 
53,821  27 
52,935  65 
1,219  02 
468  58 
25,834  23 
8,781  40 


1,976  86 
1,170  30 
3,875  72 
23,067  98 
71  92 
1,447  23 
65,986  13 
41,632  52 
1,648  71 
28,060  81 
6,466  43 
18,710  47 
4,014  15 
141,985  75 
112,084  26 
56,762  23 
34,946  36 
120,069  19 
2,829  90 
1,163  00 
183,840  49 
200,718  73 
1,424  76 
1,377  62 
9,140  56 
8,681  70 
5,373  30 
.55,717  64 
2,659  01 


*  Missions. 


1896.]     Report  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee.  615 


Receipts. —  Continued. 


Conferences. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

189  5. 

Total. 

North  India.   

$210  65 

$1 

20 

$921 

01 

$1,094  46 

$2,227 

37 

North  Germany   

598 

96 

654  80 

1,253 

70 

14,133 

45 

14  945 

3.  j 

14  944 

55 

15,611  37 

59  634 

68 

228 

10 

346 

oi 

415  28 

989 

38 

3,371 

50 

3,941 

31 

4,065 

75 

3,892  04 

15,270 

00 

North  Ohio  

12,713 

03 

12,267 

04 

11,780 

9^ 

11,770  15 

48/>:32 

31 

North  Pacific  German*. . 

528 

•'30 

575 

00 

535 

4< 

542  75 

2,181 

45 

2,765 

55 

2,687 

00 

2,641 

70 

2,831  66 

10,925 

91 

358 

31 

227  40 

585 

71 

13,849 

12 

14,295 

40 

16,199 

10 

17,188  50 

61,532 

18 

Northwest  Iowa  

10,477 

11,198 

S3 

12,254 

01 

12,543  93 

46,474 

00 

Northwest  Kansas  

2,339 

93 

2,548 

75 

2,384 

34 

1,541  72 

8,814 

74 

Northwest  Nebraska  

453 

00 

418 

00 

423  00 

1,'294 

00 

Northwest  Nor.  and  Dan. 

5,871 

95 

5,865 

97 
9s 

12 

0( 

11,749 

92 

Norway  

1,200 

00 

L186 

1,109 

8] 

1,114  29 

4,671 

08 

Norwegian  and  Danish . . 

3,350 

82 

3,133 

00 

3,213 

3< 

3,503  95 

13^201 

07 

Ohio  

20,764 

32 

20^582 

S3 

19,188 

01 

19,260  65 

79,796 

40 

Oklahoma  

ouu 

OS 

667 

37 

429  50 

1  397 

55 

4,853 

32 

3,949 

Of  i 

yu 

3  745 

3,440  89 

•J*) 

Philadelphia  

56,176 

22 

00,010 

-IK 

53  469 

51,023  05 

216  984 

95 

Pittsburg   

25,254 

67 

24,116 

11 

25^842 

53 

26,168  60 

10L381 

91 

Puget  Sound 

3,476 

05 

2,689 

70 

2,653 

42 

2,747  71 

11,566 

88 

Rock  River  

32,064 

67 

29',019 

30 

29,238 

0', 

28,329  11 

118,651 

83 

563 

74 

642 

37' 

705 

17 

733  43 

2,644 

71 

Saint  Louis  

9,544 

41 

10,516 

98 

7,668 

72 

7,219  94 

34,950 

05 

Saint  Louis  German  

6,108 

50 

5^862 

95 

6,053 

of 

6,791  65 

24  816 

60 

Savannah  

924 

00 

841 

41 

903 

S3 

962  74 

3,631 

98 

South  America*  

1,020 

20 

306 

20 

586 

17 

622  83 

2,535 

46 

3,164 

■;l 

2,366 

53 

1,826 

72 

1,656  62 

9,014 

OS 

9,182 

10 

9,684 

25 

9,753 

85 

182  96 

28,803 

16 

Southern  California   

5,942 

50 

6,158 

10 

7,212 

01 1 

7,038  32 

26,350 

98 

1,653 

00 

1,606 

00 

1,481 

"0 

1,435  00 

6,175 

20 

9,800 

79 

9,592 

93 

9,389 

10 

9,789  08 

38,571 

90 

3,889 

SI 

3,090 

SO 

2,810  16 

y,  ivy) 

Vf 

1 1 

850 

00 

802  88 

1,652 

88 

South  India  

40 

24 

60 

75 

82  68 

183 

67 

South  Kansas 

5,392 

78 

5,271 

18 

5,527 

71 

5,704  74 

21,896 

41 

5,368 

00 

5,751 

01 

5,974 

V 

'->.-» 

4,710  67 

91  804 
/cl,OU<± 

4,000 

00 

4  470 

39 

80 

43 

8,350  38 

16,901 

20 

Switzerland  

1,435 

91 

869 

42 

1,149 

84 

1,211  16 

4,666 

33 

Tennessee  •  • 

116 

97' 

62 

o; 

406 

09 

484  63 

1,070 

36 

1,244 

00 

1,007 

00 

1  326 

Mil 

1,390  55 

4,968 

45 

22,739 

m 

24,170 

94 

23*636 

92 

23,176  51 

93,724 

33 

18,557 

05 

17,708 

81 

18,'945 

29 

19,440  02 

74,651 

17 

266 

18 

281 

50 

304 

05 

277  69 

1,129 

42 

Utah*  

1,120 

05 

753 

00 

690 

40 

520  51 

3,083 

96 

Vermont  

5,305 

44 

5  328 

05 

5,517 

45 

5,225  45 

21,376 

39 

1,192 

4* 

'918 

17 

850 

93 

744  56 

3,706 

14 

231 

00 

2,846 

00 

2,645 

53 

1,932  00 

7,654 

53 

West  China*  

4,335 

95 

4,525 

70 

3,868 

75 

3,572  40 

16,302 

80 

1,931 

29 

1,802 

10 

1,299 

87' 

±,oo4  OO 

6,398 

14 

Western  Norw.-Dan.*. . . 

699 

00 

606 

00 

491 

00 

544  00 

2,340 

00 

Western  Swedish 

1,353 

00 

1  140  00 

2,493 

00 

1,197 

20 

906 

00 

1,023 

35 

1J94  00 

4,320 

55 

7,551 

50 

6,850 

02 

6,912 

48 

7,451  61 

28,765 

61 

6,589 

42 

8,120 

59 

7,039 

92 

7,387  23 

29,137 

16 

27,132 

81 

25,133 

28 

24,858 

08 

23,302  79 

100,426 

96 

8,703 

35 

8,076 

84 

8,909 

23 

9,268  73 

34,958 

15 

Wyoming  

25,589 

93 

26,570 

88 

26,408 

85 

25,824  57 

104,394 

23 

485 

31 

295 

65 

362 

(HI 

326  95 

1,469 

91 

Legacies  

122,678 

40 

72,436 

37 

35,107 

28 

86,262  20 

316,484 

31 

1,500 

00 

2,000 

00 

2,000 

00 

1,000  00 

6,500 

30 

13,308 

10 

12,714 

76 

12,513 

62 

14,302  07 

52,838 

51 

$1,257,372  92 

$1,196,608 

77 

$1,137,807 

86 

t$l,174,554  38 

t$4,766,34293 

*  Missions. 

t  Less  conditional  appropriations  ($10,541.10)  included  in  the  above. 


616  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


APPROPRIATIONS— 1893-1896. 
Foreign  Missions. 


1894 

1895 

Totals. 

$6,420 

$5,700 

$5,700 

$5,601 

$23,421 

58,130 

51,671 

57,500 

53,475 

220,776 

China:  Foochow  

2-S,213 

25,400 

27,000 

26,100 

106,713 

45,296 

41,344 

43,000 

40,000 

169,640 

43,586 

42,000 

45,000 

41,850 

172,436 

West  China  

10,405 

9,967 

12,700 

10,811 

43,883 

32,100 

32,100 

13,900 

13,700 

12,783 

40,383 

South  Germany  

13,800 

13,300 

12,439 

39,539 

Switzerland  

10,000 

7,900 

8,400 

7,812 

34,112 

QnQTi/linQ via  •  Wnrwav 

15  850 

14  000 

14  000 

13  370 

22,500 

19^500 

19,000 

17^420 

78.420 

9,000 

8,000 

8,500 

7,905 

33,405 

Finland  and  St.  Petersburg. 

5,074 

3,873 

4,000 

4,220 

17,167 

66,650 

58,244 

58,244 

58,260 

241,398 

22,019 

21,572 

21,572 

24,095 

89,258 

16,665 

15,814 

15,814 

19,120 

67,413 

12,835 

12,409 

12,409 

17,180 

54,833 

9,560 

9,498 

9,498 

11,345 

39,901 

10,000 

10,000 

10,000 

'  8,889 

9,000 

8,370 

36,259 

20,888 

18,250 

16,650 

15,485 

71,273 

Italy  

44,339 

42,500 

43,400 

40,866 

171,105 

60,050 

53,378 

53,378 

49,642 

216,448 

66,665 

54,408 

54,408 

50,600 

226,081 

18,555 

15,967 

15,967 

14,880 

65,369 

1,000 

900 

800 

2.700 

Totals  

635,800 

568,884 

592,940 

563,629 

2,361,253 

Missions  in  the  United  States,  not  in  Annual  Conferences,  to  be  Admin- 
istered as  Foreign  Missions. 


$7,500 

$6,667 

$6,600 

$6,100 

$26,867 

Black  Hills  

6,600 

5,978 

5,900 

5,500 

23,978 

2,000 

1,800 

1,600 

1,600 

7,000 

10,000 

10,000 

5,350 

'  3,850 

4,300 

4,000 

17,500 

New  Mexico  English  

7,000 

6,000 

5,800 

5,500 

24,300 

15,000 

13,356 

13,356 

13,356 

55,068 

3,750 

3,750 

3,750 

4,000 

15,250 

Utah  

15,300 

13,300 

13,000 

12,000 

53,600 

6,500 

5,778 

5,500 

5,500 

23,278 

79,000 

60,479 

59,806 

57,556 

256,841 

Domestic  Missions. 


1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Totals. 

Welsh  Missions. 

$300 

$300 

$300 

$300 

$1,200 

Philadelphia  

500 

445 

445 

414 

1,804 

600 

500 

500 

500 

2,100 
200 

200 

400 

356 

'350 

'300 

1,406 

2,000 

1,601 

1,595 

1,514 

6,710 

1896.]     Report  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee.  617 


Domestic  Missions. —  Continued. 


1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Totals. 

Swedish  Missions. 

"Fact  Moirip 

New  York  East  

Northwest  Swedish  

$2,000 

3,300 

'566 

500 
1,000 
3,300 
5,500 
1,900 

13,666 

500 
3,000 

$1,700 
2,900 
3,489 
445 
445 
1,000 
2,900 
5,000 
1,700 
4,200 

'266 
2,400 

0,00* 
625 

$1,500 
2,500 
4,000 
400 
400 
1,000 
3,000 
5,000 
2,000 
5,200 

2,666 
4  350 
625 

$1,395 
2,325 
4,000 
372 
372 
930 
3,000 
5,000 
1,700 
5,300 

2*666 
582 

$6,595 
11,025 
11,489 
1,717 
1  717 
3*930 
12,200 
20,500 
7,300 
14,700 
13,000 
700 
9,400 
12  917 
1*832 

Totals  

34,500 

30,871 

31,975 

31,676 

129,022 

Norwegian  Missions. 

Norwegian  and  Danish  

West  Norwegian  and  Danish. 

2',206 
11,000 
15,200 

2',666 
9,800 
12,000 

1*500 
10,000 
12,000 

300 
2,000 
9,300 
11,160 

300 
7,700 
40,100 
50,360 

28,400 

23,800 

23,500 

22,760 

98,460 

German  Missions. 

Central  German  

East  German 

5,000 
5,500 
4,750 
7,000 
3,750 
6,000 
4,000 
4,250 
5,500 
7,000 

4,445 
4,900 
4,225 
6,230 
3,330 
5,330 
3,555 
3,775 
4,890 
6,220 

4,445 
4,900 
4,225 
6,230 
3,330 
5,330 
3,855 
3,775 
4,500 
7,000 

4,000 
4,557 
3,929 
5  794 
3,097 
4,957 
3,586 
3,511 
4,000 
6,828 

17,890 
19,857 
17,129 
25,254 
13,507 
21,617 
14,996 
15,311 
18,890 
27,048 

Totals 

52  750 

46  900 

47,590 

44  259 

191,499 

French  Missions. 

Gulf  Mission    .  .... 
New  England 
New  Hampshire 

l',200 
1,200 
1,600 
1  200 
500 
2,000 

700 

1*666 
l',400 
1,066 
445 
1,500 

700 

"366 
600 

1,066 
400 

1,500 

651 

837 

992 
372 
1,500 

2,051 
1,200 

3  337 
3*600 

4  324 
1*717 
6,500 

7,700 

6,111 

4,566 

4,352 

22,729 

Spanish  Mission. 

500 

700 

600 

600 

2,400 

Chinese  Missions. 

California 

Southern  California  

9  000 
1*600 

500 

7  870 

l'ooo 
1,000 

1,000 

7  870 
1*000 
890 
1,000 

7  320 
*930 
828 
930 

32  060 
4*530 
3,418 
3,430 

11,800 

10,870 

10,760 

10,008 

43,438 

Japanese  Missions. 

6,400 

6,400 
1,000 

6,400 
1,000 

6,000 
2,000 

25,200 
4,000 

6,400 

7,400 

7,400 

8,000 

29,200 

618  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Domestic  Missions. —  Continued. 


1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Totals. 

Bohemian  and  Hungarian 

Missions. 

$1,000 

$890 

$890 

$828 

$3,608 

2,500 

2,223 

2,500 

2,325 

9,548 

500 

450 

450 

1,400 

Pittsburg  

1,250 

1,110 

1,250 

1,162 

4,772 

Rock  River  

3,500 

3,200 

3,500 

3,500 

13,700 

800 

712 

712 

663 

2,887 

Totals  

9,550 

8,585 

9,302 

8,478 

35,915 

Italian  Missions. 

400 

400 

800 

Louisiana  

1*366 

1,156 

1,000 

1,200 

4,656 

1,000 

890 

1,200 

1,116 

4,206 

1,000 

890 

3,500 

3,255 

8,645 

1  500 

1  335 

1  335 

2  135 

6  305 

Moo 

l'boo 

l'lOO 

1,023 

4*223 

5,900 

5,271 

8,535 

9,129 

28,835 

Portuguese  Missions. 

*Maax7  T71  t~i  cr  1  'i n c\  Sr^ntViPT*Ti 

800 

712 

712 

663 

2  887 

300 

300 

800 

712 

712 

963 

3,187 

Hebrew  Mission. 

600 

1,200 

1,000 

930 

3,730 

Pennsylvania  Dutch  Mis- 

sion. 

1,000 

800 

800 

2,600 

American  Indian  Mis- 

sions. 

California  

1,000 

990 

990 

920 

3,900 

Central  New  York:  Onondagas 

600 

500 

500 

500 

2,100 

Oueidas  

200 

200 

200 

200 

800 

1,000 

1,000 

1,200 

1,200 

4,400 

600 

534 

534 

534 

2,202 

250 

250 

250 

250 

1,000 

250 

250 

250 

250 

1,000 

\T  if  "hi  or  a  n 

700 

623 

623 

623 

2  569 

500 

445 

445 

445 

1,835 

6,000 

1,000 

1,200 

1,116 

9,316 

500 

1  250 

1  250 

3  000 

600 

534 

534 

534 

2,'202 

Puget  Sound  

600 

600 

700 

700 

2,600 

350 

350 

350 

350 

1,400 

Wisconsin  

900 

800 

500 

400 

2,600 

13,550 

8,576 

9,526 

9,272 

40,924 

English-speaking. 

3,500 

3,110 

3,000 

2,790 

12,400 

6,000 

5,335 

5,000 

4,650 

20,985 

5,000 

4,220 

4,000 

3,720 

16,940 

Blue  Ridge  

4,500 

3,780 

3,500 

3,255 

15,035 

8,000 

7,112 

7,112 

6,115 

28,339 

3,400 

3,015 

2,850 

2,650 

11,915 

3,500 

3,110 

3,100 

2,883 

12,593 

1,000 

1,000 

4*666 

3,555 

3, 400 

3,162 

14,117 

9,500 

9,500 

9,500 

8,835 

37,335 

6,500 

6,000 

6,500 

6,545 

25,545 

1896.]     Report  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee.  619 


Domestic  Missions. —  Continued. 


1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Totals. 

$1,850 

$1,640 

$1,600 

$1,488 

$6,578 

800 

1,312 

1,212 

1,130 

4,454 

5,500 

4,890 

4,890 

4,548 

19,828 

East  Maine  

2,000 

1,800 

1,800 

1,674 

7,274 

East  Tennessee  

3,000 

2,660 

2,500 

2,000 

10,160 

o  Ann 

O  1  OA 

2,100 

2,100 

8,730 

3.000 

2,665 

2,500 

2,325 

10,490 

0,000 

3,100 

2,800 

13,455 

5,000 

5,000 

5,000 

4,650 

19,650 

600 

800 

500 



1,900 

1,800 

1,400 

1,400 

1 ,300 

5,900 

5,500 

4,700 

4,70C 

4,371 

19,271 

5,000 

4,440 

4,00C 

3,7'2(! 

17,160 

3,500 

2,900 

2,60C 

2,418 

11,418 

3,250 

2,89C 

2,80C 

2,60C 

11,540 

1,500 

1,35C 

1,35C 

1,26C 

5,460 

4,200 

4,445 

4,40C 

4, 10C 

17,145 

11,000 

9,778 

3,85C 

3,58C 

28,208 

2,600 

2,310 

2, 10C 

2,00C 

9,010 

4,250 

3,89C 

3,89C 

3,62C 

15,650 

6,500 

5,778 

5,77£ 

5,77£ 

23,834 

2,500 

2,15C 

2,55C 

3,0OC 

10,200 

1,500 

1,35(1 

1,30C 

1,21C 

5,360 

3,400 

3,015 

3,00C 

3,00C 

12,415 

11,000 

9,778 

9,778 

9,O0C 

39,556 

5,800 

5,000 

5,80C 

6,20C 

22,800 

1,500 

1,350 

1,20C 

1,11C 

5,166 



5,90C 

5,485 

11,385 

4,000 

3,556 

4,00C 

3,72( 

15,276 

7,000 

6,600 

7,000 

7,0CK 

27,600 

3,500 

3,200 

3,50C 

4,00( 

14,200 

3,000 

2,500 

3,O0C 

2,79( 

11,290 

15,000 

14,00C 

14,0CK 

43,000 

6,000 

6,800 

6,00C 

5,58( 

24,380 

3,600 

3,200 

3,20C 

3,20t 

13,200 

5,750 

5,000 

5,000 

4,80C 

20,550 

3,500 

3,105 

3,000 

2,79C 

12,395 

South  Carolina  

4,500 

4,000 

4,00C 

3,72C 

16,220 

10,500 

9,334 

12,000 

ll,0OC 

42,834 

6,500 

5,778 

5,778 

5,000 

23,056 

2,250 

1,900 

1,700 

1,50C 

7,350 

6,000 

5,500 

6,000 

6,00C 

23,500 

2,500 

2,215 

2,100 

1,950 

8,765 

1,000 

900 

840 

2,740 

4,500 

4,000 

4,000 

3,720 

16,220 

3  400 

3  015 

2  750 

2  560 

11  725 

1^500 

l'350 

1^350 

1^260 

5,460 

4,500 

4,000 

3,800 

3,534 

15,834 

2,400 

2,115 

2,000 

1,860 

8,375 

7,000 

6,500 

7,500 

8,000 

29,000 

4,750 

4,215 

4,200 

3,900 

17,065 

6,000 

5,335 

5,000 

4,650 

20,985 

5,000 

4,445 

4,500 

4,180 

18,125 

Wilmington  

800 

700 

700 

500 

2,700 

4,500 

4,000 

4,000 

3,700 

16,200 

269,800 

261,076 

260,538 

246,832 

1,038,246 

Miscellaneous. 


$25,000 

$25,000 

$25,000 

$25,000 

$100,000 

45,000 

45,000 

45,000 

45,000 

180,000 

Office  Expenses  

30,000 

30,000 

26,000 

26,000 

112,000 

Missionary  Information  

10,000 

10,000 

13,000 

13,000 

46,000 

Salaries  Missionary  Bishops . . 

9,000 

9,000 

10,000 

10,000 

38,000 

119,000 

119,000 

119,000 

119,000 

476,000 



109,000 

175,764 

239,055 

523,816 

620  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Recapitulation. 


1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Totals. 

$635,800 

$568,884 

$592,940 

$563,629 

$2,361,253 

Missions  in  the  United  States, 

not  in  Annual  Conferences, 

to  be  administered  as  For- 

79,000 

60,479 

59,806 

57,556 

256,841 

iJUUlt/SllL  1V11SMU11S  •  VVCloil.... 

2,000 

1  601 

1  595 

1  514 

A  T\(\ 
O,  i  10 

34,'500 

30^871 

3l',975 

3l',676 

129,022 

28,400 

23,800 

23,500 

22,760 

98,460 

52,750 

46,900 

47,590 

44  259 

191,499 

7  700 

6  111 

4  566 

4,352 

oo  coo 

500 

700 

600 

600 

2,400 

11.800 

10,870 

10,760 

10,008 

43,438 

6,400 

7,400 

7,400 

8,000 

29,200 

Bohemian  and  Hungarian. . 

9,550 

8,585 

9,302 

8,478 

35,915 

5,900 

5,271 

8,535 

9,129 

28,835 

800 

712 

712 

963 

3,187 

600 

1,200 

1,000 

930 

3,730 

1,000 

800 

800 

2.600 

13,550 

8,576 

9,526 

9,272 

40,924 

269,800 

261,076 

260,538 

246,832 

1,038,246 

119,000 

119,000 

119,000 

119,000 

476,000 

109,000 

175,764 

239,055 

523,819 

1,279,050 

1,271,836 

1,365,909 

1,378,013 

5,294,808 

1896.]  Report  of  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension.  621 


Report  of  the  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension. 
Journal,  page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  General  Committee  of 
Church  Extension  respectfully  submits  the  following  report: 

Changes  in  Committee. 
During  the  quadrennium  two  changes  have  occurred  in  the 
membership  of  the  Committee  as  constituted  by  the  last  General 
Conference. 

In  1893  Rev.  C.  F.  Creighton,  of  Nebraska  Conference,  repre- 
senting the  Tenth  District,  was  transferred  to  East  Ohio  Confer- 
ence, within  the  bounds  of  the  Fifth  District.  The  vacancy 
occasioned  by  this  removal  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Rev. 
D.  W.  C.  Huntington,  of  Nebraska  Conference. 

August  7,  1895,  Rev.  J.  H.  Hargis,  of  Philadelphia  Confer- 
ence, representing  the  Fourth  District,  ceased  at  once  to  work 
and  live,  and  Rev.  William  Swindells,  of  the  same  Conference, 
was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Our  departed  brother  and  fellow-laborer,  Dr.  Hargis,  had  been 
identified  with  Church  Extension  as  a  member  of  the  Board  in 
Philadelphia  from  1881  to  1884,  and  again  from  1890  to  the  close 
of  his  life.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  natural  endow- 
ments, liberal  education,  well-balanced  judgment,  and  varied 
experience;  was  wise  in  counsel  and  energetic  in  action,  and 
honored  every  position  he  was  called  to  fill  during  his  ministry  of 
twenty-three  years.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  mature  manhood 
when  called  hence,  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

Annual  Meetings. 

Our  meetings  during  the  quadrennium  convened  as  follows : 

November  3,  1892,  in  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
2,  1893,  in  St.  Paul,  Minn., 
"       1,  1894,  in  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
7,  1895,  in  Chicago,  111., 

and  in  each  case  continued  over  the  following  Sabbath.  Appro- 
priate anniversaries  were  held  and  many  of  the  churches  devoted 
the  Sabbath  day  to  this  cause. 

Apportionments  to  Conferences. 

To  make  a  just  and  equitable  apportionment  of  collections  to 
be  asked  and  appropriations  authorized  has  always  been  a  difficult 
task.  We  have  never  been  able  to  apportion  for  collection  the 
full  amount  obviously  needed  for  this  work,  nor  could  we  au- 
thorize appropriations  equal  to  the  opportunities  and  necessities 
developed  within  the  several  Conferences. 

In  determining  the  amounts  to  be  asked  of  the  Conferences  sever- 
ally we  have  carefully  considered  the  number  of  pastoral  charges, 
the  number  of  members,  the  supply  of  church  accommodations, 
value  of  church  properties,  amounts  raised  for  the  support  of  the 
Gospel  and  of  benevolent  work  (especially  missionary  collections) 
as  affording  the  best  indication  of  the  ability  of  our  people  to  con- 


622 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


tribute  to  this  as  well  as  other  causes.  In  authorizing  appropria- 
tions within  the  Conferences  severally  the  general  conditions  of 
the  territory — whether  old  or  new,  whether  well  supplied  with 
churches  or  not,  whether  near  to  or  remote  from  centers  of  wealth, 
likely  to  develop  slowly  or  rapidly — have  claimed  consideration. 
Only  those  who  have  undertaken  the  task  can  appreciate  its  diffi- 
culty. The  needs  of  the  field  and  the  opportunities  for  most  valu- 
able work  have  been  far  beyond  the  means  likely  to  be  available. 
As  will  be  seen  from  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Exten- 
sion, the  collections  received  in  response  to  our  calls  have  fallen 
far  short  of  the  amounts  asked  and  imperatively  needed. 

The  following  tabulated  statement  of  account  with  Conferences 
covering  the  whole  period  of  our  Church  Extension  work  will 
give  a  clear  and  comprehensive  view  of  this  subject : 

TABULATED  STATEMENT  OF  ACCOUNT  WITH  CONFERENCES. 


Fiscal  year  ending  since 
1882,  Oct.  31. 


No.  of 

No.  of 
pastoral 
charges. 

ACCOUNT  WITH  CONFERENCES. 

Percentage  of 
collections  on 

amounts 

asked. 

Con- 
fer- 
ences. 

Amount 
asked  by 
collections. 

Amount  received 
by  collections. 

61 
61 

6,720 
6,940 

$200,000 
238,800 

$57,473  58 
27,961  42 

29  per  cent 
12  " 

438,800 

85,435  00 

20  " 

71 
69 
69 
69 

7,125 
7,520 
8,120 
8  650 

165,000 
j.  oo,  vyjyj 
112,900 
121,850 

50,216  67 

D<j,  Jl  I  DO 

63,768  01 
71,775  60 

30 

38  " 
56 

59  " 

563,650 

248,677  91 

45  " 

73 
73 
77 
79 

8,890 
8,990 
9,150 
9,222 

134,250 
140,250 
144,150 
144,050 

66,554  89 
82,112  21 
79,804  57 
68,252  98 

49  " 
59  " 
55 
47 

562,700 

296,724  65 

53 

82 
87 
87 
88 

9,234 
9,429 
9,467 
9,635 

144,050 
142,500 
137,000 
137,500 

56,851  59 
54,505  75 
52,638  94 
66,692  72 

39  " 
38  «« 
38  " 
49  " 

561,050 

230,689  00 

41 

96 
97 
99 
99 

9,853 
10,062 
10,357 
10,364 

140,850 
148,050 
146,375. 
153,300 

69,782  69 
89,387  06 
87.603  26 
108,433  56 

49  u 
60  " 
60  " 
71  " 

588,575 

355,206  57 

60 

101 
101 
102 
105 

10,423 
10,539 
10,923 
11,401 

159,550 
159,450 
180,000 
204,150 

108,759  60 
91,542  26 
99,445  91 

119,976  41 

68  " 

57  " 
55 

58  " 

703,150 

419,724  18 

59  " 

1896.]  Report  of  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension.  623 


Tabulated  Statement  op  Account  with  Conferences.— Continued. 


Fiscal  year  ending  since 
1882,  Oct.  31. 

No.  of 
Con- 
fer- 
ences. 

No.  of 
pastoral 
charges. 

ACCOUNT  WITH  CONFERENCES. 

Amount       j  Amount  received 
asked  by          by  collections, 
collections. 

Percentage  of 
collections  on 
amounts 
asked. 

18S8  

1889  

1890  

1891  

Total  

1892  

1893  

1894  

1895  

Total  

Grand  total. 

106 
110 
110 

111 

11,664 
12,123 
12,464 
12,675 

<$pZob,LoU 
245,600 
253,350 
301,000 

<fl>  1  O  PC   A  A  O  OK 

<f>IZD,44!5  Zo 
136,159  81 
142,956  39 
145,008  73 

53  per  cent. 

55  " 

56  " 
48  " 

111 

114 
116 

m 

13,083 
13,385 
13,577 
13,695 

1,036,100 
309,000 
316.825 
316,825 
315,800 

549,573  18 
158,940  27 
154,252  85 
139,860  01 
127,743  69 

53 
58 
48 
44 

40  " 

1,258,450 

580,796  82 

46 

$5,712,475 

$2,766,837  31 

48 

Discrepancies   Between   Amounts    Asked   and  Amounts 

Received. 

The  failure  of  the  Conferences  to  respond  in  full  to  the  call  for 
Church  Extension  collections  is  the  most  serious  difficulty 
encountered  in  this  work.  Special  contributions  for  frontier  and 
mountain  fund  churches,  under  plans  presented  by  the  Board,  and 
bequests  to  this  cause,  together  with  the  Loan  Fund,  have 
afforded  a  measure  of  relief,  but  do  not  supply  the  lack  of  serv- 
ice which  should  be  rendered  by  collections  in  the  churches 
equal  to  the  amounts  apportioned.  The  plan  of  asking  a  definite 
amount  from  each  Conference,  and  in  turn  from  each  district  and 
pastoral  charge,  now  authorized  by  provisions  of  Discipline, 
together  with  the  duty  devolving  upon  every  pastor  to  provide, 
with  the  aid  of  his  Committee  for  the  diffusion  of  information 
concerning  the  work  and  wants  of  Church  Extension — to  preach 
a  sermon  on  this  subject  in  each  congregation  in  every  year,  and 
solicit  contributions  from  each,  endeavoring  to  secure  at  least  the 
amount  asked,  as  provided,  and  at  each  Conference  to  report  the 
amount  asked  and  the  amount  received  for  Church  Extension 
would  seem  to  be  adequate.  It  would  be  if  the  plan  were  faith- 
fully carried  out  by  each  and  all  concerned,  but  it  is  not,  and  no 
adequate  means  have  thus  far  been  employed  to  make  it  effective. 
If  the  General  Conference  can  devise  some  means  of  securing  the 
faithful  application  of  the  plan  in  all  its  parts,  we  would  not 
encounter  the  humiliating  fact  that  the  average  collections  for 
this  cause  have  been  less  than  forty-eight  per  cent  of  the  amount 
asked.  That  the  efficiency  of  our  Church  in  this  part  of  its  work 
is  greatly  impaired  by  the  habitual  failure  to  carry  out  the 
Disciplinary  plan  cannot  be  doubted  by  any  who  are  familiar 
with  the  field  we  are  called  to  occupy. 

The  Exercise  of  Directory  and  Supervisory  Power. 
In  our  report  to  the  last  General  Conference,  we  gave  the 
extent  and  limitations  of  this  authority  as  agreed  upon  bv  the 
40 


624 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Committee  in  1889  and  accepted  by  the  Board.  We  also  reported 
the  exercise  of  this  power  as  embodied  in  resolutions,  as  adopted 
from  year  to  year  and  published  in  the  annual  reports  of  the 
Board,  and  hereto  appended.  Among  these  was  a  direction  given 
in  1874,  "That  no  application  for  a  donation  from  any  church 
costing  over  $10,000  shall  be  entertained  unless  such  church  shall 
have  consulted  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  before  commenc- 
ing to  build."  In  1886  general  exception  to  this  rule  was  made  in 
favor  of  emergent  cases  arising  from  great  calamity,  such  as  the 
destruction  of  churches  and  the  homes  of  the  people  by  fire, 
earthquake,  flood,  or  the  like.  The  appeals  of  churches  exceed- 
ing this  cost  have  grown  in  numbers  and  urgency  from  year  to 
year.  We  have,  perhaps,  in  too  many  cases,  yielded,  and  have 
made  exceptions  and  recommendations  to  the  Board  accordingly. 

We  are  assured  by  the  Corresponding  Secretaries,  one  of 
whom  has  had  charge  of  this  work  for  nearly  the  entire  period 
of  its  history,  and  by  the  Board  itself,  that  this  part  of  its  work 
has  proved  most  unsatisfactory. 

At  our  annual  meeting  in  1893,  under  special  pressure,  we 
made  exceptions  to  the  rule  of  limitations  in  behalf  of  ten  differ- 
ent churches,  having  properties  worth,  in  the  aggregate,  $333,392. 
In  pursuance  of  this  action  the  Board  donated  $18,000  and 
loaned  $50,100,  giving  them  aid  to  the  aggregate  amount  of 
$68,100.  In  order  to  make  these  loans  the  Board  was  compelled 
to  borrow  $50,100,  which  it  did  on  its  bonds.  The  churches  re- 
lieved in  this  way  during  the  ensuing  year  reported  collections 
for  Church  Extension  to  the  amount  of  $445,  or  sixty-five  hun- 
dredths of  one  per  cent.  On  the  basis  of  donations  alone  their 
collections  were  less  than  two  and  one  half  per  cent.  On  the 
part  of  some  of  these  churches  the  Board  reports  results  other- 
wise unsatisfactory. 

Take  a  group  of  thirty  churches,  of  the  same  class,  extending 
through  a  period  of  about  ten  years,  and  they  furnish  a  more  gen- 
eral indication  of  the  unsatisfactory  character  of  such  work.  The 
aggregate  value  of  their  properties  is  $1,111,450.  The  total 
donations  to  ten  of  the  number  amount  to  $37,252  ;  and  loans  to 
all,  save  one,  aggregate  $203,200.  Their  total  collections  for 
Church  Extension  in  1894  were  $443,  or  eighteen  one-hundredth s 
of  one  per  cent  of  the  whole  amount  used;  or,  on  the  basis  of 
donations  alone,  one  and  one  fifth  per  cent.  The  number  of  such 
cases  in  behalf  of  which  exceptions  have  been  made  has  led  many 
others  to  apply,  by  correspondence  and  otherwise,  for  like  favors. 
It  has  been  found  impossible  to  favor  any  of  this  class  of  ap- 
plications and  treat  all  alike.  We  are  persuaded  that  churches 
of  this  class  should  not  be  encouraged  to  ask  donations  from  the 
Board  of  Church  Extension,  and  if  the  General  Conference  should 
be  pleased  to  adopt  a  permanent  rule,  that  no  application  to  the 
Board  of  Church  Extension  for  a  donation  in  aid  of  a  church  cost- 
ing $10,000  or  over  shall  be  considered  by  the  Board,  except,  pos- 
sibly, upon  application  made  as  the  Discipline  requires,  recom- 
mended by  the  proper  Conference  Board,  and  concurred  in  by  a 


1S96.]  Report  of  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension.  625 


vote  of  three  fourths  of  the  members  of  the  General  Committee 
present  and  voting,  the  difficulty  would  be  relieved  and  the 
value  of  Church  Extension  work  promoted. 

Representatives  of  this  class  of  churches  have  urged  that  if,  in 
the  time  of  their  distress,  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  would 
grant  the  needed  relief,  their  friends,  especially  the  ministers  in 
the  Conferences  including  such  churches,  would  be  so  grateful 
that  the  collections  for  Church  Extension  would  be  largely  in- 
creased, and  that  the  result,  therefore,  would  not  only  be  the  re- 
lief of  the  churches  seeking  aid,  but  a  large  addition  to  the  collec- 
tions for  Church  Extension.  There  has  sometimes  been  a  slight 
increase  at  the  time,  but  uniformly  the  collections  have  declined 
to  the  previous  average,  and  have  often  fallen  still  lower.  For 
example,  in  a  certain  Conference  the  collections  for  1893  were 
$1,696.  In  1894,  the  year  in  which  two  of  their  churches  re- 
ceived, by  donation  and  loan,  $23,600,  the  collections  were 
82,^14.69,  an  increase  of  $1,118.69;  but  in  1895  the  collections 
from  the  same  territory,  then  in  two  Conferences,  fell  to  $1,738.65, 
a  decrease  of  $1,076.04,  within  $42.65  of  the  collections  of  1893. 
This  indicates  the  results  which  invariably  follow  such  action. 
Besides,  to  aid  costly  churches  involves  the  refusal  of  cheaper 
churches,  and  works  a  reduction  of  the  total  number  aided,  so 
that  in  1895  the  number  aided  fell  80  below  those  of  1894,  and 
234  below  those  of  the  year  preceding.  This  is,  beyond  doubt, 
a  positive  impairment  in  the  value  of  Church  Extension  work. 
Until  the  collections  for  this  cause  shall  be  more  than  double  the 
present  amount,  no  attempt  should  be  made  to  aid  churches  cost- 
ing more  than  $10,000. 

Place  of  Meeting. 

Having  considered  the  suggestions  of  the  Board  in  its  report 
concerning  the  place  of  our  annual  meetings,  we  favor  the  return 
to  the  former  custom  of  holding  the  annual  sessions  of  the  General 
Committee  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  books  and  papers 
are  easily  accessible,  and  the  cost  of  such  meetings  materially  re- 
duced. We  respectfully  petition  the  General  Conference  to  so 
change  the  regulations  governing  this  subject  as  to  permit  the 
annual  meetings  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia. 

Counsel  and  Direction  Given. 

In  1876,  at  the  request  of  the  General  Committee,  the  Bishops 
present  rendered  the  following  opinion  : 

"  When  the  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension  enacts  a 
rule  within  its  legitimate  authority,  it  is  of  binding  force  until  re- 
pealed, which  may  be  done  at  any  of  its  regular  sessions." 

In  accordance  with  this  opinion,  the  following  resolutions, 
passed  by  the  General  Committee  from  time  to  time,  are  binding 
on  all  concerned.  The  first  and  second  modify  the  amounts  au- 
thorizerl  for  the  Conferences  severally,  as  the  collections  shall  fall 
below  the  amounts  asked  : 


626 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


1.  [1870.]  That  the  Board  be  authorized  to  make  appropria- 
tions within  each  Conference  in  proportion  to  the  response  of  the 
Conference,  by  its  collections,  to  the  call  made  upon  it. 

2.  [1870.]  That  the  amounts  authorized  to  Conferences  are  to 
be  furnished,  as  far  as  practicable,  hy  pro-rata  divisions  of  the 
collections.  The  Board  may  supplement,  as  far  as  practicable, 
the  balance  of  the  appropriations  authorized,  by  loans  from  the 
Loan  Fund. 

3.  [1870.]  That  we  urge  all  the  Conference  Boards  of  Church 
Extension  to  inquire,  with  the  greatest  care,  into  all  applications 
for  aid,  and  to  apply  most  rigidly  the  rule  for  their  government, 
and  "  recommend  only  such  as  are  found  to  be  truly  needy  and 
meritorious." 

4.  [1870.]  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Committee,  while  the 
recommendation  of  an  appropriation  by  the  Conference  Board  of 
Church  Extension,  upon  application  duly  made,  is  entitled  to  re- 
spectful consideration,  the.  parent  Board  is  not  thereby  relieved 
of  the  responsibility  inseparable  from  its  ultimate  authority  in 
granting  appropriations  ;  and  we  urge  upon  said  Board  the  due 
recognition  of  this  responsibility,  to  the  end  that  the  funds  of  the 
Board  may  be  wisely  administered. 

5.  [1870.]  That  we  hereby  express  our  decided  disapproval  of 
pastors  and  presiding  elders  making  promises  of  aid  to  churches 
in  the  absence  of  any  authority  from  the  parent  Board  of  Church 
Extension,  and  such  promises  are  not  in  any  sense  binding  on  the 
Board  and  should  not  be  regarded. 

6.  [1870.]  That  we  consider  the  obligation  of  the  Board  to  pro- 
tect and  preserve  the  Loan  Fund  in  all  its  branches  from  diminu- 
tion or  loss  as  of  the  most  sacred  character,  and  while  we  should 
deprecate  the  necessity  of  resort  to  legal  measures  in  any  case, 
yet,  in  our  judgment,  the  Board  has  no  choice  but  to  discharge 
this  paramount  obligation,  and  we  do  earnestly  appeal  to  all  who 
may  receive  loans  from  this  fund  to  save  the  Board  from  the 
painful  duty  of  using  extreme  measures  by  promptly  paying  such 
loans  when  they  shall  mature. 

7.  [1870.]  That  we  cordially  approve  the  practice  of  the  Board 
of  recognizing  the  recommendation  of  loans  by  the  Conference 
Boards  of  Church  Extension  as  of  the  nature  of  indorsement  of 
the  securities  offered,  making  all  amounts  accruing  to  the  credit 
of  the  Conference  liable  for  the  payment  of  such  loans. 

8.  [1872.]  That  loans  should  not  be  made  for  a  longer  period 
than  five  years,  nor  in  sums  exceeding  $5,000  to  any  church  or 
society. 

9.  [1872.]  That  a  loan  shall  not  be  made  to  any  church  or 
society  that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Board,  will  not  be  able  to 
pay  the  principal  and  interest  of  such  loan  promptly  as  they 
mature  ;  and  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  ability,  every  loan 
made  shall  be  secured  as  amply  and  fully  as  prudent,  careful 
business  men  require  their  money  to  be  secured  when  loaning  it ; 
and  the  Board  shall  insist  on  individual  security  as  -far  as  practi- 
cable. 


1896.]  Report  of  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension.  627 

10.  [1872.]  That  we  reaffirm  that  no  part  of  said  Loan  Fund 
shall  ever  be  donated  for  any  purpose  or  used  for  current  ex- 
penses, but  shall  be  preserved  without  diminution  a  perpetual  fund. 

11.  [1872.]  That  while  the  strictest  regard  shall  be  had  to  the 
preservation  of  the  integrity  of  the  Loan  Fund,  yet  no  loan  shall 
under  any  circumstances  be  made  with  the  expectation  of 
replacing  it  by  subsequent  donations  ;  and  when  application  is 
made  for  a  donation  by  a  church  already  indebted  to  the  Loan 
Fund,  the  Board  shall  not  discriminate  in  favor  of  such  applica- 
tion as  against  other  churches  having  no  indebtedness  to  the  Board. 

12.  [1872.]  That  when,  by  the  concurrence  of  the  Board  of  an 
Annual  Conference,  a  loan  to  a  church  within  its  bounds  is 
accepted  as  the  whole  or  part  of  the  annual  appropriations 
authorized  within  such  Conference,  then,  on  payment  of  such 
loans  by  the  said  church,  the  amount  so  paid  shall  stand  to  the 
credit  of  the  said  Conference  for  further  loans  within  its  bounds. 

13.  [1873.]  That  the  maximum  rate  of  interest  to  be  charged 
on  loans  to  churches  shall  not  exceed  six  per  cent,  and  the  interest 
on  large  sums  shall  be  paid  semiannually,  and  on  small  sums 
annually,  at  the  rate  agreed  upon  ;  and  a  failure  to  pay  the  same 
within  thirty  days  from  the  time  it  becomes  due  should  make  the 
principal  sum  due  and  collectible. 

14.  [1874.]  That  the  final  decision  as  to  what  securities  are  to 
be  resorted  to,  in  order  to  secure  the  return  of  loans  made  to 
churches  unable  to  meet  their  obligations,  must  be  left  to  the 
Board,  after  a  fuil  investigation  of  all  the  facts  in  the  case. 

■  15.  [1874.]  That  no  application  for  a  donation  from  any  church 
costing  over  $10,000  shall  be  entertained,  unless  such  church 
shall  have  consulted  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  before  com- 
mencing to  build. 

16.  [1874.]  That,  except  in  the  most  extraordinary  cases,  no 
demand  should  be  made  upon  the  Board  for  aid  in  the  older 
communities,  nor  for  the  payment  of  church  debts,  unless  to  avoid 
imminent  and  otherwise  inevitable  disaster  in  the  loss  of  church 
property. 

17.  [1874.]  That  all  special  application  for  church  relief  by 
donations  or  loans  ought  to  be  made  to  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension,  and  should  not  come  before  the  General  Committee 
except  through  the  Board. 

18.  [1874.]  That  in  no  case  shall  securities  held  for  outstand- 
ing loans  be  weakened  or  diminished,  but  as  far  as  practicable 
strengthened  and  increased. 

19.  [1875.]  That,  in  the  judgment  of  the  General  Committee, 
the  Board  should  credit  the  Conference  only  with  the  amounts 
received  by  the  treasurer  of  the  parent  Board. 

20.  [1875.]  That  all  special  collections  for  the  relief  of  particu- 
lar churches  should  be  taken  separately  from  the  general  collec- 
tion for  Church  Extension. 

21.  [1875.]  That  the  members  of  the  several  Conferences  be 
earnestly  requested  to  present  the  cause  of  Church  Extension 
separately  from  all  other  causes. 


628 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


22.  [1879.]  That  moneys  received  in  response  to  the  appeal  for 
a  special  fund  of  $100,000  for  frontier  churches  be  appropriated 
within  the  frontier  Conferences  and  Missions,  and  administered 
by  the  Board,  without  reference  to  the  amounts  authorized  for 
the  Conferences  severally,  and  in  accordance  with  the  expressed 
wishes  of  the  donors. 

23.  [1880.]  That  the  Bishops  be  requested  to  discourage 
embarrassed  churches  from  sending  their  pastors  beyond  the 
limits  of  their  own  Conferences  to  solicit  aid. 

24.  [1880.]  That  in  all  cases  where  preachers  travel  beyond 
the  limits  of  their  pastoral  charges,  soliciting  funds  for  any  special 
purpose,  the  Bishop  be  requested  to  suggest  the  appointment  of 
an  auditing  committee  by  the  Conference  to  which  the  solicitor 
belongs  to  audit  his  accounts. 

25.  [1880.]  That  the  ministry  and  membership  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  be  requested  to  inquire  carefully  into  the 
authority  of  all  traveling  solicitors,  and  when  the  requisite  author- 
ity from  the  Bishop  presiding  at  their  Conference  cannot  be  shown 
that  aid  should  be  refused  in  all  cases. 

26.  [1881.]  That  this  General  Committee  deem  it  highly  inex- 
pedient that  aid  should  be  granted  to  churches  where  the  grounds 
procured  are  not  sufficient  to  provide  adequately  for  all  the  prob- 
able wants  of  the  congregation. 

27.  [1881.]  That  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  General  Commit- 
tee that  in  all  cases  where  aid  is  granted  by  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension  for  the  building  of  churches,  the  Board  shall  insist  that 
the  churches  be  built  in  accordance  with  the  excellent  plans  fur- 
nished by  the  Board. 

28.  [1882.]  That  amounts  accruing  to  the  credit  of  the  Con- 
ferences severally  under  the  action  of  the  General  Committee 
shall  be  held  to  the  credit  of  such  Conferences  for  one  year,  and 
all  balances  remaining  unappropriated  at  the  end  of  that  time 
shall  be  covered  back  into  the  treasury  for  use  as  occasion  may 
require. 

29.  [1882.]  That  special  contributions  be  invited  for  the  pur- 
pose of  procuring  church  sites,  and  that  contributions  so  made 
shall  constitute  a  separate  fund,  to  be  appropriated  for  the  object 
named  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension. 

30.  [1882.]  That  the  expenses  incurred  in  the  work  of  procur- 
ing church  sites  shall  be  charged  to  the  said  fund,  and  shall  be 
kept  separate  from  all  other  expenses  incurred  in  the  general  work 
of  the  Board. 

31.  [1882.]  That  the  funds  collected  for  special  purposes  be 
kept  entirely  separate  from  the  regular  collections  in  the  accounts 
of  the  Board  with  the  Conferences. 

32.  [1886.]  That  in  the  administration  of  the  fund  for  emer- 
gent cases  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  be  authorized  to  make 
donations  to  churches  costing  more  than  1 10,000. 

33.  [1886.]  That  in  view  of  the  grave  embarrassment  to  the 
cause  of  Church  Extension  resulting  from  the  presentation  of  the 
case  of  needy  churches  by  special  agents,  we  deprecate  this  method 


1896.]  Report  of  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension.  629 


of  trying  to  meet  the  wants  of  any  church,  and  hereby  earnestly 
and  respectfully  urge  Conferences  and  Official  Boards  not  to  au- 
thorize such  special  agents  hereafter  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
respective  Conferences. 

34.  [1891.]  That  the  Representatives  of  the  various  districts 
be  required  to  present  to  the  General  Committee  of  Church  Ex- 
tension written  reports  containing  condensed  statements  of  the 
work  in  the  different  fields;  and  that  each  District  Representative 
be  required  to  correspond  with  the  various  Conference  Boards  of 
Church  Extension  and  with  Presiding  Elders  m  the  several  Con- 
ferences in  his  district,  in  order  that  he  may  have  the  proper  in- 
formation on  which  to  base  his  written  report  to  the  General 
Committee.  t 

35.  [1891.]  That  the  various  amounts  asked  and  authorized  be 
discussed  in  open  meeting  by  the  entire  General  Committee  of 
Church  Extension  without  sending  those  items  to  a  subcommittee 
for  consideration. 

36.  [1891.]  That  all  applications  for  donations  to  churches  cost- 
ing over  $10,000  shall  be  made  to  the  Board  of  Church  Extension 
who  shall,  after  gathering  all  the  facts  in  each  case,  forward 
these  applications  with  the  ascertained  facts  to  the  General  Com- 
mittee. But  in  those  cases,  which  for  the  lack  of  time  could  not 
be  presented  to  the  Board,  the  application,  containing,  as  far  as 
practicable,  the  full  information  required  by  the  Discipline  (^[399), 
may  come  directly  to  the  General  Committee  for  the  removal  of 
the  limitation.  The  General  Committee  may  then  advise  the 
Board  to  appropriate  such  amounts  to  the  applying  churches  as 
the  Committee  may  determine. 

37.  [1891.]  That  the  Corresponding  Secretaries  be  requested 
to  call  the  General  Committee  of  Church  Extension  to  meet  on 
the  Friday  morning  preceding  the  session  of  the  General  Mission- 
ary Committee. 

38.  [1891.]  That  the  representatives  of  the  General  Conference 
districts  be  urged  to  secure  a  Church  Extension  convention  in 
each  district  if  possible,  to  be  attended  by  the  presiding  elders 
and  pastors,  and  the  representative  secure  the  attendance  of  the 
Bishop  or  Bishops  residing  in  the  district  and  any  other  of  our 
Bishops  who  can  spare  the  time  to  attend  the  convention. 

39.  [1891.]  That?  we  memorialize  the  General  Conference  to 
use  its  utmost  influence  to  secure  the  taking  of  the  collections  for 
the  cause  of  Church  Extension  separate  and  apart  from  all  other 
collections,  and  that  the  secretary  of  this  body  inform  the  General 
Conference  of  this  action. 

40.  [1891.]  That  we  earnestly  request  the  preachers  in  charge 
of  our  churches  to  take  the  collections  for  Church  Extension 
separate  from  any  other  collection  or  collections. 

[Attest:]       Cyrus  D.  Foss,  President. 

John  S.  J.  McConnell,  Recording  Secretary. 


630  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension. 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  Having  been  created  and 
perpetuated  by  the  General  Conference,  and  being  by  the  terms 
of  our  charter  under  your  "direction  and  control,"  we  respond 
to  the  requirement  of  the  Discipline  anc[  submit  to  you  a  report 
of  our  proceedings  for  the  four  years  ending  October  31,  1895. 

This  period  has  been  one  of  the  most  trying  and  difficult  since 
the  change  in  the  form  of  our  organization  made  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1872.  We  have  abundant  reason,  however,  for 
gratitude  to  God  and  the  Church  for  continuance  of  gracious 
favor. 

General  Summary. 
The  tabulated  statement  following  gives,  separately,  our  re- 
ceipts and  disbursements  for  the  entire  period: 

GENERAL  FUND. 

Up  to  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  preceding  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1891  the  total  receipts  were.    $4,329,798  43 
For  the  succeeding  four  years,  closing  Nov.  1,  1895.      1,225,604  82 

Making  a  grand  total  of   $5,555,403  25 

As  divided  between  the  two  departments  we  have  received  in  the 

GENERAL  FUND. 

From  Conference  collections  to  No- 
vember 1,  1891   $2,186,030  49 

For  the  four  years  ending  No- 
vember 1,  1895   580,796  82 

 $2,766,827  31 

From  interest:   To  November  1, 

1891   $298,109  10 

For  the  four  years  ending  Novem- 
ber 1,  1895   98,987  60 

  397,096  70 

From  other  sources,  personal  gifts, 
bequests,  etc.,  to  November  1, 
1891   $338,132  27 

For  the  four  years  ending  Novem- 
ber 1,  1895    47,086  96 

  385,219  23 

Making  the  total  used  in  General  Fund   $3,549,143  24 


1896.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  631 
Brought  forward   $3,549,143  24 

LOAN  FUND. 

We  have  received,  subject  to  life 

annuity,  to  November  1,  1891 .  .  .     $527,407  04 

For  the  four  vears  ending  Novem- 
ber 1,  1895  I   180,255  21 


From  donations  and  bequests  to 

November  1,  1891   $225,011  04 

For  the  four  years  ending  Novem- 
ber 1,  1895   28,414  73 


$707,662  25 


253,425  77 

Making  total  net  receipts  on  Loan  Fund   $961,088  02 

Loans  returned :  To  November  1, 

1891   $748,608  49 

For  the  four  years  ending  Novem- 
ber 1,  1895   239,963  50 


988,571  99 


Total  on  account  of  Loan  Fund   1,949,660  01 

Bonds  outstanding  to  November  1,  1891   $6,500  00 

Special  sale,  1894   50,100  00 


56,600  00 


Making  grand  total,  as  first  stated   $5,555,403  25 


Comparative  Statement. 

A  comparison  of  the  last  quadrennium  with  the  preceding 
gives  the  following  result: 

GENERAL  FUND. 

Increase.  *  Decrease. 

Conference  collections    $31,223  64   

Personal  gifts   $7,927  17 

Bequests   18,244  43 

Architectural  plans   10,448  84 

Interest   5,637  22   


$36,860  86  $36,620  44 

36,620  44 


Net  increase  General  Fund   $240  42 


LOAN  FUND. 


Personal  gifts   $7,395  00 

Subject  to  life  annuity   $56,617  70   

Bequests   868  84   

Loans  returned   20,181  22 


$57,486  54  $27,576  22 

27,576  22 


Net  increase  Loan  Fund   $29,910  32 

Net  increase  General  Fund   240  42 


Total  net  increase   $30,150  74 


632  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

CHURCHES  AIDED. 

The  number  of  churches  aided  from  the  beginning  to  November  1, 1891,  was  7,937 
During  the  four  years  ending  November  1,  1895   1,848 

Making  in  all  i   9,785 


being  63  less  than  the  preceding  four  years.  This  decrease  was  in  the  last  half 
of  the  quadrennium,  overcoming  a  good  increase  in  the  first  half.  It  arose  partly 
out  of  reduced  receipts,  and  partly  out  of  large  grants  to  a  few  churches,  as  may 
be  seen  in  our  published  annual  reports.  The  figures  showing  the  number  aided, 
include  a  few  parsonage  properties  aided  by  loans.  Cases  aided  more  than  once 
are  not  repeated. 

Borrowing  to  Lend. 

Daring  the  first  of  the  last  four  years,  as  all  the  world  knows, 
there  was,  in  the  financial  history  of  the  country,  an  unparalleled 
transition  from  great  industrial  and  financial  prosperity  to  one  of 
great  depression,  the  effects  of  which  have  continued  throughout 
the  quadrennium.  Embarrassed  Church  enterprises  and  benevo- 
lent causes  were  the  first  to  suffer. 

When  our  General  Committee  met  in  St.  Paul  in  November, 
1893,  a  large  number  of  expensive  churches,  imperiled  by  debt, 
appealed  for  relief.  Ordinary  business  prudence  was  overborne, 
and  recommendations  for  donations  and  loans  of  large  sums  for 
the  aid  of  costly  churches  were  made.  We  were  compelled  to 
choose  between  the  manifest  evil  of  disregarding  the  recommen- 
dations of  the  General  Committee  and  disappointing  the  expecta- 
tions which  its  action  had  created,  or  borrowing  the  money  needed 
for  the  relief  desired  and  recommended.  We  chose  what  we 
believed  to  be  the  least,  and  borrowed  for  the  term  of  five  years, 
on  our  bonds,  $50,100,  with  which  the  loans  recommended  were 
granted  and  paid  during  the  ensuing  year,  and  the  disagreeable 
facts  were  reported  to  the  General  Committee  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing in  1894,  and  the  evils  of  such  exceptional  recommendations 
were  clearly  pointed  out  and  promptly  recognized  by  the  General 
Committee.  Similar  recommendations,  with  few  exceptions,  have 
since  been  withheld.  The  aggregate  results  of  this  experiment 
to  October  31,  1895,  are  thus  summarized  : 


Borrowed  on  bonds,  still  outstanding   $50,100  00 

Loans  to  churches,  as  follows  :  Clinton  Avenue,  St.  Paul, 

Minn.,  Minnesota  Conference   $17,600  00 

Broadway  Church,  Council  Bluffs,  la.,  Des  Moines  Con- 
ference  5,000  00 

Japanese  Church,  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Cal.  Conference.  7,000  00 
Main  St.  Church,  Akron,  O.,  Ohio  Conference  (second 

loan)     5,000  00 

First  Church,  Chevenne,  Wvom.,  Wyoming  Mission. . .  .  5,000  00 

Findlay,  O.,  Central  Ohio  *  Conference   4,000  00 

Cummins ville,  0.,  Cincinnati  Conference   3,000  00 

Clark  Church,  Portland,  Ore.,  Oregon  Conference   3,000  00 

Patton,  Pa.,  Central  Pa.  Conference  (to  balance)   600  00 

 $50,100  00 

The  church  at  Findlay,  0..  has  returned  on  account  of 

principal   1,461  00 


Balance  of  special  loans  outstanding   $48,639  00 


IS 96.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  633 

The  special  interest  account  on  these  loans  to  October  81, 
1895,  shows  : 

Interest  paid  on  bonds   $4,04*7  08 

Interest  received  on  loans   746  12 


Excess  of  interest  paid  over  interest  received   $3,300  96 

Besides  this  excess  of  interest  we  have  had  to  pay  additional  for  Clin- 
ton Avenue  Church,  St.  Paul,  on  account  of  insurance  on  church 

property  and  taxes  on  lots  held  as  security  for  the  loans   $299  59 

Rule  of  Limitation. — Since  1874  we  have  been  under  a  rule 
established  by  the  General  Committee  which  prevents  the  con- 
sideration of  any  application  from  a  church  costing  over  $10,000, 
accompanied  with  the  expressed  judgment  of  the  Committee 
that,  except  in  the  most  extraordinary  cases,  no  demands  should 
be  made  upon  us  for  aid  in  the  older  communities,  nor  for  the 
payment  of  church  debts,  unless  to  avoid  imminent  and  other- 
wise inevitable  disaster  in  the  loss  of  church  property. 

Experience  has  proved  the  wisdom  of  this  rule  and  the  un- 
wisdom of  granting  aid  from  our  treasury  in  any  ordinary  case 
to  costly  churches.  Our  resources  are  wholly  inadequate  to  meet 
the  modest  applications  of  the  weaker  and  more  deserving,  for 
whose  service  our  Board  was  called  into  being.  It  is  impossible 
to  enlist  generous  contributions  from  the  great  body  of  our  mem- 
bers and  friends  for  the  aid  of  churches  costing  much  more  than 
those  in  which  they  themselves  worship  ;  and  experience  proves 
that  the  attempt  is  not  in  any  sense  remunerative. 

For  example,  we  take  thirty  churches  scattered  through  the 
country,  costing  in  the  aggregate  over  $1,100,000.  During  the 
period  of  ten  years  we  donated  to  ten  of  the  number  $37,250  and 
loaned  to  all  $204,000.  The  statistics  show  that  the  collections 
taken  in  all  of  them,  so  far  as  taken  at  all,  average  less  than  one 
and  one  fifth  per  cent  on  the  amount  of  the  donations,  and  less 
than  one  fifth  of  one  per  cent  on  the  entire  amount  used  for  their 
benefit.  The  humblest  churches  on  our  frontier  can  show  a 
better  average. 

We  respectfully  invite  the  careful  attention  of  the  General 
Conference  to  this  whole  subject,  and  to  consider  whether  it 
would  not  be  wise  to  make  a  rule  of  limitation  permanent;  or  at 
least  put  it  beyond  the  reach  of  discretionary  power  wholly  sepa- 
rated from  financial  responsibility. 

Conference  Collections. — The  tabulated  statement  included 
in  the  report  of  the  General  Committee  shows  the  amounts  asked 
and  received  from  all  the  Conferences  from  the  beginning,  together 
with  the  percentage  of  receipts  on  the  amounts  asked.  It  shows 
that  the  grand  total  asked  by  collections  in  thirty  years  is 
$5, 71 2,475,  and  the  total  receipts  in  response  to  these  calls, 
$2,766,827.31,  being  *48.4  per  cent  of  the  amount  asked.  The 
highest  average  for  any  quadrennium  was  for  that  preceding  the 
General  Conference  of  1884 — 60  per  cent.  The  average  for  the 
succeeding  four  years,  with  increased  asking,  was  but  one  per 


634 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


cent  less.  The  amounts  asked  for  the  last  quadrennium  were  in- 
creased by  the  addition  of  $222,350,  or  21.5  per  cent  more  than 
for  the  preceding  four  years.  The  increase  of  collections  amounted 
to  $31,223.64,  or  5.7  per  cent  more  than  for  the  preceding  four 
years.  Although  the  percentage  on  amounts  asked  falls  below 
that  of  the  two  preceding  quadrenniums,  it  is  two  per  cent  above 
the  average  for  the  whole  period. 

While  the  increase  of  collections  from  1887  to  1892  was  an  oc- 
casion for  congratulation,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  popu- 
lation of  the  country  and  the  ministry  and  membership  of  our 
Church  had  also  steadily  increased.  The  continuous  decline  from 
$158,940.27  in  1892  to  $127,743.69— $31,196.58— has  been  in  spite 
of  the  most  earnest  and  faithful  labors  of  our  Corresponding 
Secretaries.  It  is  beyond  doubt  a  part  of  the  general  depression 
from  which  all  interests  have  suffered,  the  remedy  for  which  must 
be  found  by  the  whole  body  of  the  people, .  guided  by  a  wiser 
American  statesmanship.  But  there  may  be  other  causes  con- 
tributing to  this  result,  for  which  our  own  ministers  and  mem- 
bers may  find  a  remedy  under  the  guidance  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. We  repeat  the  suggestions  made  four  years  ago.  "  The 
constant  and  large  discrepancy  between  the  amounts  asked  and 
the  amounts  received  should  arrest  and  hold  the  attention  of  the 
Church  until  the  reasons  shall  be  seen  and  the  remedies  found 
and  applied.  A  careful  study  of  the  statistical  tables,  published 
in  the  Conference  and  General  Minutes,  and  showing  the  number 
of  our  members,  and  indicating  their  ability,  b}^  church  property, 
contributions  for  home  expenses,  and  for  general  benevolence — 
especially  for  missions — must  satisfy  all  that  the  asking  for 
Church  Extension  is  not  too  large,  but  the  giving  too  small. 
That  systematic  beneficence — businesslike  attention  to  the  be- 
nevolent work  of  the  Church — is  not  inconsistent  with  the  high- 
est degree  of  spirituality  and  the  largest  measure  of  general 
prosperity  is  proved  by  the  fact  that,  usually,  the  two  go  hand 
in  hand.  The  neglect  of  organized  benevolence  is  nearly  always 
attended  with  neglect  of  other  interests  also. 

"  It  is  the  settled  policy  of  our  Church,  especially  for  the  sup- 
port of  Missions,  Church  Extension,  and  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Education,  to  ask  each  Conference,  district,  and  church 
for  a  definite  amount  every  year.  It  should  be  the  settled  policy 
for  every  pastor  and  church  to  respond  with  not  one  dollar  less 
than  the  amount  thus  asked.  The  average  of  the  asking  for 
Church  Extension  has  been  about  one  fourth  of  that  for  Missions. 
We  trust  some  measure  may  be  devised  and  applied  to  bring  the 
two  sides  of  our  ledger  accounts  with  Church  benevolence  together 
every  year.  There  is  ample  scope  for  exceptional  and  spontane- 
ous benevolence  beyond  all  formal  asking." 

Interest  and  Annuities. — By  expressed  provisions  of  our 
charter,  and  of  Paragraph  384  of  the  Discipline,  we  are  author- 
ized to  "provide  for  and  administer  a  Loan  Fund  ;  to  establish 
and  administer  an  Annuity  Fund  either  in  connection  with  or 


1896.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.. 


635 


separate  from  the  Loan  Fund,  as  we  may  deem  wise."  Our  char- 
ter, however,  provides,  "  That  all  amounts  so  received  "  (subject 
to  life  annuity)  "shall  be  loaned  on  adequate  securities  ;  and  pro- 
vided further  that  the  aggregate  amount  of  annuities  shall  never 
be  allowed  to  exceed  the  annual  interest  receivable  on  the  loans 
made  by  the  Board."  For  this  reason  we  have  included  with  the 
Loan  Fund,  in  our  published  reports,  all  amounts  received  subject 
to  life  annuity.  Up  to  November  1,  1895,  the  amount  subject 
to  life  annuity,  not  directed  to  the  permanent  Loan  Fund,  is 
$123,137.21.  As  the  annuities  on  the  several  items  making  this 
aggregate  shall  expire  the  amounts  may  be  transferred  to  a  sepa- 
rate Annuity  Fund  or  to  the  General  Fund  at  the  discretion  of 
the  Board. 

The  entire  amount  received  subject  to  life  annuity  up  to  Novem- 
ber 1,  1895,  is  $696,662.25,  not  including  $11,000  in  property 
not  chargeable  until  converted  into  cash.  The  annual  charges  on 
this  amount  at  the  rates  agreed  upon  have  averaged  6.76  per  cent, 
or  $47,094.37.  Regular  annuity  companies  in  Philadelphia  would 
have  paid  for  the  same  amounts  at  corresponding  ages  an  average 
of  10.67  per  cent,  or  $74,333.86  per  annum.  The  difference  in 
our  favor  has  arisen  partly  out  of  the  desire  of  contributors  to  the 
Loan  Fund  to  have  the  principal  preserved  intact,  and  partly  out 
of  a  generous  recognition  of  the  benevolent  character  of  our  work. 


Of  the  amount  received  subject  to  life  annuity   $696,662  25 

Annuities,  by  the  death  of  52  annuitants,  have  terminated  on   191,465  0O 

Leaving  the  amount  now  subject  to  annual  charges   505,197  25 

From  the  annual  charges  above  stated   47,094  37 

The  reductions  by  these  deaths  amouut  to   13,854  00 


Besides,  annuities  have  been  reduced  on  $25,000  to  the  amount 
of  $650,  so  that  on  November  1,  1895,  the  annual  charges  were 
$32,290.37,  or  4.7  per  cent  on  the  total  amount  received  under 
this  plan. 

While  the  conditions  of  the  Loan  Fund  do  not  require  us  to 
charge  interest  in  all  cases,  with  a  single  exception,  and  that  under 
constraint,  we  have  contracted  for  the  uniform  rate  of  six  per 
cent,  and  grant  rebates  as  the  condition  of  indebted  churches  may 
require,  but  only  on  final  settlement,  and  when  their  condition 
would  justify  a  donation  on  formal  application. 

Rebates  granted  in  this  way  up  to  November  1,  1895,  aggregate —     $  96,833  77 

The  total  amount  of  interest  collected  is   397,096  70 

Total  amount  of  rebates  and  interest  collected  is   493,930  47 

The  aggregate  amount  of  interest  and  annuities  paid  is   470,155  00 

So  that,  crediting  rebates  as  above,  the  account  would  be  in 
favor  of  the  Annuity  Fund  to  the  amount  of  $23,775.47;  credit- 
ing only  interest  actually  collected,  the  balance  drawn  from  other 
sources  to  pay  interest  and  annuities  aggregates  $73,058.30. 

In  estimating  the  value  of  the  Loan  Fund  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  it  was  originally  intended  to  supplement  the  General 
Fund,  and  that  until  within  the  last  two  years,  in  nearly  every  case 
where  loans  have  been  granted,  the  condition  of  the  Church  would 


636 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


have  justified  a  donation  if  the  amount  available  for  donations 
had  been  sufficient.  This  fact  is  a  complete  vindication  of  the 
Loan  Fund,  including  the  annuity  feature. 

Publications. — Our  publications  include  annual  and  quad- 
rennial reports,  Christianity  in  Earnest,  Glad  Tidings,  maps, 
circulars,  etc.,  blank  forms  of  incorporation  and  title  deeds.  The 
expenditure  for  these  publications  for  the  quadrennium has  been: 


For  reports,  less  advertising   $1,049  50 

For  Christianity  in  Earnest,  less  advertising  and  subscriptions   3,215  56 

For  Glad  Tidings,  maps,  circulars,  etc   3,152  94 


Total   $7,418  00 


The  blank  forms  of  incorporation  and  title  deeds  are  sold  for  a 
stipulated  price,  and  are  not  charged  to  our  Church  Extension  funds. 

In  order  to  make  the  preparation  of  these  forms  possible,  our 
Corresponding  Secretary,  A.  J.  Kynett,  prepared  and  published 
on  his  own  account  in  1887  a  book  entitled  Laws  and  Forms 
Relating  to  Churches.  During  the  last  year,  with  the  aid  of 
eminent  legal  counsel,  as  before,  the  book  was  carefully  revised 
in  harmony  with  changes  of  the  laws  in  some  of  the  States,  and 
republished  for  his  account  by  the  Western  Book  Agents,  under 
the  title  of  The  Religion  of  the  Republic  and  Laws  of  Religious 
Corporations.  This  work  was  undertaken  and  completed  be- 
cause imperatively  necessary  to  the  proper  administration  of  our 
Church  Extension  work.  It  is  scarcely  less  necessary  for  those 
having  to  do  with  the  organization  of  churches  and  the  taking  of 
title  deeds  throughout  the  country.  We  invite  the  attention  of 
the  General  Conference  to  the  subject,  with  a  view  to  such  pro- 
visions as  may  be  deemed  wise  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  publi- 
cation and  bringing  it  to  the  attention  of  our  ministers  and  people. 


OUR  CHURCH  EXTENSION  BUILDING. 

This  property,  1026  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  was  purchased  in  1878, 

and  with  improvements  made  at  the  time,  cost   $31,163  86 

Revenues  derived  from  the  property  have  paid  for  repairs  and  better- 
ments and  on  principal  of  the  debt  to  October  31,  1895   16,474  11 


Leaving  balance  of  indebtedness   $14,689  75 

A  conservative  estimate  places  its  present  value  at   $50,000  00 


OFFICE  SERVICE  AND  EXPENSES. 

The  working  force  of  the  office  under  salary,  and  the  annual 
compensation  for  the  same,  are  as  follows  : 

Two  corresponding  secretaries,  each  $4,500,  including  house 


rent   $9,000  00 

Assistant  corresponding  secretary,  including  house  rent   3,600  00 

Recording  secretary  (expenses)   100  00 

Chief  clerk   1,800  00 

Two  bookkeepers   1,640  00 

Three  stenographers   1,925  00 

Janitor   360  00 


Total   $18,425  00 


1896.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  637 


The  yearly  average  expenses  of  administration,  including  with 
salaries,  traveling  expenses,  publications,  General  Committee, 
office  rent,  postage,  stationery,  and  other  incidental  expenses,  for 
the  past  quadrennium  have  been  $25,948.71  ;  if  we  deduct  from 
this  the  average  net  receipts  from  business  sources — architectural 
plans  and  rents  of  property — $1,122.40,  the  average  annual  cost 
to  the  benevolent  funds  of  the  Board  for  administration  has  been 
$24,826.31,  an  increase  of  $7,461.60  over  that  of  the  preceding 
four  years. 

The  percentage  for  expenses  of  administration  for  the  quadren- 
nium has  been:  On  the  basis  of  net  receipts  on  General  Fund, 
13.  5  per  cent  ;  on  the  basis  of  net  receipts  on  all  funds,  10.  6  per 
cent;  on  gross  receipts,  including  collection  of  loans,  8.  2  per 
cent.  For  the  whole  period  of  our  work  the  percentage  for  ex- 
penses from  the  beginning  is,  on  gross  receipts,  8.  6  per  cent.  If 
the  first  be  adopted,  then  the  Loan  Fund,  has  been  created  and 
administered  without  expense  to  any  other  than  the  General  Fund. 

Architectural  Plans. — Our  architectural  bureau  was  estab- 
Hshe4  in  1876.  We  then  secured,  the  services  of  a  competent 
architect  under  agreement  to  accept  compensation  from  the  re- 
sults of  his  work.  Up  to  November  1,  1879,  the  department 
paid  all  expenses  except  postage  and  stationery,  and  yielded  a 
considerable  revenue.  It  was  then  deemed  wise  to  accept  an 
offer  from  the  architect  by  which  he  acquired  full  title  to  all 
original  drawings  and  sole  control  of  the  business;  under  agree- 
ment, however,  to  furnish  such  plans  as  might  be  ordered  by  or 
through  the  Board  on  terms  agreed  upon.  Negotiations  with 
other  architects,  looking  toward  a  continuance  of  the  department 
under  our  control,  were  pending  at  the  same  time,  but  were  not 
consummated.  The  services  of  another  architect  were  secured 
for  such  other  designs  as  might  be  ordered  in  the  same  way;  and. 
negotiations  are  pending  for  similar  arrangements  with  other 
architects. 

Up  to  November  1,  1895,  the  net  receipts  from  this  department 
have  been  $14,401.31,  of  which  $1,413.07  was  for  the  last  four 
years,  a  decline  of  $5,407.69  from  those  of  the  preceding  quad- 
rennium. 

The  loss  of  revenues  from  this  department  was  partly  due  to 
the  less  amount  of  church  building,  and  partly  to  the  fact  that 
>ntrol  of  the  business  passed  so  largely  into  other  hands. 

Annual  Meetings  of  General  Committee. — We  invite  the 
attention  of  the  General  Conference  to  the  practice  that  has  ob- 
tained during  the  last  eight  years  of  holding  the  annual  meetings 
of  our  General  Committee  at  places  remote  from  the  office  of  ad- 
ministration. We  heartily  unite  in  the  petition  of  the  General 
Committee,  included  in  its  report,  that  the  General  Conference 
change  the  regulations  governing  this  subject  so  as  to  permit  the 
annual  meetings  to  be  held  in  or  near  Philadelphia. 

The  General  Committees  of  Missions,  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Education,  and  of  Church  Extension  are  so  constituted 


638 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


as  to  constrain  the  holding  of  the  annual  meetings  of  all  in  the 
same  vicinity  or  at  places  easily  accessible  to  all  the  members, 
including  the  representatives  of  the  several  Boards.  The  free 
choice  of  the  General  Committee  of  Missions  is  embarrassed  by 
an  amendment  to  Article  XI  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Missionary 
Society  made  in  pursuance  of  the  recommendation  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1888.  The  apparent  object  was  to  secure  the 
representation  of  the  cause  in  different  localities  from  year  to 
year.  We  submit  that  the  public  anniversaries  and  church 
services  available  for  this  purpose  are  incidental  to,  and  inde- 
pendent of,  the  business  meetings.  Anniversaries  can  be  held 
with  equal  facility  in  any  locality  where  the  necessary  service  can 
be  obtained.  The  business  meetings  require  the  attendance  of 
the  bishops,  members  of  the  General  Conference  Districts,  and 
officers  and  representatives  of  the  respective  Boards,  this  last 
constituent  element  being  changed  for  the  business  of  each, 
respectively.  Ready  access  to  the  official  records  and  considera- 
tions of  economy  require  that  the  business  meetings  shall  not 
compel  long  and  expensive  journeys  of  delegates  from  the  several 
Boards  or  Societies,  taking  them  away  from  the  records  and 
papers  accessible  only  in  the  office  of  administration. 

The  action  of  1888  seems  to  us  to  have  been  imperfectly  con- 
sidered, and  we  invite  more  mature  deliberation  with  such  action 
as  shall  thereby  be  commended  in  the  interests  of  the  causes  to  be 
served. 


1896.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  639 

ft 


PASTORAL  CHARGES  AND  CHURCH  EXTENSION  COLLECTIONS. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  pastoral  charges  in 
the  several  Conferences,  the  number  reporting  collections,  the 
number  making  no  report,  and  the  amounts  received,  during  the 
years  last  preceding  the  General  Conferences  of  1888,  1892,  and 
1896.  It  serves  to  indicate  the  progress  of  this  work  in  the 
several  Conferences,  and  in  the  entire  Church.  The  figures  rela- 
tive to  pastoral  charges  are  taken  from  the  General  Minutes  ; 
those  of  receipts  are  from  the  Treasurer's  books. 


Number 

Number 

reporting 

reporting  no 

collections. 

collections. 

1887 

1891 

1895 

1887 

1891 

1S95 



19 

32 

34 



17 



13 



20 

9 

11 

12 

2 

5 

35 

44 

39 

15 

11 

10 

19 

21 

19 

4 

4 

6 

140 

151 

157 

4 

6 

11 

8 

14 

10 

1 

2 

9 

15 

38 

30 

10 

8 

27 

123 

118 

131 

11 

30 

29 

16 

17 

16 

52 

43 

39 

20 

42 

82 

81 

84 

8 

16 

14 

161 

174 

176 

11 

6 

12 

35 

65 

57 

26 

26 

43 

122 

171 

190 

CI 

el 

31 

16 

130 

144 

145 

7 

11 

19 

182 

204 

220 

3 

6 

40 

1 

21 

30 

34 

i9 

h 

2 

53 

54 

32 

10 

33 

140 

146 

141 

11 

n 

21 

51 

65 

83 

5 

9 

23 

45 

57 

59 

5 

11 

17 

75 

101 

119 

4 

8 

10 

147 

171 

183 

26 

10 

13 

163 

204 

222 

8G 

59 

81 

42 

49 

53 

2 

3 

91 

94 

99 

11 

ii 

16 

199 

213 

216 

6 

i 

6 

18 

38 

25 

9 

12 

35 

162 

173 

172 

8 

4 

14 

19 

36 

34 

13 

7 

24 

182 

207 

221 

39 

26 

32 

21 

17 

16 

6 

13 

10 

48 

69 

9 
56 

24 

is 

25 

14 

13 

16 

6 

6 

9 

194 

220 

227 

29 

6 

29 

157 

203 

219 

50 

18 

25 

92 

104 

113 

17 

13 

16 

116 

123 

125 

10 

6 

11 

47 

44 

67 

38 

46 

26 

63 

82 

55 

42 

36 

62 

27 

30 

42 

17 

41 

25 

61 

114 

89 

51 

40 

65 

77 

83 

83 

28 

22 

28 

226 

256 

250 

40 

34 

53 

199 

190 

112 

22 

29 

15 

59 

41 

54 

70 

24 

27 

87 

109 

117 

19 

11 

Conference. 


Alabama  

Arizona  Mission . . 

Arkansas  

Austin  

Baltimore  

Black  Hills  Miss. . 

Blue  Ridge  

California  

CaliforniaGerman 
Central  Alabama. 
Central  German.. 
Central  Illinois. . . 
Central  Missouri . 
Central  New  York 

Central  Obio  

Central  Pa  

Central  Swedish . . 
Central  Tennessee 
Chicago  German. 

Cincinnati  

Colorado  

Columbia  River. . 

Delaware  

Des  Moines  

Detroit  

East  German  

East  Maine  

East  Ohio .   

East  Tennessee. . . 

Erie  

Florida  

Genesee  

Georgia  

Gulf  Mission  

Holston  

Idaho  

Illinois  

Indiana  

Iowa  

Kansas.  

Kentucky  

Lexington  

Little  Rock  

Louisiana  

Maine  

Michigan  

Minnesota  

MinnesotaNorth'n 

Mississippi  

Missouri  

41 


Number  of 
pastoral 
charges. 


1887  1891 


12 
50 
23 

144 
9 
25 

134 

55 
90 
172 
61 
2<)3 
137 
185 

40 
60 

151 
56 
50 
79 

173 

240 
44 

102 

205 
27 

170 
32 

221 
27 

72 


207 
109 
138 

85 
105 

44 
112 
105 
256 
212 


106 


45 
11 

55 
25 
157 
16 
46 
148 
16 
72 
97 
ISO 
91 
202 
165 
205 

37 

64 
157 

74 

68 
109 
181 
263 

40 
108 
214 

50 
177 

43 


87 

19 
226 
221 
111 
129 

90 
118 

71 
151 
105 
290 

m 


1895 


25 


17 


188 
100 
205 
164 
226 

41 

36 

65 
162 
106 

76 
129 
196 
303 

56 
115 
222 

60 
186 

58 
253 


81 

25 
256 
214 
120 
136 

93 
11 

67 
154 
111 
303 
127 


65  81 
120  124 


Amounts  received. 


1887 


$56  10 
75  00 
241  45 
107  40 
3,021 
93  00 
150  00 
1,458  55 


4,301  52 
1,751 

103  24 
1,609  32 
77  00 
2,940  00 

"4i20 
4,582  00 
2,159  62 
742  00 
386  65 
350  20 
1,028  58 
1,176  59 
3,555  00 
312  00 
2,022  05 
81  00 
1,207  68 
89  00 
1,428  50 
53  15 

*374  03 


1,579  46 
955  98 
609  70 

1,371  44 
442  92 
139  00 
43  35 
211  00 
528  30 

1,535  86 

1,946  74 


150  33 
629  30 


1891 


$84  80 
85  00 

174  00 

174  40 
2,956  64 

161  00 
10  00 
2,008  20 

33100 
48 
5,188  30 
2,299  00 

188  25 
1,997  85 
1,223  00 
2,964  50 

io4  66 

2,242  00 
2,913  28 
1,162  00 
479  00 
665  00 

3.138  00 
1,720  00 
4,096  95 

902  70 
3,716  35 

152  00 
1,458  75 

114  00 
2,368  50 
79  00 

'596  66 
90  08 
2,294  20 
1,640  00 

1.139  00 
1,394  50 
2,038  00 

239  70 
93  75 
581  00 
485  75 
2,438  55 
2,187  56 


97  25 
970  00 


640  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Pastoral  Charges  and  Church  Extension  Collections.-* Continued. 


Conferences. 

Number  of 
pastoral 
charges. 

Number 
reporting 
collections. 

Number 
reporting  no 
collections. 

Amounts  received. 

1887 

1891 

1895 

1887 

1891 

1895 

1887 

1891 

1895 

1887 

1891 

1895 

Montana.   

28 

37 

38 

24 

35 

36 

4 

2 

2 

33  00 

445  00 

443  25 

114 

132 

143 

89 

113 

118 

no 

25 

l'J 

25 

667  01 

fiQ2  89 

611  50 

Nevada  Mission . . 

21 

23 

23 

16 

17 

16 

5 

(j 

7 

51  00 

153  00 

118  00 

206 

215 

229 

206 

215 

222 

7 

2,594  5(J 

3,514  00 

3  091  75 

New  England  

227 

239 

256 

167 

189 

183 

60 

50 

73 

2'386  14 

2  294  26 

2*163  38 

New  Eng.  South'n 

189 

200 

195 

126 

138 

125 

63 

62 

70 

1^369  35 

l',162  0(1 

1081  75 

New  Hampshire . . 

128 

134 

145 

96 

106 

111 

32 

28 

34 

'883  85 

l]oio  88 

'598  97 

New  Jersey  

203 

209 

226 

177 

186 

200 

26 

23 

26 

1,774  0C 

1,932  041 

1,729  73 

New  Mexico  Miss., 

g 

10 

14 

9 

g 

in 

1U 

2 

4 

10  OC 

103  0C 

90  00 

22 

12 

36 

14 

i* 

w 

97 

g 

5 

g 

50  0C 

75  0C 

91  00 

248 

255 

257 

205 

219 

214 

43 

36 

43 

5  308  Ofi 

4  302  OS 

3  .3.3.3  55 
0,000  00 

New  York  East. . . 

260 

271 

286 

19-3 

919 

245 

67 

29 

41 

3  367  40 

5' 627  17 

3  1 50  .31 

North  Carolina. .. 

53 

65 

65 

26 

40 

27 

25 

22 

100  00 

201  00 

100  00 

North  Dakota  . . . 

44 

65 

75 

32 

fii 

Dl 

71 
i  1 

19 

16 

4 

4 

217  00 

474  00 

514  21 

Northern  German 

30 

47 

49 

9 

99 

39 
0* 

91 
<il 

25 

1 7 
J  i 

3  1 23  on 

1  389  85 

1  904  00 

North'n  New  York 

181 

160 

184 

167 

152 

173 
1 1 0 

14 

g 

12 

2  369  61 

1536  31 

1  840  97 

North'nSwed.Mis. 

39 

34 
o'* 

385  82 

North  Indiana. . . . 

147 

180 

177 

137 

165 

iOO 

10 

1U 

i^ 

12 

1  137  75 

1  8fifi  00 

2  547  oo 

North  Montana. . . 

13 

19 

16 

i 

131  00 

North  Nebraska . . 

80 

100 

111 

65 

82 

88 

oo 

15 

is 

23 

442  12 

556  66 

374  50 

130 

130 

137 

120 

128 

13^ 
IOO 

10 

2 

1  fiQQ  93 

J,Ol/*7  /SO 

1  oon  25 

1  517  43 

N'thPac.  Ger.  Mis. 

13 

14 

1 1 
ii 

13 
IO 

9 

6 

1 

50  00 

61  85 

North  vvestGerm'n 

42 

41 

44 

30 

26 

94 

4t 

19 

16 

1  K 
lo 

20 

793  60 

1  318  0(1 
1,010  uw 

1  029  00 

North  west  Indi'na 

119 

135 

149 

109 

191 

161 

1  97 

lot 

17 
ll 

14 
14 

19 
16 

839  71 

1  998  75 

9  09f;  01* 

Northwest  Iowa. . 

107 

136 

151 

100 

126 

]44 

10 
IO 

668  71 

L462  6C 

1  542  67 

Northwest  Kansas 

94 

119 

117 

81 

87 

76 

13 

39 
06 

41 

853  47 

256  60 

'267  50 

N'thwestNebr'ska 

24 

1  A. 

10 

g 

91  50 

Norwegian  &  Dan. 

54 

60 

63 

48 

54 

59 

g 

g 

4 

•387  95 

466  85 

417  50 

165 

179 

1^1 

lol 

1 A1 
1D1 

156 

14 
1* 

11 
11 

91 

1  538  00 

2  171  60 

1  847  00 

36 

104 

91 
61 

A9 

1 K 
10 

42 

900  00 

'   7  75 

55 

49 

80 

36 

43 

73 

1Q 

li7 

g 

246  80 

745  10 

579  00 

242 

274 

293 

227 

9fin 

/iOU 

983 

600 

1*> 

IO 

14 
14 

10 

1 0  01  t  48 

H'lJlO  rto 

7  367  56 

7  387  31 

Pittsburg  

157 

176 

189 

191 

161 

146 

13fi 
100 

3fi 
oo 

30 

OO 

53 

3  0R3  4fi 

2  589  87 

1  ,p>10  00 

Puget  Sound  

41 

87 

110 

30 

71 

i 1 

8Q 
oy 

11 
11 

1 A 
IO 

23 

79  00 

976  15 

674  25 

Rock  River  

230 

273 

327 

1Q1 

li'l 

OO/l 
(SO* 

9AQ 

3Q 

3Q 

Oi) 

51 

4  411  00 

fi  4Q0  01 

k  tusa  iio 
o,OUo  0^ 

St.  John's  River. . 

24 

31 

26 

21 

20 

91 
<S1 

3 

11 
11 

g 

'l24  80 

95  40 

156  00 

115 

137 
lot 

lb2 

86 

1 1  a 

110 

I/in 

9Q 

6a 

91 
41 

9fi 

9  814  fiO 
1^,014  OO 

9  094  30 

1  501  00 

St.  Louis  German. 

93 

95 

94 

71 

65 

80 

22 

on 
Of 

Ii 
11 

9  ^43  00 

1  645  00 

Savannah   

77 

101 

115 

59 

81 

ol 

83 

18 
10 

OA 

39 
06 

143  4i 

30K  no 

273  75 

South  Carolina... 

109 

117 

131 

52 

8Q 

OO 

*»7 
Dl 

98 

66 

1K4  9^ 
101  (jo 

211  40 

194  87 
l(5-i  0( 

South  Dakota  

OA 

in 
i  ii 

105 

76 

8fi 
OO 

76 

1Q 

o- 

<SO 

9Q 

453  08 

84  00 

4^.9  1K 
104  IO 

South'n  California 

81 

103 

108 

73 

IO 

ini 
1U1 

»4 

a 

O 

o 

4 

14 
11 

788  80 

1  279  50 

1  39A  00 

Southern  German 

25 

26 

28 

24 

24 

98 
60 

1 
1 

o 

6 

48  00 

79  00 

89  00 

Southern  Illinois. 

132 

Hi 
i*i 

159 

19i 

1  Q7 

loi 

1  QA 

loo 

a 
o 

93 

7Ufi  OK 
lOO  fid 

893  70 

714  00 

South  Kansas  

ma 

1UO 

110 
11U 

117 

in 

99 

104 

iUU 

Q 

y 

O 

1  7 
1/ 

1  1A1  ^A 

1,101  to 

1  9Q9  on 

i  ^94  nn 

Southwest  Kansas 

117 
111 

1  9.0 
loU 

138 

loo 

in 
in 

IfH 

1  no 
1UO 

6 

OA 
*i0 

30 
OO 

O  AAQ  CA 
/i,44o  <o 

1  HQ9  KA 
1,UU4  OO 

1  mn  nn 
1,100  uu 

A1 

AO 

AQ 

9Q 

*sy 

c?A 
oO 

33 

32 

OA 
^O 

OO 

10Q  /1A 
l^y  4U 

in  B9 
10  04 

AA  7Q 

00  /o 

89 

91 

95 

57 

A8 
OO 

7A 
10 

or; 

93 

1  Q 
lo 

93Q  AO 
<4.JO  OU 

931  40 

978  90 
£iiO  4U 

liOO 

OAii 

9HQ 

202 

203 

26 

9A 
OO 

"10 

l,yyo  oo 

9  o/M  on 

2,151  00 

Upper  Iowa  

1  Al 
lOI 

179 
1 16 

190 

156 

1  A7 
10  ( 

1  C7 

lo/ 

Q 

o 

K 

o 

O 

1  A9A  no 
1,040  VJ-J 

9  3/<n  nn 

9  373  nn 

<i,o<0  ov 

Upper  Mississippi 

84 

102 

37 

45 

47 

57 

87  45 

59  00 

Utah  Mission  . .  . 

ia 

27 

19 

i2 

24 

18 

'i 

3 

1 

'  io6  66 

480  00 

138  00 

120 

118 

125 

104 

97 

95 

16 

21 

30 

704  34 

617  00 

667  00 

Virginia  

46 

48 

47 

36 

46 

43 

10 

2 

4 

173  00 

25100 

291  50 

132 

125 

131 

98 

107 

107 

34 

18 

24 

354  00 

38100 

416  00 

W.  Nor.-Dan.  Mis. 

11 

27 

11 

24 

3 

209  25 

128  00 

West  German  — 

66 

67 

73 

47 

46 

42 

19 

21 

31 

1,827  78 

2,560  02 

1  108  00 

T*  Cot  IlCUl  dohcl  •  •  • 

85 

106 

82 

62 

79 

47 

23 

27 

a5 

276  73 

365  00 

199  50 

Western  Swedish. 

31 

29 

2 

188  00 

West  Texas  

59 

57 

66 

44 

45 

59 

is 

ii 

7 

"i60  66 

178  00 

229  00 

West  Virginia  

144 

158 

176 

154 

129 

136 

47 

29 

40 

348  00 

736  79 

714  30 

West  Wisconsin . . 

124 

143 

154 

99 

127 

130 

25 

16 

24 

424  77 

672  85 

773  00 

Wilmington  

147 

159 

174 

146 

158 

165 

1 

1 

9 

2,126  20 

2,700  00 

2,077  00 

Wisconsin  

137 

148 

158 

112 

129 

128 

25 

19 

30 

971  70 

1,127  22 

985  00 

Wyoming  

187 

192 

209 

181 

177 

193 

6 

15 

16 

1,912  74 

1,91200 

2,439  00 

Wyoming  Mission 

11 

17 

8 

10 

3 

367  00 

122  00 

Total  

11401 

12675 

13695 

9301 

10862 

11244 

2100 

1813 

2451 

119976  41 

145008  73 

127743  69 

1896.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  641 


CONFERENCE  COLLECTIONS  AND  DISBURSEMENTS  WITHIN 
CONFERENCES. 

The  following  statement  shows  as  accurately  as  possible  the 
amount  of  collections,  donations,  loans,  and  number  of  church  prop- 
erties aided  (including  a  few  used  for  schools  and  loans  to  parson- 
ages) within  the  Conferences  severally.  The  aggregate  amount  of 
collections,  donations,  and  loans  is  strictly  correct.  The  distri- 
bution among  the  Conferences  and  the  number  of  different  prop- 
erties is  approximately  so.  Some  inaccuracies  necessarily  grow 
out  of  the  changes  from  time  to  time  in  Conference  boundaries, 
the  organization  of  new  Conferences  out  of  territory  previously 
included  in  older  Conferences,  and  changes  of  the  names  of 
churches  applying  for  aid.  A  careful  review  also  shows  a  con- 
siderable number  of  duplicate  grants  in  different  years  to  the 
same  churches.  It  has  been  our  purpose  to  report,  not  the  num- 
ber of  grants,  but  the  number  of  different  properties  aided  ;  so 
duplicates,  as  far  as  known,  have  been  eliminated. 


Pnri  f  prpn  of* 

f!nll  ppt.irvn  « 

U\J LHXbl\J  Uo. 

Churches 
aided. 

ftl  41ft  ^ 

$20  <W*  ^ 

tis  no 

123 

Arizona  ^Mission. 

825  00 

5  goo  00 

3  750  00 

19 

Arkansas 

2,649  04 

25  570  00 

109 

2  547  86 

fVt/^UOO  JLU 

4i'i^>o  no 

56 

Baltimor6 

6752i  10 

28  8^0  22 

5,500  00 

124 

T^IapIt  T-Ti11«a  \fivcirm 

1  457  05 

10  030  00 

fi  4on  no 

25 

"Rliifi  "Riflcrp 

1  014  61 

Q  00 

2  9^0  no 

76 

26*138  51 

44,617  60 

31,250  00 

106 

1,733  00 

3,500  00 

10 

901  09 

11,834  31 

8,531.  58 

89 

122,773  61 

123,052  6] 

1,000  00 

129 

47,292  88 

16,764  15 

8,250  00 

77 

1,373  44 

6,525  00 

6,100  00 

57 

46,228  74 

4,700  00 

13,500  00 

20 

29,179  45 

13,667  37 

12,850  00 

28 

73,661  26 

20,399  00 

6,025  00 

92 

4,152  81 

8,750  00 

12,166  67 

38 

1,684  85 

19,810  34 

1,831  71 

101 

89,812  09 

90,329  72 

133 

56,871  57 

9,475  00 

18,500  66 

35 

16,469  89 

35,458  46 

45,450  00 

.  113 

6,951  45 

22,750  00 

31,500  00 

90 

8,455  30 

20,132  02 

27,905  00 

148 

36,195  19 

30,795  23 

38,850  00 

176 

33,069  62 

29,865  00 

26,500  00 

130 

69,097  61 

69,579  61 

37 

8,&53  71 

11,724  20 

2',750  66 

53 

38,289  07 

8,100  00 

19,450  00 

31 

740  60 

8,750  58 

500  00 

53 

29,472  86 

2,525  00 

2,000  00 

23 

1,255  23 

13,717  00 

13,141  00 

74 

7  00 

44,475  92 

6*2ii  55 

2*766  66 

22 

1,413  62 

16,599  09 

8,980  00 

96 

116  00 

1,000  00 

450  00 

3 

5,167  10 

28,433  98 

29,750  00 

127 

1,189  61 

13,450  00 

6,000  00 

32 

39,847  55 

4,275  00 

350  00 

19 

34,931  35 

6,752  00 

7,150  00 

46 

16,895  04 

4,031  61 

4,150  00 

26 

22,696  87 

40,613  84 

42,100  00 

219 

20,940  43 

60,015  27 

7,750  00 

137 

3,655  81 

17,422  90 

16,490  00 

122 

1.027  20 

7,812  50 

4,975  00 

56 

6,860  64 

£5,968  00 

19,930  00 

157 

11,867  71 

5,015  00 

1,000  00 

22 

642  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Conference  Collections  and  Disbursements  within  Conferences. — Continued. 


Conference. 

Collections. 

Donations. 

Loans. 

aided. 

35,266  94 

30,195  00 

21,517 

00 

167 

36,520  Sri 

57,823  42 

79,799 

59 

261 

774  00 

600  00 

550 

00 

3 

3,663  01 

1,9751  89 

9,250 

00 

132 

23,837  88 

46,408  40 

42,950 

00 

188 

4,209  49 

15,950  00 

32,800 

00 

54 

12,203  60 

46,625  00 

68,050 

00 

215 

2,351  02 

22,302  90 

18,960 

00 

30 

63.354  27 

17,689  15 

1,250 

00 

57 

44,374  93 

22,932  00 

17,000 

00 

23 

34,411  86 

15,715  80 

3,000 

00 

21 

17,869  63 

14,815  00 

3,500 

00 

30 

53,273  09 

12,690  00 

3,450 

00 

53 

962  50 

4,900  00 

4,350 

00 

11 

794  00 

11,250  00 

2,950 

00 

18 

111,417  49 

15,112  45 

1,000 

00 

46 

97,139  68 

13,616  99 

1,400 

(Ml 

26 

1,860  08 

18,884  09 

4,500 

(JO 

111 

4,743  02 

18,700  00 

30,910 

00 

83 

33,242  31 

33,242  31 

84 

37,720  41 

12,100  23 

i",866 

(')O 

56 

3,715  24 

8,150  00 

12,266 

66 

&3 

30,073  90 

6,600  00 

8,850 

00 

32 

381  00 

1,750  00 

2,250 

oo 

10 

5,032  68 

27,025  00 

38,925 

(Ml 

131 

38,459  77 

6,175  00 

11,500 

00 

23 

North  Pacific  German  Mission  

639  60 

2,750  00 

3,450 

00 

15 

43,205  94 

44,764  86 

100 

oo 

66 

25,407  49 

3,859  17 

4,900 

00 

22 

17,400  31 

50,045  00 

54,750 

00 

206 

5,342  48 

24,075  00 

34,260 

00 

127 

244  00 

1,200  00 

1,400 

00 

9 

5,320  61 

11,300  00 

11,900 

00 

51 

47,704  52 

6,775  00 

2,500 

00 

26 

804  38 

17,575  00 

9,020 

00 

88 

9,914  95 

23,050  00 

25,370 

00 

102 

231,162  01 

61,965  00 

33,700 

00 

146 

54,706  02 

10,710  10 

4,250 

00 

40 

6,512  39 

19,975  00 

28,725 

00 

94 

111,256  06 

32,592  48 

8,450 

00 

94 

1,179  39 

9,800  00 

6,080 

00 

27 

22,370  53 

36,315  66 

36,050 

00 

177 

51,297  60 

51,912  78 

65 

5,959  73 

30,095  09 

10*,535 

66 

193 

3,917  72 

26,363  30 

11,175 

00 

248 

7,387  45 

37,900  00 

51,450 

(10 

146 

14,156  90 

36,406  00 

49,300 

oo 

116 

1,358  35 

8,197  00 

7,370 

00 

33 

19,941  28 

11,317  00 

9,950 

(Ml 

77 

18,771  89 

37,841  89 

70,400 

00 

221 

14,955  64 

32,600  00 

62,850 

00 

184 

2,387  19 

26,161  75 

18,055 

00 

139 

4,081  07 

31,367  35 

10,520 

00 

191 

65,455  20 

15,950  00 

2,150 

00 

63 

39,931  84 

19,934  75 

43,951 

00 

138 

372  66 

3,975  00 

1,350 

Oil 

34 

2,618  35 

92,414  19 

34,547 

bo 

48 

14,765  26 

5,550  00 

500 

00 

26 

4,022  39 

28,679  00 

16,310 

00 

112 

9,250  06 

21,554  70 

19,909 

00 

210 

16,800 

no 

21 

28,490  30 

29,621  45 

4,350 

00 

53 

3,848  29 

25,525  00 

37,905 

00 

129 

3,621  67 

8,000  00 

12,567 

67 

36 

3,036  39 

16.561  00 

9,000 

00 

98 

West  Virginia  

11,247  98 

19.727  80 

7,900 

00 

179 

13,608  15 

20,565  90 

16,640 

00 

140 

40,890  54 

21,490  00 

9,900 

00 

115 

24,463  56 

15,991  34 

9,650 

00 

70 

34,907  50 

6,925  00 

5,450 

00 

22 

1,466  10 

8,850  00 

8,600 

00 

13 

$2,766,827  31 

$2,557,193  80 

$1,830,064 

43 

9,767 

1896. J       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  643 


SUMMARY  OF  RECEIPTS  AND  DISBURSEMENTS,  FROM  ORGANIZA- 
TION  TO  NOVEMBER  1,  1895. 
Receipts, 
i.  general  fund. 


Conference 
collections. 


$57,473  58 
27,961  42 


85,435  00 

50,216  67 
62,917  63 
63,768  01 
71,775  60 


248,677  91 

66,554  89 
82,112  21 
79,804  57 
68,252  98 


296,724  65 

56,851  59 
54,505  75 
52,638  94 


230,689  00 

69,782  69 

89,387  06 
87,603  26 
108,4a3  56 


355,206  57 

108,759  60 
91,542  26 
99,445  91 

119,976  41 


419,724  18 

125,448  25 

136,159  81 

142,956  39 

145,008  73 


549,573  18 

158,940  27 
154,252  85 
139,860  01 
127,743  69 


580,796  82 


Personal 

and 
special. 


$2,803  59 
4,111  07 


6,914  66 

3,459  60 
1,958  00 
810  80 
4,559  29 


10,787  69 

1,941  81 
3,524  20 
4,577  29 
6,047  27 


16,090  57 

12,765  40 
6,257  44 
7,307  06 
9,029  05 


35,358  95 

13,602  53 
9,406  00 

14,205  89 
6,937  90 


44,152  32 

16,756  58 
8,171  06 
5,964  86 
8,818  71 


39,711  21 

7,779  50 
6,741  50 
8,051  73 
5,575  00 


28,147  73 

3,008  00 
3,250  00 
1,990  75 
11,971  81 


20,220  56 


$2,766,827  31  !  $201,383  69 


£1,444  75 
2,565  00 
1,119  37 


5,129  12 
100  00 

2,{ ' ' 


412  66 


3,437  49 

814  00 
12,300  00 
710  47 
1,457  11 


15,281  58 

9,532  18 
1,894  00 
7,964  07 
6,596  76 


25,987  01 

6,445  53 
10,670  36 
8,986  85 


28,769  56 

3,489  73 
14,022  55 

6,078  30 
16,436  98 


40,027  56 

12,090  98 
286  50 
2,629  00 
6,776  65 


21,783  13 


$140,415  45 


Architec- 
tural 
plans. 


$117  50 
180  12 
235  00 
468  00 


1,000  62 

1,150  00 

1,930  25 

2,819  06 

3,154  61 


9,053  92 

2,777  55 
2,647  42 
2,886  20 
4,439  00 


12,750  17 

3,475  85 
4,300  64 
6,055  12 
1,700  50 


15,532  11 

1,500  00 
1,692  40 
941  37 
949  00 


5,083  27 


$43,420  09 


$243  09 


243  09 

390  84 
572  15 
1,757  14 
3,724  23 


6,444  36 

6,098  85 
5,833  27 
8,611  48 
7,374  94 


27,918  54 

7,176  69 
9,814  11 
9,807  88 


36,606  67 

11,083  27 
11,242  52 
13,142  80 
13,704  51 


49,173  10 

16,550  60 
22,090  13 
23,008  01 
22,724  22 


84,372  96 

23,463  88 
21,968  33 
22,851  28 
25,066  89 


93,350  38 

30,832  16 
23,267  22 
21,091  99 
23,796  23 


98,987  60 


$397,096  70 


II.  LOAN  FUND. 


Year. 

Donations  to 
fund. 

On  annuity. 

Bequests. 

Net  total. 

Loans 
returned. 

18  58  

$  1,325  00 
10,222  00 
16,416  46 
19,704  00 

$  1,325  00 
10,222  00 
30,366  05 
67,014  00 

1869  

$400  00 
4,838  00 
7,051  28 

$11,169  8i 
47,310  00 

47,667  46 

58,479  81 



108,927  05 

12,289  28 

644  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


ii.  loan  fund. —  Continued. 


Year. 

Donations  to 
fund. 

On  annuity. 

Bequests. 

Net  total. 

Loans 
returned. 

1872  

1873  

$24,693  18 
7,130  50 
8,254  85 
16,300  66 

dM  1   COO  DO 

$:i,o8!!£  6z 
22,943  50 
5,221  50 
17,750  00 

$30  00 
5,250  00 

$00,405  50 
35,324  00 
13,476  35 
49,994  00 

$6,813  05 
7,417  ia 
16,478  70 
15,103  7a 

law 

1876  

1878  

1879  

56,379  19 

7,640  00 
5,220  00 
2,781  10 
5,374  00 

57,597  32 

4,000  00 
19,600  00 

9,700  00 
20,635  50 

5,280  00 

1,138  04 

20  00 
380  00 

119,256  51 

12,778  04 
24,840  00 
12,861  10 
26,509  50 

45,812  58 

15,961  71 
26,730  00 
21,157  61 
27,703  41 

Totals  

1880  

21,015  10 

16,954  00 
8,535  00 
6,155  00 
5,725  00 

53,935  50 

11,648  55 
23,955  09 
48,596  48 
58,069  10 

1,538  04 

76,988  64 

28,602  55 
32,930  09 
54,851  48 
63,794  10 

91,552  73 

33,238  84 
38,817  33 
36,838  02 
44,268  58 

1881  

1882  

1883 

440  00 
100  00 

1884  

1886  

1887  

Totals  

1888  

37,369  00 

6,915  00 
2,900  00 
1,150  00 
820  00 

142,269  2? 

17,772  45 
11,531  39 
20,966  72 
41,217  12 

540  00 

1,000  00 
5,000  00 
2,000  00 
496  36 

180,178  22 

25,687  45 
19,431  39 
24,116  72 
42,533  48 

153,162  77 

34,404  64 
39,183  35 
53,455  66 
58,602  76- 

11,785  00 

5,070  00 
600  00 
1,050  00 
8,850  00 

91,487  68 

26,870  21 
17,202  89 
46,038  02 
33,526  39 

8,496  36 

111,769  04 

31,940  21 
18,042  74 
55,719  06 
52,876  39 

185,646  41 

62,985  11 
74,434  43 
57,569  11 
65,156  07 

1889  

1890  

1891  

1892   

1895  

Grand  totals  

239  85 
8,631  04 
10,500  00 

15,570  00 

750  00 
4,375  00 
3,050  00 

123,637  51 

27,609  06 
67,006  15 
63,790  00 
21,850  00 

19,370  89 

9,625  00 
6,436  70 
2,863  87 
1,314  16 

158,578  40 

37,984  06 
77,817  85 
69,703  87 
23,164  16 

260,144  72 

75,624  87 
72,012  07 
41,289  28 
51,037  28 

8,175  00 

180,255  21 

20,239  73 

208,669  94 

239,963  50 

$197,960  75 

$707,662  25 

$55,465  02 

$961,088  02 

$988,571  99 

Total  Receipts. 

On  General  Fund  $3,549,143  24 

On  Loan  Fund   961,088  02 


Net  receipts  $4,510,231  26 


If  we  add  to  net  receipts  on  General  Fund  $3,549,143  24 

Am't  borrowed  on  Bonds  (less  B'ds  redeemed  $42,450)      56,600  00 


We  have  amount  on  General  Fund  $3,605,743  24 

Add  to  net  receipts  on  Loan  Fund   $961,088  02 

Loans  returned  from  Churches   988,571  99 


We  have  amount  on  Loan  Fund   1,949,660  01 


Showing  a  grand  total  of 


$5,555,403  25 


1896.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  645 


Disbursements. 


I.  GENERAL  FUND. 


Year. 
1866-71 

Donations  to 
churches. 

Interest 
and 
Annuities. 

Office  and 
incidental 
expenses. 

Salary  and 
traveling 
expenses. 

Reports 
and  liter- 
ature.* 

Gen.  Com. 
andAnn'y 
expenses. 

Architec- 
tural 
plans. 

Total. 

$298,444  40 

$17,898  31 

$10,135  37 

$38,352  01 

$3,372  60 

$2,557  60 

$ 

ft370  760  2Q 

1872... 
1873... 
1874... 
1875... 

Totals. 

1876... 
1877. . . 
1878... 
1879... 

52,062  99 
62,937  90 
66,949  39 
54,720  08 

6,594  05 
9,661  85 
7,897  51 
9,356  12 

1,979  49 
2,703  31 
3,403  37 
2,139  35 

9,971  13 
9,952  49 
10,001  97 
10,479  70 

980  40 
1,112  24 

623  55 
1,034  73 

657  85 
703  25 
814  25 
718  00 

72,245  91 
87,071  04 
89,390  04 
78,447  98 

236,370  36 

57,683  59 
53,101  15 
52,183  05 
66,357  84 

33,509  53 

9,477  85 
10,295  44 
12,261  15 
11,183  40 

10,225  52 

2,245  10 
2,444  54 
1,704  79 
2,297  34 

40,405  29 

9,194  08 
9,682  90 
9,353  29 
9,548  40 

3,750  92 

1,380  10 
1,436  21 
1,435  06 
834  60 

2,893  35 

404  94 
519  52 
401  54 
419  12 

527  10 
40  85 
180  42 
263  41 

327,154  97 

80,912  76 
77,520  61 
77,519  30 
90,903  75 

Totals. 

1880... 
1881... 
1882... 
1883... 

229,325  63 

70,988  26 
85,475  05 
87,640  57 
94,548  61 

43,217  84 

11,687  08 
13,846  72 
13,115  25 
16,341  02 

8,691  77 

4,244  69 
2,713  21 
3,297  73 
2,241  71 

37,778  31 

10,346  04 
10,716  67 
11,126  71 
11,513  99 

5,085  97 

932  53 
96  06 
936  23 

1  745  12 

349  36 
429  57 
454  68 

1,011  78 

953  77 
1,530  08 
2,545  83 
2,064  70 

326,856  42 

90,501  73 
114,807  36 
119,117  00 
126,710  03 

Totals. 

1884... 
1885... 
1886... 
1887... 

Totals. 

1888... 
1889... 

1891... 

Totals. 

1892... 
1893... 
1894... 
1895... 

338,652  49 

100,417  56 
93,056  75 
97,320  78 

113,330  16 

54,990  07 

20,628  70 
21,584  75 
20,966  36 
22,928  98 

12,497  34 

3,397  28 
2,763  94 
1,920  61 
1,942  01 

43,703  41 

11,319  20 
9,334  18 
13,184  91 
14,060  20 

1,964  82 

1,954  94 
2,141  63 
1,641  88 
1,628  52 

1,233  61 

806  27 
551  30 
566  24 
539  38 

7,094  38 

1,894  65 
1,779  25 
1,911  68 
2,945  49 

460,136  10 

140,418  60 
131,211  80 
137,512  46 
157,374  74 

404,125  25 

117,255  12 
148,405  73 

19ft  OOQ  AQ 
xOO^Mo  to 

128,198  12 

86,108  79 

24,398  12 
24,558  98 
26,423  34 
28,473  21 

10,023  84 

2,754  05 
4^070  01 
3,514  19 
3,257  15 

47,898  49 

13,908  79 
14^232  79 
l%dZ\t  (Jo 
14,372  31 

7,366  97 

1,691  71 

1  a  on  oct 

2,078  05 

2,463  19 

494  33 
515  50 

1,000  00 

8,531  07 

2  489  70 
2^970  56 

1,120  13 

566,517  60 

163,080  26 
196',445  28 

ICR  QKQ  CO 

178,498  97 

520,082  45 

136,333  40 
169,701  65 
120,758  93 
103,339  24 

103,853  65 

27,456  36 
31,201  17 
34,068  90 
37,850  38 

13,595  40 

4,437  83 
5,121  37 
4,770  58 
4,721  92 

56,842  95 

14,953  97 
18,166  67 
20,075  68 
20,195  88 

6,980  17 

2,539  55 
1,543  91 
1,197  44 
1,919  95 

3,317  13 

1,267  81 
929  52 

1,389  91 
562  85 

8,711  35 

1,134  61 
1,235  02 
614  8X 
685  76 

713,383  10 

188,123  53 
227,899  31 
182,876  25 
169,335  98 

Totals. 
G.T'ls. 

530,193  22 

130,576  81 

19,051  70 

73,392  20 

7,200  85 

4,150  09 

3,670  20 

768,235  07 

2,557,193  80 

470,155  00 

84,220  94 

£38,372  66 

35,722  30 

18,360  09 

29,018  78 

3,533,043  57 

*  Less  receipts  froin  advertising. 


II.  LOAN  FUND. 


Loans  to 

From  Organization  to  churches. 

Jan.  1,  1872  $146,822  00 

Tear.   

1872   $30,885  00 

1873   37,630  00 

1874   29,125  90 

1875   27,060  00 

Total  $124,700  90 


1876   $27,350  00 

1877  \   33,495  00 

1878   34,745  00 

1879   15,100  00 


Total  $110,690  00 


Year. 


Loans  to 
churches. 


1880   $48,750  00 

1881   64,600  00 

1882   65,150  00 

1883   90,685  00 


Total  $269,185  00 


1884  $113,935  00 

1885   105,100  00 

1886   85,185  00 

1887   111,650  00 


Total  $415,870  00 


646 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


II.  loan  fund. —  Continued. 


Amount  brought  forward.$l,067,267  90 

1888   $99,225  00 

1889   99,570  00 

1890   97,995  00 

1891   96,726  58 


1892   $99,727  65 

1893   140,531  71 

1894   87,104  21 

1895   41,916  38 


Total   $369,279  95 


Total  $393,516  58  Grand  total  $1,830,064 

Total  Disbursements. 

On  General  Fund  $3,533,043 

On  Loan  Fund   1,830,064 


Property  held  belonging  to  General  Fund , 
Property  held  belonging  to  Loan  Fund. .  . . 
Loan,  1026  Arch  St.  Property  (balance). 

Balance 


In  General  Fund  $13,493 

Loan  Fund   79,579 


(In 
tin 


2,606 
81,926 
14,689 


93,072  88 


$5,555,403  25 

CONSOLIDATED  ANNUAL  STATEMENT  OF  LOAN  FUND. 
The  following  annual  exhibit  will  indicate  the  development 
and  practical  operation  of  the  Fund  from  year  to  year;  the  fig- 
ures being  for  the  calendar  year  up  to  1882,  and  since  then  for 
the  fiscal  year  closing  October  31. 

Eeceipts. 


Year. 


1868-1871 

1872  

1873  

1874  

1875  

1876  

1877  

1878  

1879  

1880  

1881  

1882  

1883  

1884  

1885  

1886  

1887  

1888  

1889  

1890  

1891  

1892  

1893  

1894  

1895  


Unconditional 


'$47,667  46 
24,723  18 
fl2,380  50 
,  8,254  85 
{16,300  66 
§8,778  04 
5,240  00 
3,161  10 
5,374  uO 
16.954  00 
8,975  00 
6,255  00 
5,725  00 
7,915  00 
7,900  00 
3,150  00 
1,316  36 
5,070  00 
839  85 
9,681  04 
19,350  00 
10,375  00 
10',811  70 
5.913  87 
1,314  16 


Subject  to 
Annuity. 


Loans 
returned. 


$253,425  77 


||$58,479  81 
11,682  32 
22,943  50 

H5,221  50 
17,750  00 
4,000  00 
**19,600  00 
9,700  00 

{20,635  50 
11,648  55 
23,955  09 

{48,596  48 
58,069  10 
17,772  45 
11,531  391 
20,966  72; 
41,217  12; 
26,870  21 j 
17,202  89 
46,038  02! 
33,526  39! 
27,609  06 
67,006  15 
63,790  00 
21,850  00 


$707,662  25 


$12,289  28 
6,813  05 
7,417  10 
16,478  70 
15,103  73 
15,961  71 
26,730  00 
21,157  61 
27,703  41 
33,238  84 
38,817  33 
36,838  02 
44,268  58 
34,404  64 
39,183  35 
53,455  66 
58,602  76 
62,985  11 
74,434  43 
57.569  11 
65,156  07 
75,624  87 
72,012  07 
41,289  28 
51,037  28 


$988,571  99 


Total. 


$118,436  55 
43,218  55 
42,741  10 
29,955  05 
49,154  39 
28,739  75 
51,570  00 
34,018  71 
53,712  91 
61,841  39 
71,747  42 
91,689  50 
108,062  68 
60,092  09 
58,614  74 
77,572  38 
101,136  24 
94,925  32 
92,477  17 
113,288  17 
118,032  46 
113,608  93 
149,829  92 
110,993  15 
74,201  44 


$1,949,660  01 


Loans  to 
churches. 


$146,822  00 
30,885  00 
37,630  00 
29,125  90 
27,060  00 
27,350  00 
33,495  00 
34,745  00 
15,100  00 
48.750  00 
64,600  00 
65,150  00 
90,685  00 
113,935  00 
105,100  00 
85,185  00 
111,650  00 
99.225  00 
99,570  00 
97,995  00 

96.726  58 

99.727  65 
140,531  71 

87,104  21 
41,916  38 


$1,830,064  43 


*  Less  $2,779.78  returned  to  Griffith  heirs  in  1888. 

+  Not  including  $1,001)  transferred  to  General  Fund  in  1886  by  direction  of  donor. 
X  Less  depreciation  of  property  sold  with  concurrence  of  donor. 
§  Not  including  $2,000  transferred  to  General  Fund  in  1886  by  direction  of  donor. 
II  Not  including  $1,000  returned  in  1886  on  application  of  annuitant. 
*f  Not  including  SL00O  returned  in  1880  on  application  of  annuitant. 
**  Not  including  $500  returned  in  1881  on  application  of  annuitant. 


1896.]       Report  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension.  647 
SUMMARY  OF  LOAN  FUNDS  TO  NOVEMBER  1,  1895. 


Upper  Iowa  

Monroe  

Mc  Williams  

Perkins*  

Tasker  

A.  V.  Stout  

Colgate  

Bedford  Street  

Drakeley  

Patton  

Remington  

Freeborn  Garrettson 

Joel  Manning  

Gurley  

Drummond  

Lyman  Bennett  

Joseph  Jones  

Rev.  John  Stewart  

Frontier  

Furber  

Hiram  Royce  

Marion  Whitney  +  

De  Pauw  \  

Gather.  Dreibelbis. .  . . 
Spink  and  Sexmith . . . 

W.  H.  Hunter  

David  Rutledge§  

Swisher  

Gillam  

Benj.  and  M.  Harter.. 

Edward  Otheman  

Vandewater  

McCabe  

General  H  


1866-85 

1868-  1 

1869-  91 
1869-95 
1869-78 
1869- 
1869-83 

1869-  81 

1870-  76 
1870-71 
1871 
1871 
1872-92 

1872-  94 

1873-  90 
1873-88 
1875-95 
1877-82 
1880 
1880-86 

1882-  93 
1883 

1883-  94 
1885 
1886 
1887-88 

1890-  92 

1891-  93 
1891-95 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894-95 
1869-95 


Cash  capital 
of  Fund. 


$12,606  50 
8,975  00 
8,000  00 
23,575  07 
18,000  00 
10,000  00 
6,750  00 
5,064  59 
5,600  00 
5,400  00 
30,000  00 
20,000  00 
9,500  00 
22,000  00 
15,469  50 
10,000  00 
18,712  66 
10,000  00 
10,000  00 
10,000  00 
11,150  00 
5,000  00 
49,000  00 
5,000  00 
10,000  00 
5,000  00 
7,837  79 
6.313  20 
8,' 000  00 
5,000  00 
9,000  00 
5,000  00 
10,000  00 
483,207  12 


$879,161  43 
Property  not  in  use  (see  footnotes)   81,926  59 


Total  amount  in  Loan  Fund , 


Amount  of 
Loans. 


$40,851  00 
21,272  00 
23,150  00 
54,385  00 
72,970  00 
25,270  00 
26,804  00 
20,445  00 
23,540  00 
15,625  00 
98,850  00 
59,290  00 
23,700  00 
44,530  00 
49,025  00 
25,500  00 
31,885  00 
23,046  00 
24,400  00 
24,325  00 
22,800  00 
10,300  00 
71,360  00 
9,300  00 
16,250  00 
8,670  00 
10,250  00 
7,500  00 
8,600  00 
6,500  00 
10,600  00 
5,800  00 
7,000  00 
906,271  43 


Value  of 
property. 


$961,088  02 


$1,830,064  43 


$268,200 
153,030 
166,700 
294,450 
559,425 
231,875 
94,685 
152,750 
176,020 
143,075 
604,725 
391,775 
162,430 
292,240 
352,025 
189,330 
498,115 
144,175 
142,960 
145,825 
139,015 
69,025 
330,735 
74,400 
92,450 
69,050 
66,250 
46,750 
61,450 
47,130 
62,100 
34,850 
40,800 
4,933,400 


$11,231,215 


56 
75 
74 
127 
173 
76 
82 
89 
74 
56 
154 
117 
71 
133 
144 
81 
96 
91 
86 
77 
75 
33 
191 
41 
51 
32 
36 
24 
29 
28 
32 
18 
11 
573 


Sittings. 


17,500 
19,075 
17,875 
32  540 
47,685 
18,320 
22,650 
20,250 
17,725 
15,325 
43,745 
32,275 
17,725 
33,595 
26,250 
17,925 
24,550 
23,325 
19,100 
17,600 
18,040 
8,200 
46,550 
10,000 
12,225 
7,425 
7,800 
5,550 
6,520 
6,150 
8,200 
4,500 
4,700 
274,300 


3106  905,195 


*  Property  additional    $4,431  59  |  §  Property  additional   $6,000  00 

+      "  "    5,000  00  Ml      "  "    18,495  00 

t      "  "    48,000  00  I   

Total  $81,926  59 


648 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Sunday  School 
Union.    Journal,  page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  We  respectfully  present  to  you 
our  report  of  the  work  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  during  the  four  years  ending  May  1,  1896. 

The  General  Conference  has  charged  the  Sunday  School  Union 
with  the  supervision  of  Sunday  school  work  throughout  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  all  lands,  and  has  made  it  responsible 
for  the  establishment  of  Sunday  schools  where  they  are  needed, 
and  for  their  maintenance  where  they  cannot  otherwise  be  sup- 
ported. Supplementary  to  this  main  object  the  Sunday  School 
Union  seeks  to  unify  methods  of  organization  and  instruction 
and  to  promote  an  intelligent,  thoughtful,  earnest,  systematic 
study  of  the  Bible. 

This  work  is  carried  on  through  the  following  departments: 
1.  The  Department  of  Statistics.  2.  The  Department  of  Benevo- 
lence. 3.  The  Department  of  Instruction.  4.  The  Department 
of  Periodicals.    5.  The  Department  of  Publications. 

1.  The  Department  of  Statistics. — The  Sunday  schools  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  during  the  past  four  years  have 
made  steady  growth.    The  latest  statistics  are  as  follows: 

Increase  during 
quadrennium. 

Number  of  Sunday  schools   30,259  2,766 

Number  of  officers  and  teachers   352,627  49,046 

Number  of  scholars  of  all  ages   2,585,178  258,292 

The  statistics  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  schools  in 
foreign  lands  are  as  follows: 


Officers  and 

Schools.  teachers.  Scholars. 

Norway   57  554  5,628 

Sweden   215  1,235  16,984 

Finland   18  59  799 

Denmark   32  257  3,659 

Germany   326  1,217  14,820 

Switzerland   222  1,212  16,900 

Italy   27  64  816 

Bulgaria   10  39  249 

China   236  87  9,113 

India   2,073  2,592  75,854 

Malaysia   16  48  556 

Japan   123  423  6,144 

Africa   49  431  2,356 

Mexico   68  126  2,224 

South  America   64  411  4.635 


3,536         8,755  160,737 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Sunday  School  Union. 


649 


According  to  continental  division  we  have  the  following : 

Officers  and 
Schools.      teachers.  Scholars. 


Europe   997  4,637  59,855 

Asia   2,448  3,150  91,667 

Africa   49  431  2,356 

America   132  537  6,859 


3,536  8,755  160,737 

This  shows  an  increase  in  foreign  lands  during  the  quadren- 
nium  of  1,383  schools  and  51,009  scholars.  (The  number  of  offi- 
cers and  teachers  was  not  heretofore  reported.) 

In  the  United  States,  in  addition  to  schools  in  the  English  lan- 
guage and  among  American  Indians,  the  Sunday  school  work  of 
our  denomination  is  maintained  among  ten  different  races  speak- 
ing foreign  languages,  as  follows  : 


Officers  and 

Schools. 

teachers. 

Scholars. 

  923 

11,915 

58,338 

  174 

1,437 

10,627 

  120 

960 

5,186 

  7 

127 

1,817 

  11 

40 

425 

  4 

22 

395 

  1 

3 

26 

  1 

3 

20 

  30 

500 

1,005 

  4 

10 

170 

1,275 

15,017 

78,009 

This  shows  an  increase  among  foreigners  in  the  United  States 
who  cannot  speak  English  of  133  schools,  2,229  officers  and 
teachers,  and  8,500  scholars  during  the  quadrennium. 

The  reports  of  pastors  given  at  the  several  Annual  Conferences 
and  tabulated  in  our  office  show  the  number  of  conversions 
among  Sunday  scholars  during  the  four  years  to  be  as  follows : 
In  1892,  116,966;  in  1893,  119,741;  in  1894,  154,082;  in  1895, 
132,697.  Total,  523,486.  This  is  an  increase  of  66,486  conver- 
sions over  the  report  given  to  the  last  General  Conference. 
We  rejoice  in  these  continued  evidences  that  the  Sunday  school 
stands,  not  onl/  for  instruction,  but  also  for  evangelization,  and 
that  through  it  multitudes  are  brought  into  the  kingdom  and  the 
Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  The  Department  of  Benevolence. — Receipts  of  the 
Union  during  the  quadrennium  have  been  as  follows  (as  the 
fiscal  year  ends  November  30  the  report  for  each  year  ends  with 
that  date) : 


For  the  year  ending  November  30,  1892   $25,241  81 

For  the  year  ending  November  30,  1893   24,476  58 

For  the  year  ending  November  30,  1894   22,542  78 

For  the  year  ending  November  30,  1895   23,888  72 


650 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


The  aggregate  collections  during  the  quaclrennium  have  been 
$596, 149.89.  After  the  financial  crisis  of  1893  the  contributions 
fell,  it  will  be  noticed,  nearly  $2,000;  but  they  began  to  gain 
again  last  year;  and,  notwithstanding  the  severity  and  pressure 
of  the  times,  we  are  glad  to  report  that  the  increase  during  the 
four  years  has  been  $5,247.44 — more  than  a  thousand  dollars  for 
each  year.  But  the  contributions  of  the  Sunday  School  Union 
have  been,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  deplorably  below  the  de- 
mands of  the  work  ;  and  on  account  of  the  condition  of  the  treas- 
ury in  1892  it  was  found  to  be  necessary  to  dispense  with  the 
services  of  the  three  Field  Agents  who  were  employed  at  the 
time  of  our  last  report  to  the  General  Conference. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  1891  a  gift  of  $25,000  was  made 
to  the  Sunday  School  Union  by  Mr.  Frederick  H.  Rindge,  of 
California.  This  was  to  be  employed  for  the  establishment  of 
new  Sunday  schools  in  the  United  States  of  America;  and  during 
the  quadrennium  it  has  been  the  means  of  establishing  Sunday 
schools  as  follows: 

1892...   141 

1893   352 

1394   249 

1895   240 

Total  during  the  quadrennium   982 


In  1894  Mr.  Rindge  made  a  supplemental  gift  of  $2,500  to  be 
used  for  the  support  of  two  traveling  agents  in  the  South  to 
organize  Sunday  schools  among  the  colored  people.  To  carry  out 
the  provisions  of  his  gift  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Jacobs,  of  the  South  Caro- 
lina Conference,  was  appointed  Field  Agent  for  the  State  of  South 
Carolina,  and  the  Rev.  O.  I.  Jones,  of  the  Texas  Conference,  for  the 
State  of  Texas.  At  the  time  of  making  this  report  these  agents 
have  only  been  eight  months  at  work  ;  but  already  many  new 
Sunday  schools  have  been  established,  many  conventions  and  in- 
stitutes have  been  held  in  regions  where  instruction  and  inspira- 
tion for  the  teacher  have  been  heretofore  unknown;  there  has 
been  a  general  awakening  in  Sunday  school  work,  and  the  Con- 
ference collections  for  the  Union  have  been  handsomely  in- 
creased; so  that  the  wisdom  of  the  plan  thus  inaugurated  has  been 
abundantly  demonstrated.  Mr.  Rindge  has  generously  offered 
to  continue  his  contribution  for  the  year  beginning  July,  1896. 

In  our  own  country  the  Sunday  School  Union  gives  aid  by 
grants,  not  of  money,  but  of  literature  and  requisites,  furnishing 
lesson  helps,  periodicals,  and  library  books  to  needy  schools  in  as 
large  measure  as  its  income  will  allow.  During  the  past  quad- 
rennium we  have  given  aid  to  15,102  Sunday  schools  to  the 
value  of  $48,881.53.  In  addition  to  these  grants  the  Sunday 
School  Union,  in  con  junction  with  the  Tract  Society — using  the 
Methodist  Book  Concern  as  its  publishing  house — issues  a  peri- 
odical entitled  Good  Tidings,  which  is  furnished  every  week 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Sunday  School  Union. 


651 


without  charge  to  many  Sunday  schools  in  the  South.  The 
share  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  in  the  expenses  of  this  periodi- 
cal during  the  past  quadrennium  has  been  $8,190.98.  Its  circu- 
lation has  been  8,761,000  copies — a  weekly  average  of  42,119. 

Wliile  in  the  United  States  the  Union  makes  no  grants  of 
money,  it  is  compelled  to  pursue  a  different  plan  with  regard  to 
the  missionary  fields  in  foreign  lands.  Every  year  appropria- 
tions of  money  are  made  to  the  various  missions  to  aid  in  Sunday 
school  work.  In  some  of  the  foreign  fields  the  grants  of  the 
Sunday  School  Union  are  used  to  meet  the  expense  of  publish- 
ing lesson  literature,  which  is  sold  at  less  than  cost  to  the  schools; 
in  others  the  appropriations  are  used,  as  in  America,  in  the  form 
of  special  grants  to  the  several  Sunday  schools.  The  following 
report  will  show  the  Sunday  school  literature  printed  and  circu- 
lated in  foreign  fields : 

No.  of  Books 
or  papers.  Pages. 

Norway   8,592  451,820 

Sweden.    [No  report]      

Denmark   20,515  828,790 

Finland   30,000  340,000 

Germany   17,400  1,219,200 

Switzerland   3,744  330,200 

Italy   149,691  2,414,758 

India: 

Lucknow   24,979,500 

Calcutta   95,200  2,0S3,000 

Madras   2,932,576 

Malaysia.    [No  report]      

China : 

Foo-Chow   111,256  3,989,540 

Kiukiang   14,282  364,660 

Japan  »   245,180  4,286,880 

Korea   18,200 

South  America : 

Buenos  Ayres   3,427,260 

Mexico   263,000  1,931,500 

Total   958,860  49,597,884 


The  grants  made  in  foreign  lands  have  aggregated  $18,353.23 
— an  increase  of  $6,718.23  over  the  grants  made  during  the  pre- 
vious quadrennium. 

3.  The  Department  of  Instruction. — It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  is 
also,  by  your  appointment,  the  editor  of  our  Sunday  school  liter- 
ature; and  of  necessity  the  editorial  and  secretarial  work  run 
side  by  side  and  in  close  connection  with  each  other.  Conse- 
quently, although  the  Sunday  School  Union  is  not  in  any  sense  a 
publishing  agency,  and  receives  no  financial  profit  from  the  pub- 
lication of  our  Sunday  school  literature,  the  Board  of  Managers 
has  found  it  necessary  to  organize  Departments  of  Instruction, 
Periodicals,  and  Publications,  as  well  as  of  Statistics  and  Benev- 
olences. 


652 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


During  the  past  four  years  the  circulation  of  our  Sunday  school 
lesson  literature  has  greatly  increased,  so  that  now  it  aggregates 
3,091,702  copies  of  our  lesson  periodicals.  Inasmuch  as  the  en- 
tire membership  of  our  Sunday  schools,  teachers  and  scholars,  is 
about  2,600,000,  it  becomes  evident  that  we  are  not  only  sup- 
plying in  fair  measure  our  own  schools,  but  also  many  Sunday 
schools  of  other  denominations,  and  Union  Sunday  schools  as 
well. 

Our  Department  of  Instruction  cares  especially  for  those  peri- 
odicals and  serials  which,  published  for  the  benefit  of  teachers 
and  scholars,  are  regarded  as  the  "  lesson  helps  "  of  our  Church. 
As  at  present  arranged  they  are  the  Sunday  School  Journal,  the 
Senior  Lesson  Quarterly,  the  Intermediate  Lesson  Quarterly,  the 
Beginner's  Lesson  Quarterly,  the  Picture  Lesson  Paper,  the  Leaf 
Cluster,  and  the  Bible  Picture  Cards.  To  these  should  be  added 
our  annual  publications,  the  Illustrative  Notes,  the  Senior  Lesson 
Book,  the  Berean  Question  Book,  and  the  Berean  Beginners 
Book.  During  the  quadrennium  nearly  all  of  these  periodicals  have 
made  a  constant  gain  in  circulation.  Beyond  question  the  teach- 
ers and  scholars  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  a  body, 
are  now  using  our  own  lesson  literature.  The  Illustrative  Notes, 
in  particular,  has  doubled  its  circulation  during  this  quadrennium, 
and  has  now  reached  front  rank  among  lesson  commentaries. 
The  Church  may  well  be  proud  that  a  work  at  once  so  scholarly 
and  so  popular  is  the  product  of  our  Sunday  School  Depart- 
ment. 

In  concluding  this  section  of  our  report  we  urge  that  renewed 
effort  be  made  to  have  the  Bible  itself  used  in  the  Sunday  school, 
both  by  the  teacher  and  the  scholar.  The  place  of  the  lesson 
leaf,  whether  it  be  for  teacher  or  for  scholar,  is  at  home,  and  for 
study  during  the  week.  In  the  class  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible 
only,  should  be  used. 

4.  The  Department  of  Periodicals. — To  this  department 
belong  the  papers  which  are  circulated  in  our  Sunday  schools  for 
general  reading,  but  which  are  not  particularly  connected  with 
instruction  in  the  Sunday  school  lessons.  Two  such  papers  are 
published,  the  Classmate  for  those  over  twelve  years  of  age, 
and  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  for  those  under  twelve.  These 
two  papers  are  edited  with  rare  ability,  and  should  be  widely 
circulated.  The  young  people  as  well  as  the  children  need  a 
paper,  and  for  them  the  Classmate  should  be  made  a  weekly,  as 
the  Advocate  is.  We  would  recommend  that  both  these  papers 
be  enlarged  and  published  at  as  cheap  a  rate  as  is  consistent  with 
their  expense. 

5.  The  Department  of  Publications. — To  this  department 
particularly  belong  the  Sunday  school  library  books  and  other 
bound  volumes  intended  for  circulation  in  the  Sunday  school.  It 
is  true  that  Sunday  school  libraries  are  not  relatively  in  as  great 
demand  as  in  former  times,  for  in  many  places  religious  papers 
have  been  substituted  for  books;  but  there  are  still  thousands  of 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Sunday  School  Union. 


653 


places  where  the  Sunday  school  library  book  is  almost  the  only 
book  that  is  read  by  the  entire  family  through  the  week.  We 
therefore  urge  that  libraries  be  maintained  wherever  practicable, 
that  they  be  very  carefully  selected,  and  that  only  such  books  as 
promote  a  true  Christian  character  be  permitted  upon  the  shelves 
of  our  libraries.  During  the  four  years  many  most  excellent 
books  for  Sunday  school  libraries  have  been  published  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Department  of  Publication  of  the  Sunday  School 
Union. 

6.  The  Home  Department. — To  the  departments  above 
named  two  others,  now,  in  process  of  organization,  may  properly 
be  added.  Oue  is  the  Home  Department,  which  is  now  recog- 
nized as  a  legitimate  development  of  Sunday  school  work.  There 
are  in  every  congregation  many  who,  through  age  or  infirmity, 
or  from  other  causes,  are  unable  to  attend  the  Sunday  school. 
Many  of  these,  wherever  they  are,  might  give  the  hour  of  the 
Sunday  school  to  the  study  of  the  lesson,  and  for  their  benefit 
there  has  been  established  by  the  representatives  of  Sunday  school 
work  in  all  the  leading  denominations  this  special  Home  De- 
partment. Its  members  are  regularly  registered  as  connected  with 
the  Sunday  school ;  they  receive  the  lesson  leaves  as  the  other 
scholars  receive  them;  they  are  invited  to  all  the  Sunday  school 
entertainments,  and  are  in  every  way  recognized  as  connected 
with  the  school.  We  are  not  able  to  give  the  statistics  of  this 
department,  for  they  are  not  yet  included  in  the  reports  of  Con- 
ferences. We  hope  the  time  is  not  far  off  when  in  each  Sunday 
school  of  the  Church  there  will  be  organized  the  Home  Class,  or 
Home  Department  ;  that  it  will  be  regularly  reported  in  the  Con- 
ference Minutes,  and  its  statistics  will  be  included  in  the  Year 
Book  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and  the  General  Minutes  of 
the  Church. 

7.  The  Normal  Department. — Another  department  of  grow- 
ing importance  in  our  work  is  the  Normal  Department.  Sunday 
school  teachers  need  special  training  for  their  work  in  this  age 
of  general  intelligence  and  of  thorough  preparation.  While  our 
young  people  are  attending  through  the  week  secular  schools, 
where  teachers  have  been  thoroughly  equipped,  we  cannot  afford 
to  have  in  the  Sunday  school  untrained  and  unfit  teachers."  The 
Normal  Department  proposes  to  furnish  courses  of  instruction 
for  Sunday  school  teachers,  both  in  the  Bible  and  in  Sunday 
school  work.  It  plans  both  for  classes  to  be  organized  in  con- 
nection with  the  Sunday  school,  and  for  individual  students  who 
may  pursue  the  work  each  one  by  himself.  It  furnishes  courses 
of  study,  examinations,  certificates,  and  diplomas  for  those  who 
take  the  course.  Efforts  should  be  made  for  the  establishment 
of  a  Normal  Class  for  the  training  of  teachers  under  the  auspices 
of  t lie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  each  one  of  our  Sunday 
schools.  A  large  Sunday  school  may  have  a  large  class,  but  there 
is  no  reason  why  even  a  small  school  should  not  have  a  class  ade- 
quate to  supply  the  school's  need  of  teachers. 


654 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


8.  Sunday  School  Work  in  the  German  Branch  of  Our 
Church  is  Prospering. — More  than  ever  German  Methodists  look 
upon  the  Sunday  school  as  the  true  nursery  of  the  Church,  and  do 
what  they  can  to  further  the  good  cause.  Sunday  school  conferences 
and  institutes  are  held  wherever  and  whenever  practicable  ;  and 
at  every  district  conference  and  district  meeting  the  Sunday 
school  cause  is  sure  to  be  one  of  the  topics  for  discussion.  The 
German  Assistant  Secretary  visits  as  many  of  these  gatherings  as 
is  possible.  Our  Sunday  school  periodicals,  House  and  Hearth, 
Sunday  School  Bell,  Bible  Lessons  and  Leaf  Cluster,  are  well 
sustained  and  gladly  read.  Four  years  ago  we  had  schools, 
1,396  ;  officers  and  teachers,  12,848;  scholars,  81,136.  At  present 
we  have  schools,  1,473  ;  gain,  76.  Officers  and  teachers,  14,342  ; 
gain,  1,494.  Scholars,  89,692  ;  gain,  8,556.  Total  of  officers, 
teachers,  and  scholars,  104,034.  The  Rev.  Dr.  F.  L.  Nagler,  who 
was  chosen  to  succeed  the  lamented  Dr.  Liebhart,  has  done 
splendid  service  to  our  cause. 

9.  A  Proposed  Amendment  to  the  Discipline. — Frequent 
questions  come  to  our  office  with  regard  to  the  interpretation  of 
Paragraph  329  of  the  Discipline,  as  to  whether  the  newly  chosen 
superintendent  takes  office  immediately  upon  nomination  by  the 
Sunday  School  Board  or  upon  confirmation  of  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference; also  as  to  which  body  really  elects  the  superintendent. 
We  recommend  the  following  amendment  to  the  Discipline,  Sec- 
tion 3  to  take  the  place  of  the  present  Section  3  of  Paragraph 
329,  and  Section  4  to  be  inserted  as  a  separate  section,  to  follow 
Section  3,  the  last  four  sections  of  the  paragraph  to  be  numbered 
respectively  5,  6,  7,  and  8. 

§  3.  The  superintendent  shall  be  elected  annually  by  the  Sunday  School  Board 
and  approved  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  at  its  next  session  after  such  election  ; 
in  case  of  a  vacancy  the  pastor  shall  superintend  or  secure  the  superintending  of 
the  school  until  such  time  as  the  superintendent  elected  by  the  Sunday  School 
Board  shall  be  approved  by  the  Quarterly  Conference. 

§  4.  The  term  of  office  of  the  newly  elected  superintendent  shall  begin  as  soon 
as  the  Quarterly  Conference  shall  have  approved  his  election.  Until  such  approval 
the  former  superintendent  shall  hold  office. 

10.  Another  Change  Recommended. — We  would  also  recom- 
mend a  change  in  the  form  of  Statistics  No.  2,  under  Paragraph 
84.  Great  difficulty  is  found  in  reporting  separately  the  number 
of  officers,  the  number  of  teachers,  and  the  total  officers  and 
teachers,  because  in  many  schools  one  person  is  at  the  same  time 
a  teacher  and  an  officer.  Also  with  regard  to  the  number  of 
scholars  in  the  primary  grade,  in  all  other  grades,  and  the  total 
number  of  scholars,  difficulty  is  found,  because  the  majority  of 
schools,  not  being  graded,  make  little  distinction  between  the 
primary  grade  and  the  rest  of  the  school.  Neither  do  we  con- 
sider it  important  to  state  the  number  of  library  books  in  all 
Sunday  schools,  inasmuch  as  many  schools  are  now  using  period- 
icals distributed  to  the  schools  in  place  of  library  books. 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Sunday  School  Union, 


655 


We  recommend,  therefore,  that  the  blank  form  of  Statistics 
No.  2,  concerning  the  Sunday  school,  contain  the  following 
items:  . 

1.  Number  of  schools. 

2.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers. 

3.  Number  of  scholars  in  all  grades. 

4.  Number  of  members  in  the  Home  Department. 

5.  Average  attendance. 

6.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers  who  are  Church  members 

or  probationers. 

7.  Number  of  scholars  (whether  attendants  or  members  in 

the  Home  Department)  who  are  Church  members  or 
probationers. 

8.  Number  of  conversions  in  Sunday  school  during  this  year. 

9.  Current  expenses. 

11.  Our  Poverty  of  Resource. — It  is  a  source  of  much  re- 
gret that  the  Sunday  School  Union  is  compelled  to  curtail  its  ap- 
propriations at  a  time  when  the  demands  upon  it  have  greatly 
increased. 

The  foreign  fields,  where  the  influence  of  Methodism  is  being 
rapidly  extended,  are  crying  out  for  help  to  establish  schools  in 
and  around  mission  stations,  and  to  supply  them  with  religious 
literature;  but  we  are  compelled  to  respond  to  their  appeals  with 
grants  which  are  entirely  insufficient  to  meet  the  needs. 

In  our  own  country  on  every  hand  our  work  and  responsibili- 
ties are  increasing.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  generous  gift  already 
referred  to,  made  by  Mr.  Rindge,  of  California,  to  aid  in  estab- 
lishing new  schools,  we  would  have  been  obliged  to  let  hundreds 
of  noble  opportunities  for  the  advancement  of  Christianity  to 
pass  for  the  lack  of  means. 

Further,  the  demand  for  the  requisites  in  Sunday  schools  al- 
ready established  is  very  great.  Schools  are  ineffective  for  want 
of  absolute  necessities,  such  as  lesson  leaves,  and  the  means  to 
meet  these  demands  is  so  limited  that  we  have  to  dole  out  gi  ants 
in  very  scanty  measure,  in  order  that  as  many  as  possible  may 
get  even  a  moderate  supply.  So  pressing  are  these  needs  upon 
us  that  we  have  often  been  forced  to  discuss  the  question  of 
withholding  all  aid  from  the  Sunday  schools  of  foreign  nations  so 
as  to  distribute  all  the  help  at  our  disposal  in  our  own  country. 

As  has  been  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of  this  report,  the 
contributions  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  have  increased  during 
the  quadrennium  ;  but  the  needs  have  much  more  rapidly  in- 
creased. The  average  amount  given  annually  by  each  charge 
for  the  great  interests  of  Sunday  school  work  is  exceedingly 
small,  being  only  $1.70,  and  the  average  contribution  by  each 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  less  than  one  cent 
each  year.  We  find  that  4,073  charges  take  no  collection  what- 
ever for  the  Sunday  School  Union.  At  the  time  of  preparing 
this  report  our  treasury  is  in  debt,  with  diminishing  receipts  and 
increasing  appeals  for  aid. 
42 


656 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1890. 


If  we  seek  for 

12.  The  Causes  of  this  Deplorable  Condition  of  Affairs 
— we  find  many  ready  answers  : 

1.  )  There  has  been,  and  to  some  extent  there  continues  to  be,  a 
strange  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of  preachers  and  people  in 
the  specific  work  of  the  Sunday  School  Union.  So  many  claims 
are  made  upon  our  churches  that  official  boards,  in  many  cases, 
countenance  the  presentation  of  the  claims  of  the  larger  societies 
only,  and  preachers,  confronted  with  serious  difficulty  in  getting 
a  fair  opportunity  to  present  even  these  causes,  ignore  entirely 
those  which  are  popularly  considered  to  be  of  minor  impor- 
tance. 

2.  )  Even  when  there  is  some  measure  of  appreciation  of  the  im- 
portance of  our  work,  there  is  such  an  utter  lack  of  knowledge  of 
the  demands  made  by  it  that  the  opinion  seems  to  prevail  that  a 
few  dollars  meet  the  responsibility  of  even  well-to-do  churches; 
and  effort  worthy  of  the  cause  is  hardly  anywhere  put  forth. 

3.  )  The  overshadowing  influence  of  some  of  the  great  connec- 
tional  collections,  to  say  nothing  of  the  additional  effort  to  pay 
the  debts  of  the  larger  societies,  make  it  almost  impossible  to  se- 
cure a  hearing  in  our  local  churches  for  this  most  important  cause. 

4.  )  In  at  least  four  particulars  there  is,  in  the  provisions  of  the 
Discipline,  an  unintentional  but  very  unfortunate  discrimination 
against  the  Sunday  School  Union,  which  must  be  enumerated 
among  the  causes  of  its  failure  to  receive  a  larger  income  for  its 
increasing  work.  (1)  There  is  no  distinct  chapter  setting  forth 
the  object  and  aims  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  work,  nor,  in- 
deed, is  there  anywhere  a  definition  of  its  aims.  (2)  There  is  no 
provision  for  the  distribution  by  the  presiding  elders  of  the  sev- 
eral Conferences  of  an  apportioment,  and  no  authorization  for  the 
making  of  such  apportionment.  (3)  The  obligations  of  the  pas- 
tors to  report  the  amount  of  the  collection  from  their  charges  to 
the  Annual  Conference  is  nowhere  specified,  excepting  as  it  may 
be  implied  in  the  statistical  blanks.  (4)  The  requirement  that 
each  pastor  shall  announce  in  open  Conference  at  the  time  of  the 
passage  of  his  character  the  amount  of  the  collection  in  his  charge 
for  Missions  inevitably  tends  to  belittle  all  the  other  objects  for 
which  he  is  expected  to  secure  the  offerings  of  the  people.  The 
last  clause  in  Paragraph  350  of  the  Discipline  seems  to  us,  there- 
fore, unjust  unless  the  societies  which  are  equally  representative 
of  large  interests  of  the  Church,  even  though  they  occupy  more 
limited  sphere,  are  given  the  benefit  of  the  same  open  report. 

In  all  this  attempted  presentation  of  our  difficulties  for  the 
careful  survey  of  the  General  Conference  it  is  farthest  possible 
from  our  intent  to  undervalue  the  importance  or  lessen  the  op- 
portunities of  any  other  cause. 

We  are  scarcely  prepared  to  suggest  any  definite  cause  that 
will  remedy  this  unfortunate  state  of  affairs. 

We  have  endeavored,  by  the  issue  of  bulletins,  to  keep  the  min- 
isters advised  of  our  needs.    We  are  compelled,  however,  to  con- 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Sunday  School  Union.  657 


elude  that,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  information  does  not 
reach  the  membership. 

We  have  made  a  tentative  effort  to  have  special  collections 
taken  for  our  society  in  connection  with  the  Christmas  festivals 
of  the  Sunday  schools;  but  thus  far  without  any  very  great  re- 
sults. 

We  believe  that  our  denomination  will  never  occupy  safe 
ground  on  the  general  question  of  benevolence  until  a  compara- 
tive ratio  for  the  several  collections  has  been  fixed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  a  percentage  of  the  whole  amount  for  each,  so 
that  out  of  a  unit  which  would  represent  the  entire  benevolence 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  a  stated  fraction  shall  repre- 
sent the  proportion  which,  in  the  godly  judgment  of  the  General 
Conference,  revised  at  each  session,  each  special  cause  should 
aim  for  and  expect.  This  would  not  radically  change  any  of  the 
machinery  now  in  use  iirthe  Church  for  the  collecting  of  money. 
It  would  not  in  any  way  prevent  the  making  of  specific  donations 
to  particular  objects.  It  would  not  divert  a  single  penny  from 
the  cause  to  which  it  had  been  devoted  by  the  giver.  But  it 
would  give  an  equal  indorsement  to  all  our  collections,  and  this 
is  absolutely  necessary  if  the  smaller  societies  are  to  hold  up 
their  heads. 

13.  What  the  Board  asks  op  the  General  Conference. — 
We  therefore  request  the  General  Conference, 

1.  )  To  incorporate  in  the  Discipline  a  chapter  on  the  aims  and 
constitution  of  the  Sunday  School  Union. 

2.  )  To  make  it  obligatory  upon  the  presiding  elders  to  appor- 
tion to  the  charges  in  their  several  districts  the  amounts  expected 
from  the  Conference  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  case  of  the 
other  societies. 

3.  )  To  make  it  obligatory  upon  every  preacher  to  present  and 
take  every  regularly  authorized  benevolent  collection  of  the 
Church. 

4.  )  To  place  the  Sunday  School  Union  upon  an  equality  with 
all  the  other  societies  in  the  matter  of  the  report  to  the  Annual 
Conference,  either  by  requiring  each  pastor  to  announce  openly 
the  amount  raised  for  each  of  the  benevolent  causes,  or  by  ex- 
cluding such  reports  altogether. 

We  respectfully  urge  that  earnest  attention  be  given  to  this 
question  in  order  that  sufficient  funds  may  be  raised  to  meet 
pressing  claims,  and  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  fifty  thousand 
dollars  could  be  judiciously  used  at  the  present  time. 

14.  Members  who  have  Died. — During  the  four  years  death 
has  taken  from  our  number  two  of  our  most  beloved  and  useful 
members,  the  Rev.  Francis  Bottome,  D.D.,  a  sweet-spirited 
Christian,  a  refined  gentleman,  and  an  honored  minister  of  Christ; 
and  Mr.  John  E.  Stevens,  whose  able  life  had  been  intertwined 
with  the  success  of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  at  New  York, 
for  forty  years,  and  whose  interest  in  Sunday  school  work  was  at 
once  intelligent,  intense,  and  unceasing.  Dr.  Henry  Li ebhart,  the 


658 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


accomplished  German  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School 
Union,  was  suddenly  called  to  the  other  world  from  the  very 
midst  of  his  activities.  His  great  abilities  and  usefulness  are 
well-known  throughout  the  Church.  The  loss  that  our  special 
work  has  sustained  by  his  sudden  death  is  very  great. 

15.  Concerning  the  Secretary  and  the  Office  Work. — 
With  great  satisfaction  we  have  watched  through  the  quadren- 
nium  the  work  of  our  Corresponding  Secretary,  the  Rev.  Jesse 
Lyman  Hurlbut,  D.D.,  and  that  of  his  faithful  and  gifted  assist- 
ants. Dr.  Hurlbut  in  1892  was  for  the  second  time  elected  to 
the  corresponding  secretaryship  of  our  Society,  and  has  proved 
himself  to  be  pre-eminently  fitted  for  the  place.  All  the  helpers 
in  the  office  deserve  our  heartiest  commendation.  To  Mr.  Daniel 
Denham,  the  Treasurer,  the  Board  of  Managers  owes  and  tenders 
its  special  thanks.  His  duties  have  been  often  of  the  most  in- 
volved and  troublesome  sort,  and  his  time  and  financial  skill  have 
been  freely  given  to  the  Union.  The  various  activities  of  the 
Union — office  work  as  well  as  field  work — have  been  carefully 
passed  under  review  at  our  regular  monthly  meetings,  and  we  re- 
turn to  the  General  Conference  the  trust  confided  to  us  four 
years  ago  with  thanks  to  God  that,  even  in  the  midst  of  financial 
stringency,  so  much  of  permanent  good  has  been  wrought  by  the 
Sunday  School  Union. 

Thomas  Bowman, 

President. 
Robert  R.  Doherty, 

Recording  Secretary. 
F.  Mason  North, 

Chairman  of  Committee. 


1896] 


Report  of  the  Tract  Society. 


659 


Report  of  the  Board  or  Managers  of  the  Tract  Society. 
Journal,  page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  We  present  to  you  the  fol- 
lowing report  of  work  accomplished  under  the  direction  of  the 
Tract  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  during  the 
quadrennium  ending  May  1,  1896  : 

Our  Society  is  not  a  publishing  house.  It  buys  in  quantity  the 
tracts  and  other  literature  published  by  the  Methodist  Book  Con- 
cern, and  makes  its  grants  in  the  United  States  only  from  such 
publications.  In  foreign  lands  grants  are  made  in  money,  to  be 
used  as  the  authorities  in  charge  of  the  various  missions  may  de- 
sire in  the  publication  of  periodical  literature,  tracts,  and  books. 
All  the  funds  of  the  Tract  Society  come  from  the  contributions  of 
the  churches.  We  have  no  invested  property,  have  lately  received 
no  large  legacies,  and  are  dependent  entirely  upon  the  gifts  of 
the  Church  for  our  support. 

During  the  quadrennium  now  ending  the  collections  for  the 
Tract  Society  were  as  follows,  each  fiscal  year  ending  November 
30:  * 


1892   $21,950  39 

1893   21,420  47 

1894   19,206  71 

1895   20,653  23 


$83,230  80 

Notwithstanding  the  depression  of  the  times  the  increase  over 
the  contributions  of  the  previous  quadrennium  was  $2,306.65. 

We  regret  to  say  that  the  average  collection  from  each  charge, 
as  reported  in  the  Minutes,  has  been  only  $1.55,  and  the  average 
contribution  from  each  member  of  the  Church  has  been  a  little 
less  than  nine  mills.  Every  year  an  average  of  4,765  charges 
take  no  collection  for  the  Tract  Society.  Some  of  these  take 
collections  for  local  tract  organizations  and  for  various  tract 
societies,  but  we  report  only  the  amounts  received  at  the  office 
of  our  Society  and  disbursed  under  its  direction. 

During  the  past  four  years  the  tracts  printed  by  the  Methodist 
Book  Concern,  and  the  number  of  pages  contained  in  them,  were 
as  follows: 

No.  of  Tracts 


printed.  Pages. 

1892                                                            1,170,000  11,912,000 

1893                                                          1,549,000  11,525,750 

1894                                                            1,244,200  10,993,500 

1895                                                            1,522,100  10,401,000 


5,485,300  44,832,250 

These  tracts  have  been  distributed  under  the  direction  of  our 
Society  as  follows  (the  churches  receiving  grants  are  indicated 


660      ,         Journal  of  the  General  Confere?ice.  [1896. 

in  the  first  column,  the  pages  of  tracts  distributed  ip  the  sec- 
ond) : 

'  Churches.  Pages. 

1892   2,200  16,250,700 

1893   2,400  16,230,773 

1894   2,575  14,327,375 

1895   2,400  13,840,225 


9,575  60,649,073 

We  recognize  the  importance  of  the  press  in  our  foreign  mis- 
sion fields,  for  the  universal  testimony  of  our  missionaries  is  that 
by  means  of  the  printed  page  the  Gospel  is  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  more  people  than  through  any  other  instrumentality. 
While  the  tract  and  the  paper  may  not  in  all  instances  be  the 
direct  means  of  bringing  souls  to  Christ,  although  they  are  such 
direct  means  in  many  cases,  yet  they  call  the  attention  of  untold 
multitudes  to  the  Gospel  and  lead  them  to  the  missionary.  Al- 
most the  entire  support  of  our  mission  presses  in  foreign  lands 
has  come  upon  the  Tract  Society,  and  we  have  therefore  given  as. 
liberally  as  our  funds  would  admit  to  this  purpose.  Our  expen- 
ditures in  the  foreign  fields  during  the  past  quadrennium  have 
been  $31,489,  which  is  an  increase  of  more  than  $12,000  upon  the 
gifts  of  the  Tract  Society  to  the  various  fields  during  the  previous 
quadrennium.  At  the  same  time  we  have  expended  among  the 
immigrants  in  our  own  country  $4,145,  distributing  to  them 
tracts  and  papers  in  nine  or  ten  different  languages.  On  the 
home  field  in  general  we  have  given  $19,184.62. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  reports  received  from  the 
various  mission  fields  as  to  the  number  of  tracts  which  have  been 
issued  and  the  number  of  pages  contained  in  them: 

No.  of  Books 


or  Papers.  Pages. 

Norway                                                         340,000  1,306,000 

Sweden                                                         597,000  3,880,000 

Denmark                                                       242,160  955,520 

Finland                                                         120,200  3,016,400 

Germany                                                    3,625,825  29,032,600 

Switzerland   5,068,560 

Italy                                                             338,331  3,989,219 

Bulgaria                                                         12,000  1,470,000 

India : 

Lucknow   15,800,000 

Calcutta   372,868      .  2,748,134 

Madras                                                         805,350  6,490,600 

Malaysia                                                         26,850  312,600 

China : 

Foo-Chow                                                  154,040  10,608,145 

Kiukiang                                                          14,710  429,642 

Peking                                                          59,945  1,387,469 

Japan                                                             345,050  10,993,700 

Korea                                                              6,000  283,000 

South  America: 

Buenos  Ayres   2,400,792 

Mexico                                                       713,775  7,608,900 


Total 


7,774,104  107,781,281 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Tract  Society. 


661 


In  addition  to  the  tracts  which  have  been  distributed  under  the 
auspices  of  this  Society  it  has  contributed  very  largely  in  the  aid 
of  religious  periodical  literature  among  our  foreign  population. 
It  has  given  to  Swedish,  Norwegian,  Danish,  French,  and  Spanish 
papers,  all  circulated  in  the  United  States. 

In  conjunction  with  the  Sunday  School  Union  it  has  published 
during  the  quadrennium  a  paper  for  free  distribution  among  the 
needy  churches  in  the  South.  This  paper  is  called  Good 
Tidings,  and  it  has  had  a  circulation  of  42,119  copies  of  each 
weekly  issue,  making  an  aggregate  of  8,761,000  numbers  through 
the  years,  containing  35,044,000  pages. 

Our  Society  is  grateful  to  the  Church  for  its  contributions  to 
this  cause,  and  hopes  for  such  increase  in  their  amounts  as  will 
enable  us  to  greatly  enlarge  our  donations  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  Our  Society  needs  at  least  $50,000  per  annum  to  carry 
on  its  work,  and  we  hope  that  measures  may  be  taken  to  realize 
this  amount  from  the  Church  at  large. 

The  anniversary  of  the  Society  has  been  held  in  the  fall  of 
each  year  during  the  quadrennium.  For  the  first  two  years  it 
was  held  in  conjunction  with  the  anniversary  of  the  Sunday 
School  Union,  but  for  the  last  two  years  the  anniversaries  of  the 
two  societies  have  been  sej^arate.  In  1892  it  was  held  in  Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn.;  in  1893,  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.;  in  1894,  in  Trenton, 
X.  J.;  in  1895,  in  Cincinnati,  O. 

We  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the  General  Conference  to 
the  discrepancies  which  appear  between  the  treasurer's  report  of 
the  Tract  Society  and  the  reports  from  the  Conferences  in  the 
statistics  of  the  General  Minutes.  One  Conference  has  its  own 
Tract  Society  and  reports  for  the  tract  cause  all  the  collections 
taken  in  aid  of  its  Society,  which  is  administered  solely  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Conference  to  which  it  belongs.  Yet  all  the 
collections  of  this  Conference  are  reported  in  the  General  Minutes, 
and  the  report  shows  a  serious  discrepancy  between  the  figures  in 
the  General  Minutes  and  those  in  the  Yearbook  of  the  Tract 
Society.  We  would  recommend  that  to  Paragraph  419  of  the 
Discipline  a  clause  be  added,  that  no  collections  for  the  tract 
cause  shall  be  reported  in  the  General  Minutes,  except  such  as 
are  sent  to  the  Tract  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

In  the  General  Conference  of  1892  a  resolution  was  passed 
directing  the  Tract  Society  to  pay  $700  per  annum  in  aid  of  two 
papers  published  in  the  interest  of  the  Norwegian  and  Danish 
work.  This  resolution  did  not  refer  the  matter  to  the  Tract 
Society,  but  was  mandatory,  and  has  resulted  in  an  expenditure 
of  $2,800  from  the  meager  funds  of  the  Society  toward  one 
branch  of  the  work,  which  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  other  branches.  Our  Society  feels  that  a  dangerous 
precedent  has  been  set,  and  that  if  Church  papers  or  missions  can 
make  application  to  the  General  Conference,  instead  of  to  the 
several  societies  for  grants  of  money,  that  the  legitimate  work  of 
all  the  societies  will  be  seriously  impaired.  We  earnestly  express 


662  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


the  hope  that  no  special  legislation  of  this  kind  will  be  attempted 
or  permitted  at  the  present  session  of  the  General  Conference. 
If,  in  the  judgment  of  the  General  Conference,  there  are  special 
claims  upon  any  one  of  the  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  Church, 
it  would  be  perfectly  proper  to  recommend  to  the  societies  their 
consideration  ;  but  it  is  contrary  to  the  constitution  of  the  Tract 
Society,  which  was  made  by  the  General  Conference,  that  any 
grants  should  be  made  except  through  the  regular  Board  of  the 
said  Society.  We  would  respectfully  suggest  that  the  General 
Conference  should  not  violate  the  constitution  which  itself  has 
made  for  the  Tract  Society. 

During  the  quadrennium  the  Rev.  Henry  Liebhart,  D.D.,  the 
able  German  Assistant  Secretary  and  Editor  of  the  Tract  De- 
partment, was  suddenly  called  from  labor  to  reward.  His  place 
has  been  well  filled,  through  appointment  of  the  Book  Committee, 
by  the  Rev.  F.  J.  Nagler,  D.D.  The  tract  work  among  our  Ger- 
man brethren  has  always  been  diligently  maintained. 

The  Society  would  bear  testimony  to  the  industry  and  faithful- 
ness of  the  Corresponding  Secretary,  Dr.  J.  L.  Hurlbut,  and  the 
Assistant  Corresponding  Secretary,  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Freeman, 
D.D.,  who,  in  conjunction  with  the  Board,  have  directed  the 
affairs  of  the  Society  for  the  past  eight  years. 

By  order  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Tract  Society, 
N.  Vans  ant,  W.  E.  Ketcham, 

I.  Simmons,  R.  S.  Pardington, 

John  Bentley,       Hiram  Merritt, 
E.  B.  Treat,  Morris  H.  Smith, 

Mcecutive  Committee. 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Woman' fs  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  663 


Report  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 
Journal,  page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionar}-  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  presenting 
to  your  honorable  body  a  record  of  its  service  for  the  past  four 
years,  recognizes  with  profound  thanksgiving  the  marvelous  way 
iu  which  it  has  been  led  by  divine  Providence.  Advance  has 
marked  every  step  of  the  way,  and  that  in  the  presence  of  great 
obstacles.  At  home  it  has  shared,  with  other  organizations,  loss 
from  fire,  floods,  cyclones,  labor  troubles,  and  from  the  remark- 
able financial  depression  in  the  country  since  1893.  Abroad 
wars  and  rumors  of  wars  have  given  anxiety,  causing  interrup- 
tion to  work  in  some  sections,  and  an  unsettledness  detrimental 
to  the  best  development  of  educational  and  spiritual  work.  In 
some  sections  earthquakes  have  destroyed  property,  while  in  other 
localities  cholera,  fever,  and  the  "  plague  "  have  taxed  the  time 
and  strength  of  many  of  the  workers,  some  of  whom  have  been 
exposed  to  the  fury  of  mobs,  barely  escaping  the  assassin's  spear. 
Yet  in  no  period  since  the  Society's  organization  have  so  many 
agencies  been  employed,  never  have  so  many  women  at  home 
been  interested,  never  have  there  been  so  many  pupils  in  the 
schools,  and  never  were  so  many  women  reached  with  the  loving 
message  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  within  the  past  four  years. 

MODIFICATIONS  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  WORK  AT  HOME. 

1.  New  Branches,  etc. — The  Minneapolis  Branch)  which 
formerly  extended  over  a  very  large  territory,  precluding  its 
best  development)  has  been  divided,  and  the  Columbia  River 
Branch  organized.  The  Columbia  River  Branch  was  constituted 
December  7,  1892,  becoming  the  eleventh  Branch  of  the  Society, 
and  now  includes  Washington,  Idaho,  Montana,  and  Oregon, 
with  headquarters  at  Portland. 

Another  development  in  the  organization  of  the  home  work 
has  been  the  formation  of  small  societies,  entitled  "  Little  Light 
Bearers,"  embracing  children  under  five  years  of  age,  chiefly  de- 
signed as  a  recruiting  and  educating  agency.  At  the  age  limit 
indicated  these  are  passed  on  into  the  "Mission  Band,"  then  into 
the  "  Young  Woman's  Circle,"  and  finally  into  the  Auxiliary, 
thus  affording  a  graduated  missionary  training  from  the  cradle 
upward. 

Modifications  have  been  made  in  the  treasury  department  of 
some  of  the  branches.  The  duties  of  Branch  treasurers  assumed 
such  proportions  and  demanded  so  much  time  and  attention  that 
some  change  became  necessary.  This  led  to  the  appointment  of 
a  treasurer  in  each  Conference  to  look  after  and  receive  all  money 
raised  in  the  territory  of  the  Conference  and  forward  the  same 
to  the  Branch  treasurer.  This,  though  a  radical  change  in 
methods,  was  adopted  and  indorsed  with  great  promptness,  and 
is  proving  of  great  advantage. 


664 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


The  District  Association  has  been  extended,  and  is  proving  a 
great  inspiration  to  scattered  workers  and  a  strong  bond  uniting 
the  members  in  one  common  cause.  Talent  not  before  employed 
has  thus  been  brought  into  active  service  and  new  channels  opened 
for  hidden  or  misapplied  funds  to  find  their  way  into  the  treasury. 

2.  Thank-Offering  Day  has  become  a  special  feature  in 
all  the  Branches,  and  serves  not  only  as  a  means  of  supplement- 
ing contributions,  but  of  increasing  interest  'in  the  general  work. 
The  offerings  thus  gathered  have  been  devoted  to  special  work. 
The  amounts,  of  course,  have  varied,  but  in  some  Branches  the 
offering  on  the  day  has  aggregated  from  ten  to  fourteen  thousand 
dollars. 

3.  Proportionate  Givings. — The  conviction  of  the  duty  of 
systematic  and  proportionate  giving  is  increasing  among  our 
women.  A  number  of  the  associations  make  this  a  special  sub- 
ject  for  discussion,  and  many  members  are  contributing  a  penny 
a  day,  while  thousands  of  mite  boxes  are  annually  utilized, 
gathering  up  the  fragments.  A  sense  of  personal  responsibility 
to  increased  obligations  seems  to  have  pervaded  the  membership, 
and  neither  financial  disturbances  nor  individual  demands  have 
interfered  with  the  collection  of  funds  sufficient  to  meet  all  ap- 
propriations made  for  carrying  on  the  work. 

4.  Branch  Headquarters. — Through  the  courtesy  of  Cranston 
&  Curts  the  Northwestern  Branch  was  furnished  with  a  room  at 
57  Washington  Street,  Chicago,  and  the  Cincinnati  Branch  with 
one  in  the  new  publishing  house  in  Cincinnati.  These  favors  are 
greatly  appreciated  and  aid  in  the  convenience  and  systematizing 
of  the  work.  Through  the  similar  courtesy  of  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  in  New  York  the  use  of  a 
room  has  been  donated  at  150  Fifth  Avenue  for  general  head- 
quarters. 

Here  the  members  meet  to  transact  business,  hold  committee 
meetings,  welcome  the  returning  missionary,  and  bid  Godspeed 
to  the  departing  one.  This  room  is  also  the  depository  and  dis- 
tributing point  for  missionary  literature. 

5.  Silver  Anniversary. — In  March,  1894,  the  Society  closed 
its  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  work.  The  anniversary  was  very 
generally  observed,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  throughout  all 
our  mission  fields.  It  proved  to  be  an  occasion  of  deep  interest,  in- 
spiring new  zeal,  recalling  old  memories,  and  encouraging  fresh 
endeavor.  Special  silver  offerings  were  asked,  and  $25,000  re- 
alized. Ten  thousand  dollars  of  this  amount  was  appropriated  to 
the  Lucknow  Woman's  College,  as  a  memorial  fund  for  a  build- 
ing to  be  called  for  Mrs.  Harriet  M.  Warren,  so  long  identified  with 
the  Society.  From  nearly  all  our  missions  have  come  contributions 
to  this  fund.  In  Foochow,  China,  an  auxiliary  society  was  or- 
ganized, which  celebrated  the  silver  anniversary  by  sending  an 
offering  of  $36,  to  be  applied  to  the  Warren  Memorial  in  India,  thus 
with  a  silver  bond  uniting  the  women  of  the  two  greatest  heathen 
nations  of  the  world.    The  native  Christians  of  Northern  India, 


1S96.]  Report  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  665 


with  some  of  the  former  pupils  of  the  Lucknow  College,  have 
contributed  nearly  a  thousand  dollars  to  this  fund  for  an  India 
Room  in  the  building,  the  corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  by 
Bishop  Thoburn  on  January  28,  1895,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
and  interested  audience,  the  plain  marble  slab  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion: "Harriet  Warren  Memorial,  January  28,  1895." 

6.  German  Work. — The  German  work  is  scattered  over  ten 
German  Conferences  in  the  United  States  with  146  auxiliary 
societies  and  3,525  members.  The  work  is  also  organized  in 
Europe.  In  Switzerland  there  are  25  auxiliary  societies  with 
927  members,  in  South  Germany  22  organizations  with  755 
members,  and  in  North  Germany  18  societies  with  618  members, 
making  a  total  of  212  organizations  with  5,825  members,  show  - 
ing an  increase  of  27  organizations  and  1,227  members.  The 
amount  of  money  raised  is  as  follows: 

1892  $4,971 

1893   4,957 

1894   6,045 

1895   5,254 

Maki  ng  a  total  of  $21,227,  which  is  an  advance  of  $3,926  for  the 
past  four  years.  Of  the  above  amount  Switzerland  contributed 
§1,213.69,  and  Germany  $1,104.69.  At  Frankfort-on-the-Main 
the  women  have  assumed  the  support  of  a  Bible  woman  in  India, 
and  a  Children's  Band  in  Karlsruhe,  Baden,  support  an  orphan  in 
India  ;  while  from  Berne,  Switzerland,  has  gone  out  a  missionary, 
and  also  an  assistant  missionary,  to  the  Bulgarian  work. 

7.  Literature. — The  Society  utilizes  all  methods  that  can  be 
devised  to  give  information  concerning  all  phases  of  its  work 
both  at  home  and  abroad.  Three  papers  are  regularly  issued  by 
the  Society. 

First.  The  Woman's  Missionary  Friend,  the  official  organ  of 
the  Society,  has  a  circulation  of  20,411.  During  the  twenty-six 
years  of  its  existence  it  has  been  so  judiciously  managed  that  it 
has  never  incurred  a  debt,  but  gives  forth  from  its  treasury, 
annually,  sufficient  money  to  publish  nearly  all  the  miscellaneous 
literature  issued  by  the  Society.  The  Society  met  with  an  over- 
whelming loss  on  January  7,  1893,  in  the  death  of  Mrs.  W.  F. 
Warren,  of  Boston,  who  was  the  efficient  Editor  of  this  "Woman's 
Friend."  Mrs.  Warren  had  been  identified  with  the  Society 
from  the  hour  of  its  organization,  and  when  it  was  decided  to 
establish  a  paper,  early  in  1869,  she  was  selected  as  the  person  to 
launch  the  new  enterprise,  and  for  twenty-four  consecutive  years 
she  occupied  this  important  position.  When  she  began  the  work, 
papers  and  magazines  conducted  by  women  were  something  of  a 
novelty,  the  field  new  and  untried,  but  with  characteristic  energy 
she  developed  the  paper,  which  soon  took  rank  as  one  of  the 
model  missionary  magazines  of  the  world.  It  now  has  a  larger 
circulation  than  any  other  woman's  missionary  periodical  pub- 
lished. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1890. 


After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Warren  her  daughter,  Mrs.  M.  W. 
Ayars,  was  appointed  to  fill  her  place,  and  carried  on  the  work 
with  great  ability  until  the  election  of  Miss  Louise  Manning 
Hodgkins,  of  Auburndale,  Mass.,  as  Editor.  Miss  Hodgkins 
brought  to  the  position  large  experience  as  a  writer  and  the 
prestige  of  having  been  several  years  professor  of  English  litera- 
ture in  Wellesley  College.  In  July,  1893,  the  paper  changed  its 
form  to  a  magazine,  and  at  the  General  Executive  Committee 
held  in  St.  Louis  in  1895  the  name  was  changed  from  Heathen 
Woman's  Friend  to  Woman's  Missionary  Friend.  The  sub- 
scription price  of  this  paper  is  50  cents. 

Second.  There  is  published  also  an  eight-page  monthly  paper 
in  German  called  Der  Missions- Frauen-Freund,  the  name  having 
been  changed  from  TIeiden  Frauen-Freund.  This  paper  is  ably 
edited  by  Mrs.  Rev.  C.  Achard,  now  of  St.  Louis,  and  has  a  cir- 
culation of  2,925,  an  increase  of  451.  Subscription  price,  25 
cents. 

Third.  The  Children's  Missionary  Friend  is  a  twelve-page 
paper  formerly  called  The  Heathen  Children's  Friend,  which  has 
met  with  great  success  among  the  young  people.  Its  subscrip- 
tion price,  15  cents  a  copy,  or  in  clubs  10  cents,  brings  it  within 
the  reach  of  all.  Mrs.  O.  W.  Scott  has  efficiently  conducted  this 
paper  since  its  establishment.  It  now  has  18,208  subscribers, 
having  advanced  its  subscription  list  7,222  in  the  four  years. 

Fourth.  The  /Study. — The  Society  has  made  provision  for  the 
systematic  study  of  missionary  subjects  in  the  auxiliary  societies, 
by  issuing  monthly  a  four-page  leaflet,  at  30  cents  a  dozen  copies, 
edited  by  Mrs.  J.  T.  Gracey.  This  /Study  has  now  reached  a  cir- 
culation of  20,000.  It  was  formerly  issued  in  supplement  form 
to  the  Missio?iary  Friend,  but  in  January,  1895,  became  a 
separate  issue. 

Miscellaneous  Literature. — In  addition  to  the  above  missionary 
reports,  calendars,  maps,  games,  and  leaflets  have  been  issued. 
Some  of  these  have  been  sold  at  a  nominal  price,  while  a  large 
number  have  been  gratuitously  distributed.  Several  of  the 
Branches  are  issuing  a  quarterly  as  a  medium  of  communication 
among  the  workers  concerning  the  home  side  of  the  work.  In 
India  the  Zenana  paper,  started  some  years  ago,  has  been  a  great 
educator  among  the  women  in  Indian  homes.  It  is  now  published 
in  five  languages,  one  lady  within  the  territory  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Branch  having  donated  $250  to  start  an  edition  in  the  Mah- 
rati  language.  A  woman's  paper  has  also  been  established  in 
Singapore  called  Sahabat  (Friends).  Its  first  issue  appeared  in 
April,  1895.  It  is  printed  in  Romanized  Malay,  and  500  copies 
are  circulated  monthly.  The  women  are  delighted  with  it.  Some 
of  them  can  read  it  themselves,  while  others  preserve  it  carefully 
for  husband  or  son  to  read  to  them,  and  it  is  proving  a  very  valu- 
able aid  to  the  missionaries  and  Bible  women. 

8.  Official  Visitations. — For  the  first  time  in  the  Society's 
history,  the  eastern  foreign  fields  have  had  an  official  visit  from 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  667 

one  of  the  corresponding  secretaries  during  the  quadrennium. 
Mrs.  J.  F.  Keen,  Secretary  of  the  Philadelphia  Branch,  made  a 
tour  of  the  world  in  1893,  and  visited  many  of  the  mission 
stations,  giving  the  most  careful  consideration  to  every  detail  of 
the  work.  Her  presence,  advice,  and  womanly  sympathy  were  a 
benediction  in  the  church,  the  school,  and  the  home.  One  of  the 
missionaries  writing  from  China  said:  "  It  was  a  precious  joy  to 
introduce  Mrs.  Keen  to  our  school  girls.  For  the  first  time  ifi 
the  empire  of  China  our  school  children  were  permitted  to  see  one 
of  the  members  of  the  Executive  Board — well  known  to  them  by 
reputation — and  they  could  say,  '  How  beautiful  are  the  feet  of 
them  who  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things! '  What  woman 
was  doing  for  woman  got  a  clearer  and  better  hold  on  the  girls 
from  her  presence.  Mrs.  Keen  presided  at  several  of  the 
woman's  conferences." 

Mrs.  Foss,  Mrs.  Joyce,  Mrs.  Walden,  and  Mrs.  Newman  have 
visited  the  work  in  Mexico  and  brought  back  information  to  in- 
spire the  home  workers.  Mrs.  Newman  has  visited  South 
America  also.  She  addressed  women's  meetings  in  Bulgaria, 
Germany,  and  Switzerland,  made  an  address  at  the  opening  of 
the  new  building  purchased  for  the  girls'  school  in  Rome,  and 
while  in  Copenhagen  organized  an  Auxiliary  Society  with  over  a 
hundred  members.  Mrs.  Ninde  and  Mrs.  Walden  and  her 
daughter  have  visited  Japan,  Korea,  and  China. 

The  bishops  visiting  the  several  mission  fields  occupied  by  the 
Society  have  placed  it  under  obligation  by  their  uniform  courtesy, 
careful  inspection,  and  Avise  counsels  on  the  fields  and  in  consulta- 
tion with  the  officiary  at  home.  Their  sympathy  with  and  their 
championship  of  the  work  of  the  Society  have  been  warmly  ap- 
preciated. 

The  workers  on  the  several  Asiatic  fields  have  been  greatly 
encouraged  by  the  unofficial  visit  of  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Nind,  ex- 
Secretary  of  the  Minneapolis  Branch. 

9.  Real  Estate.  — About  $86,000  has  been  added  to  the 
Society's  property  during  the  four  years  as  follows : 


School  in  Montevideo,  S.  A  $21,000 

School  in  Rome,  Italy   15,000 

Hospital  in  Korea   2,000 

India:  Madras  Home   10,000 

Haiderabad   10,000 

Meerut   5,000 

Aligarh   5,000 

Ajmere   5,000 

Shahjehanpore   3,000 

Warren  Memorial  Lncknow  College   10,000 


Total  $86,000 


In  repairing  and  enlarging  property  about  $11,100  has  been 
expended.  In  Nagasaki,  Japan,  $4,000;  Hakodate,  $1,000;  in 
Guanajuato,  Mexico,  $2,000;  in  Hing  Hwa,  China,  $1,000;  in 
Chung  King,  $1,100,  and  in  Muttra,  India,  $2,000.    The  total 


668 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  .[1896. 


valuation  of  property  in  the  several  foreign  missions  at  present  is 
about  $466,000. 

10.  Statistics  of  Home  Workers. — The  steady  advance  of 
the  Society  has  been  satisfactory,  and  may  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing figures:  The  number  of  auxiliary  societies  is  4,630,  an  in- 
crease of  368  ;  membership,  121,288,  an  increase  of  4,680.  In 
addition  to  these,  there  are  780  young  woman's  societies,  with 
;?14,584  members  ;  and  771  children's  bands,  with  15,581  mem- 
bers; making  a  grand  total  of  auxiliaries,  6,181,  with  an  aggre- 
gate membership  of  151,163. 

11.  Financial  Exhibit. — The  Society  has  special  cause  for 
gratitude  that  the  contributions  to  the  treasury  have  steadily  ad- 
vanced, and  that  during  the  term  all  appropriations  have  been 
met,  and  thus  no  debt  has  been  incurred.  The  amount  of 
money  raised  during  the  quadrennium  is  as  follows: 


1892..  $265,342 

1893   277,303 

1894   311,925 

1895   289,227 


A  total  of  $1,143,797  ;  an  increase  of  $227,004  over  the  previous 
four  years.  Of  this  amount  about  $60,000  was  received  from 
bequests,  the  rest  having  come  through  the  regular  channels. 

This  amount  of  money  raised  by  the  women  of  the  Church  has 
behind  it  a  story  that  may  not  be  formulated  in  words — hours  of 
anxiety  and  care  by  day  and  by  night,  thousands  of  miles  traveled, 
pages  of  missionary  literature  disseminated,  letters  innumerable 
written,  and  the  giving  out  of  vital  force  in  various  ministrations 
that  the  women  of  Methodism  may  be  alive  to  their  privileges  in 
helping  to  redeem  and  lighten  the  burdens  resting  upon  woman- 
hood the  world  over. 

The  largest  contribution  realized  since  the  organization  of  the 
Society  was  in  1894,  which  period  marked  the  twenty-fifth  year 
of  its  history.  It  was  this  year  that  there  came  into  the  treasury 
$25,000  from  the  estate  of  Mrs.  E.  Sleeper  Davis,  of  Boston. 
During  her  lifetime  Mrs.  Davis  had  made  several  donations  to 
the  work  at  home,  and  during  a  trip  around  the  world  visited 
and  contributed  liberally  to  the  work  in  the  various  stations,  and 
provided  in  her  will  that  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  should  become  residuary  legatee. 

The  appropriations  to  the  foreign  fields  for  the  quadrennium 
have  been  as  follows: 


To  India. .. .  $448,606 

Malaysia   22,517 

China  ,   258,472 

Japan   208,633 

Korea   39,828 

Mexico   101,082 

Italy   32,447 

Bulgaria  -  18,298 

South  America   82,838 

Germany  and  Switzerland   2,100 


1800.]  Report  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  669 

DEVELOPMENT  IN  FOREIGN  FIELDS. 

Missionaries. — 'The  missionaries  of  this  Society  during  the 
past  four  years  have  everywhere  been  in  God's  peculiar  care, 
both  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea.  Some  have  faced  danger  in 
many  forms,  others  have  been  seriously  ill,  but  all  have  done 
heroic  work,  exemplifying  in  their  lives  the  most  -self-sacrificing 
devotion,  unconquerable  zeal,  and  consecration  to  principle.  Some 
of  the  missionaries  received  personal  injury  from  excited  mobs, 
while  others  have  been  called  home  from  labor  to  reward.  Miss 
Inihoff,  of  Yonezawa,  Japan,  with  an  associate,  worked  for  some 
time  with  no  other  foreigner  in  the  place,  an  interior  town,  thirty 
miles  from  the  railroad,  and  reached  only  by  jinrikisha  over  a 
mountain  pass.  Alone  these  young  women,  by  tact  and  prudence, 
overcame  prejudice,  and  established  a  very  successful  school. 
Returning  one  evening  from  an  evangelistic  meeting  a  stone  was 
thrown  by  some  one  in  a  crowd  which  struck  Miss  Imhoff  in  the 
eye,  and  for  months  she  endured  great  suffering,  and  has  lost  en- 
tirely the  sight  of  that  eye.  She  came  home  for  a  short  period, 
but  has  returned  to  work  and  is  now  located  at  Tokyo. 

Miss  Mabel  C.  Hartford,  who  has  had  charge  of  woman's  work  in 
Kucheng  District,  China,  narrowly  escaped  with  her  life  in  the 
terrible  massacre  at  Huasang  in  August,  1895.  With  her  own 
hand  she  diverted  the  assassin's  sword  and  escaped  with  slight 
wounds,  but  with  her  nervous  system  severely  shocked.  She 
returned  home  for  a  few  months'  rest,  but  is  hoping  to  leave  for 
China  early  the  coming  fall. 

Miss  Mary  Reed,  the  missionary  in  India  who,  a  few  years  ago, 
was  stricken  witli  leprosy,  has  been  heroically  at  her  post  at 
Chandag,  India,  in  charge  of  the  leper  asylum  at  that  place.  She 
is  cheerful  and  happy  in  her  isolation,  administering  cheer  and 
comfort  to  that  unfortunate  class.  Mr.  W.  C.  Bailey,  in  charge 
of  leper  asylums  in  India,  writing  of  Miss  Reed,  says  :  "  Myste- 
riously consecrated  to  the  work  among  these  poor  sufferers,  by 
being  allowed  herself  to  contract  the  disease,  she  has  labored 
with  signal  blessing  and  success  for  about  four  years.  The  asylum 
has  grown  under  her  care  from  38,  until  she  now  has  an  institu- 
tion with  100  inmates.  I  am  astonished  at  what  she  has  been 
able  to  accomplish,  and  at  the  splendid  way  in  which,  single 
handed,  she  carries  on  everything.  Hers  is  one  of  the  best- 
managed  institutions  I  have  seen.  She  takes  the  immediate 
oversight  of  everything  herself,  and  is  managing  affairs  most 
economically." 

Four  missionaries  have  died.  Miss  M.  E.  Layton,  one  of  the 
early  missionaries  of  the  Society,  died  in  Cawnpore,  India,  of 
cholera,  April  22,  1892.  She  had  been  in  charge  of  the  girls' 
school  at  Calcutta  for  years,  and  made  it  one  of  the  best-con- 
ducted educational  institutions  in  the  East  under  the  care  of  the 
Society. 

Miss  Mary  E.  Pardoe,  of  the  girls'  school  in  Tokyo,  Japan, 


670 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


died  August  31,  1892.  She  was  permitted  only  four  years' 
service;  but  it  is  stated  that  such  was  her  life  in  that  short  period 
that  her  influence  will  be  felt  to  the  farthest  limit  of  the  empire 
of  Japan. 

Miss  Anna  B.  Sears  went  to  Peking,  China,  1880,  and  for 
fifteen  years  gave  her  life  to  Chinese  women  and  girls.  She  died 
in  Cleveland,  O.,  December  4,  1895. 

Miss  Clara  Downey  went  to  India  in  1884,  and  for  ten  years 
did  effective  work  in  four  leading  stations  of  the  North  India 
Conference.    She  died  in  San  Diego,  Cal.,  January  4,  1896. 

The  Society  supports  156  missionaries,  of  whom  140  are  in 
active  service  and  16  are  at  present  home  on  forlough. 

These  missionaries  are  located  as  follows  :  Fifty  in  India,  41 
in  China,  22  in  Japan,  7  in  Korea,  3  in  Malaysia,  6  in  South 
America,  7  in  Mexico,  2  in  Italy,  and  2  in  Bulgaria.  Seventy- 
three  women  have  been  sent  out  during  the  quadrennium.  Six- 
teen of  the  number  are  medical  missionaries,  9  of  whom  are 
located  in  China,  6  in  India,  and  1  in  Korea.  Miss  Hu  King* 
Eng,  M.D.,  who  reached  her  home  in  Foochow,  China,  August  10, 
1895,  is  the  second  Chinese  woman  graduated  from  an  American 
medical  college,  but  first  in  the  distinction  of  opening  practice 
among  the  women  of  her  native  land.  After  a  term  of  years  in 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University  she  graduated  from  the  Philadelphia 
Woman's  Medical  College,  and  gave  a  year  to  a  post-graduate 
course.  She  thus  spent  ten  years  in  America  in  preparation  for 
her  professional  work.  She  is  the  only  Chinese  woman  physician 
with  a  western  world  degree  in  the  empire  of  China. 

NEW  PLACES  OCCUPIED. 

Into  all  countries,  and  under  all  vicissitudes  of  climate,  in  the  face 
of  all  opposing  influences,  the  Society  marches  on  with  the  faith 
of  conquerors.  The  quadrennium  has  been  marked  by  the  open- 
ing of  work  in  Paraguay,  South  America.  Miss  Hammond  was 
transferred  from  Montevideo  to  Ascuncion,  the  capital,  and  has 
succeeded  in  establishing  a  fine  school.  One  of  the  native  con- 
verts in  Singapore,  that  far-away  station  in  Malaysia,  went  over 
to  the  island  of  Sumatra  and  found  an  opportunity  of  speaking 
to  the  women  about  Christ.  They  listened  eagerly,  and  begged 
for  books.  She  returned,  told  her  story  to  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference of  the  Malay  Church,  with  the  result  that,  accompanied 
by  one  of  the  missionaries,  she  returned  with  a  goodly  supply  of 
books  to  open  work.  This  native  woman,  with  the  one  great  and 
essential  qualification  for  a  missionary,  the  love  of  Christ  in  her 
heart,  stepped  out  alone  into  a  strange  country,  and,  untram- 
meled  by  the  red  tape  of  officialism,  established  the  beginnings 
of  a  church  of  Christ  in  that  land. 

Woman's  work  has  been  opened  at  Penangso  successfully,  and 
has  attained  such  proportions,  that  an  urgent  plea  comes  for  the 
Society  to  send  a  missionary. 

Another  opening  has  been  made  among  the  Bhotiyas,  which. 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Womaii]s  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  671 


will  influence  the  hitherto  impregnable  Tibet.  Dharchula,  four 
days'  journey  beyond  our  farthest  mountain  station  in  the 
Himalayas,  has  been  selected  as  a  center  for  opening  work  for 
this  Society.  Land  has  been  secured,  permission  to  build  was 
oranted  by  the  rajah,  and  two  small  houses  erected  through  the 
generosity  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Blackstone,  one  at  Dharchula,  the  other 
at  Chandas,  eighteen  miles  beyond.  Two  missionaries  visited  a 
number  of  Bhotiya  villages  and  were  received  very  kindly.  For 
some  time  this  far-away  outpost  was  held  by  three  native  women. 
The  Lord's  Prayer  has  been  translated  into  Bhotiya  by  Dr. 
Sheldon,  who  is  now  superintending  the  work. 

In  Darjeeling,  twenty-four  hours  from  Calcutta,  a  boarding 
school  has  been  started  most  successfully. 

Work  has  been  opened  in  Sironcha,  Southern  India,  the  capital 
of  the  native  state  of  Bastar.  This  was  done  by  the  Cincinnati 
Branch  as  a  memorial  to  Mrs.  Bishop  Clark,  who  for  twenty-four 
years  was  president  of  the  Branch.  Only  the  General  Missionary 
Society  and  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  have  entered 
this  open  door.  The  Society  has  sent  a  medical  woman  to  the 
held.  Bishop  Thoburn  commissioned  Miss  Blackmar  to  make  a 
tour  of  inspection  through  the  state  with  a  mission  party.  Land 
has  been  offered  to  the  Society  rent  free  for  five  years,  with  the 
understanding  that  buildings  be  erected  and  work  begun. 

One  of  the  Society's  missionaries  in  Japan  made  a  trip  to  the 
Loochoo  Islands,  where  she  had  an  opportunity  of  presenting 
Gospel  truths  to  some  of  the  women.  A  Bible  woman  has  been 
at  work  here  since  1884,  and  Sunday  school  and  a  weekly  meet- 
ing are  held,  supported  by  the  members  of  the  Japanese  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

SURVEY  OF  THE  FIELDS. 

Japan. — The  work  in  Japan  has  progressed,  notwithstanding 
the  war,  earthquakes,  and  destruction  of  some  property  by  fire. 
The  antiforeign  feeling  which  developed  for  a  time  militated 
somewhat  against  the  work  and  lessened  the  attendance  in  the 
schools.  On  October  28,  1892,  occurred  the  great  earthquake, 
when  the  school  in  Nagoya  was  destroyed,  but  the  lives  of  the 
pupils  and  missionaries  were  preserved.  After  a  time  another 
property  was  rented  and  the  school  started  again.  The  China- 
Japanese  war  caused  an  unsettled  feeling  detrimental  to  evangel- 
istic and  educational  work. 

In  June,  1894,  an  earthquake  occurred,  which  wrought  great 
damage  to  property  in  Aoyama,  Tokyo  and  Yokohama.  The 
school  buildings  in  both  places  were  so  injured  that  it  became 
necessary  to  rebuild,  and  the  school  in  Tokyo  was  compelled  to 
move  to  other  quarters  in  the  city.  A  new  building  in  Yoko- 
hama was  erected,  but  destroyed  by  fire  February  8,  1896,  before 
it  was  ready  for  occupancy. 

Eleven  stations  are  occupied  in  this  island  empire. 

Korea. — Besides  Seoul  two  other  stations  have  been  occupied, 
43 


672 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


and  woman's  work  commenced  at  Chemulpo  and  at  Sirino.  The 
first  country  trip  ever  undertaken  by  a  woman  for  evangelistic  or 
other  purposes,  was  by  one  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  missionaries.  One  of  the  pupils  of  the  Seoul  school  has 
been  brought  to  America,  and  is  now  studying  medicine.  A 
number  of  women  have  been  baptized  and  given  unmistakable 
evidence  of  changed  hearts.  The  medical  work  has  been  a 
special  feature  in  Korea.  During  the  cholera  epidemic  the  past 
year  the  representative  of  this  Society  nursed  in  the  government 
hospital  for  several  weeks,  and  physicians  and  residents  all  ac- 
knowledged her  helpfulness  and  ability. 

China. — The  work  in  China  has  passed  through  many  vicissi- 
tudes. In  West  China  the  work  was  discontinued  in  1885  because 
of  the  riots  and  destruction  of  property.  It  was  reopened  in 
1894,  and  through  the  generosity  of  Mrs.  Philander  Smith,  of  Oak 
Park,  111.,  a  home  for  missionaries  was  provided,  two  deacon- 
esses were  apppointed  to  the  field,  and  a  trained  nurse,  all  of 
whom  are  at  work  winning  the  hearts  of  the  people.  In  Northern 
and  Central  China,  riots  for  a  time  interfered  with  work.  North 
China  in  1893  witnessed  a  great  revival,  such  as  had  not  been 
known  in  years.  It  was  marked  by  a  general  confession  of  sins, 
and  wholehearted  turning  to  God,  and  the  school  in  Peking  shared 
in  the  influences.  In  all  the  schools  a  sentiment  of  anti-foot 
binding  prevails.  October  17  the  first  Woman's  Conference  for 
Central  China  was  opened  at  Nanking.  Throughout  all  this  ter- 
ritory the  boarding  schools  are  full  to  overflowing,  the  day  schools 
could  not  be  more  flourishing,  and  medical  work  is  so  prosperous 
that  all  the  wards  in  the  hospitals  are  filled  with  patients. 

War,  riots,  death,  and  threatened  massacres  have  faced  our 
workers  in  the  Foochow  Conference.  Notwithstanding  this, 
there  have  occurred  the  greatest  revivals  known  since  the  intro- 
duction of  woman's  work.  All  the  churches  in  North,  South,  and 
Central  China  have  shared  in  its  blessed  influences,  and  the  force 
is  unable  to  meet  the  responsibilities  growing  out  of  this  new 
order.  In  Foochow  an  orphanage  has  been  established  where  thirty- 
six  children  are  cared  for.  A  new  building  has  been  erected  for 
the  girls'  school,  which  is  not  large  enough  to  accommodate  those 
applying,  and  recently  fifty  had  to  be  turned  away.  The  death  of 
Dr.  Sites  was  a  great  sorrow  to  all  the  Society's  representatives. 

At  Kucheng  an  auxiliary  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society 
was  organized  among  the  women,  and  forty  dollars  in  gold  was 
raised  and  forwarded  for  work  among  the  heathen. 

Malaysia. — The  work  of  the  Society  is  in  Singapore  and 
Penang,  a  city  five  hundred  miles  up  the  western  coast,  and  in 
Palembang,  on  the  Island  of  Sumatra.  A  fine,  new  property  has 
been  purchased  in  Singapore,  beautifully  located,  called  "The 
Mary  C.  Nind  Deaconess  Home."  There  are  several  forms  of 
work,  a  school  for  Chinese  girls,  a  boarding  school  for  native 
girls,  and  a  school  for  missionaries'  and  native  Christian  children; 
also  woman's  rescue  work. 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  673 


India. — The  work  of  the  Society  in  India  covers  a  large  terri- 
tory and  includes  a  large  number  of  important  cities,  in  which 
centers  nearly  all  forms  of  mission  work  are  carried  on,  and  from 
which  a  large  number  of  outlying  villages  are  reached.  The 
great  ingathering  of  souls  in  all  parts  of  India  has  brought  a 
great  pressure,  and  it  seems  almost  impossible  to  meet  all  the  de- 
mauds,  or  enter  the  open  doors.  Woman's  work  in  one  of  the 
Presiding  Elder's  districts  is  superintended  by  a  native  woman, 
who  has  about  thirty  native  women  itinerating  in  the  district. 

Three  new  boarding  schools  have  been  started  in  the  North- 
west India  Conference  :  one  at  Meerut,  another  at  Ajmere,  and 
another  at  Aligarh  ;  the  latter,  through  the  generosity  of  Miss 
Louisa  Soules,  of  Michigan,  was  dedicated  January  15,  1895,  by 
Bishop  Thoburn.  The  first  girls'  school  within  the  city  of 
Haiderabad  was  opened  by  one  of  the  Society's  representatives 
July,  1892,  and  now  there  are  four  such  schools. 

All  India  does  not  echo  with  notes  of  alarm  now  when  there  is 
a  baptism.  No  one  thinks  of  numbering  the  accessible  zenanas — 
the  few  are  closed,  the  many  open.  We  only  count  with  sorrow 
the  limited  number  of  workers.  In  the  city  of  Lucknow  twenty- 
five  years  ago  there  was  scarcely  a  Christian  woman,  but  during 
the  year  past  three  hundred  school  girls  and  women  went  out  to 
greet  and  escort  Mrs.  Keen  into  the  city.  Miss  Thoburn  says, 
"  Our  social  Christianity  or  Christian  socialism  in  India  is  largely 
in  the  hands  of  women."  A  Hindustani  branch  of  the  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  has  been  organized.  The  officers 
are  all  native  Christian  women.  A  flourishing  branch  of  the 
Young  Woman's  Christian  Association  has  been  in  active  service 
for  the  past  three  years.  This  also  is  officered  by  native 
Christian  women,  many  of  whom  were  trained  by  this  Society. 
Epworth  League  Conventions  for  all  India  were  held  in  the  city 
of  Lucknow,  in  which  many  of  our  students  took  part.  Multi- 
tudes of  women  are  receiving  baptism  throughout  North  India, 
and  appeals  come  for  teachers  to  instruct  them.  Zenana  work 
and  schools  for  heathen  girls  have  been  closed  or  transferred  to 
other  missions,  because  there  was  not  the  adequate  force  to  meet 
the  demands.  In  Madras  a  great  work  is  carried  on  among  the 
women  of  the  higher  castes.  Recently  a  high  caste  Brahman 
lady  was  baptized  in  the  Methodist  Church. 

Italy. — The  work  in  Italy  has  received  an  impetus  by  the 
purchase  of  a  most  desirable  and  commodious  property  in  Rome 
for  the  boarding  school.  It  is  the  first  property  purchased  in 
Italy,  although  a  representative  of  the  Society  has  been  in  Italy 
for  eleven  years.  The  building  was  dedicated  by  Bishop 
Xf-wman,  May  10,  1894.  The  house  was  formerly  occupied  as  a 
nunnery.  This  school  began  in  1884  with  two  girls  ;  it  now  has 
forty-five.  Many  of  the  girls  have  been  converted.  Of  the 
ninety-eight  children  who  have  gone  out  from  the  school  the  loca- 
tion of  all  but  four  is  known,  and  not  one  has  gone  back  to 
Romanism.    An  auxiliary  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Society  has  been  organized,  which  has  taken  for  special  work  a 
day  school  for  little  children,  and  two  of  the  pupils  of  the  school 
take  charge  of  it.  Bible  readers  are  employed,  one  in  Rome  and 
one  in  Pisa. 

Bulgaria. — The  boarding  school  in  Loftcha  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful. It  has  fifty  pupils,  and  nearly  one  half  of  these  self- 
supporting.  The  Hotanza  school  has  also  prospered.  Bishop 
Newman  testified  after  his  visit  that  the  brighest  light  in  the 
Bulgaria  Mission  was  the  boarding  school  at  Loftcha.  Most  of 
the  girls  are  consistent  Christians,  and  many  who  have  been 
educated  there  are  now  Bible  readers  and  teachers.  A  new 
building  has  been  purchased  providing  needed  accommodations. 

Mexico. — Growth  in  every  department  marks  the  work  in 
Mexico.  All  schools  have  increased  the  number  of  their  pupils. 
Some  1,361  girls  are  under  Christian  instruction.  The  orphanage 
in  Mexico  city  has  the  largest  number  of  pupils  in  attendance  yet 
reached  in  its  history. 

In  Pachuca  a  new  building  has  been  erected  to  accommodate 
the  three  hundred  and  sixty  girls  connected  with  Miss  Hasting's 
school.  This  is  the  highest  number  hitherto  attained  by  any 
similar  Protestant  institution  in  the  republic.  The  fact,  that  of 
the  thirty-four  teachers  in  the  schools  at  least  thirty  received  in- 
struction in  the  Society's  institutions  in  that  country,  is  most  con- 
vincing proof  of  the  value  of  the  work  done.  In  1892  an 
Epworth  League  was  organized  in  Mexico  city,  forming  the 
"  Dr.  Butler  Chapter."  Since  then  they  have  been  organized  in 
all  larger  stations. 

Two  hundred  pupils  are  in  the  school  at  Puebla,  which  has  a 
high  reputation.  Revival  influences  have  been  felt  this  past  year, 
and  eighty-eight  conversions  are  reported  among  the  girls. 

South  America. — In  Montevideo  a  fine  new  school  building 
has  been  purchased,  which  in  location  and  appointments  gives 
great  influence  to  the  work  and  cause  of  Protestantism  in  the 
province.    One  hundred  pupils  are  provided  for. 

Work  in  Peru  has  been  reinforced  by  sending  another  mis- 
sionary. The  political  disturbances  have  militated  against  the 
work.  The  schools  were  closed  for  a  time,  and  many  scholars 
were  lost,  because  persecutions  and  threatenings  made  many 
afraid  to  allow  their  children  to  remain  in  the  day  schools. 

FOREIGN  STATISTICS. 

The  Society  supports,  besides  its  156  missionaries,  750  Bible 
readers,  assistants,  and  teachers  ;  400  day  schools,  with  3  0,000 
pupils  ;  53  boarding  schools,  with  400  pupils  ;  11  orphanages, 
with  500  orphans;  and  10  training  schools,  with  200  pupils.  There 
are  also  13  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  where  the  Christian  physi- 
cian administers  annually  to  about  60,000  women. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted,  on  behalf  of  the  General 
Executive  Committee.  Mrs.  J.  T.  Gracey,  Secretary. 

Rochester,  N.  Y. 


1896.]    Report  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.  675 


Fourth  Quadrennial  Report  of  the  Woman's  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society.    Journal,  page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  With  gratitude  to  God  and 
the  kind  friends  who  have  so  liberally  aided  us  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  work  of  Christian  missions  in  our  own  country  during  the 
past  quadrennium,  we  respectfully  submit  to  your  honorable  body 
a  brief  report  of  the  work  accomplished,  the  funds  collected  and 
disbursed,  and  the  agencies  employed,  appropriately  recognizing 
the  valuable  services  rendered  gratuitously  in  administering  the 
affairs  of  this  great  enterprise. 

.  We  are  endeavoring  to  meet  our  constitutional  obligation  "  to 
enlist  and  organize  the  women  of  Methodism  in  behalf  of  the 
needy  and  destitute  of  all  races  and  nationalities  in  this  country." 
Organization  has  been  commenced  in  seventy-six  Conferences, 
but  in  several  of  these  we  have  only  secured  auxiliaries  in  a  lim- 
ited number  of  charges.  The  cooperation  of  the  pastor  is  essen- 
tial to  the  highest  success.  The  value  of  an  efficient  organization 
of  the  women,  for  church  purposes,  and  the  adaptability  of  this 
Society  to  meet  local  needs,  is  not  as  fully  appreciated  as  it  should 
be. 

The  obligation  "  to  cooperate  in  educational  and  missionary 
work  "  is  fully  recognized,  and  the  plans  in  each  locality  are  ar- 
ranged to  supplement  and  make  more  effective  the  "  other  benevo- 
lent agencies."  In  the  South  our  missions  are  generally  associ- 
ated with  the  institutions  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern 
Education  Society.  In  the  West  they  are  under  the  general 
supervision  of  the  Conference  Board  of  Nine,  as  in  Utah,  Oregon, 
California,or  under  the  Superintendent  of  the  Mission  District,  as 
in  Oklahoma,  New  Mexico,  Washington,  and  Alaska. 

Our  Deaconess  Homes  are  all  under  "the  general  control  of  the 
Conference  Board  of  Nine,"  as  provided  by  the  Discipline,  and 
our  City  Missions,  wherever  practicable,  cooperate  with  the  local 
Church  Extension  Society,  which  gives  the  mission  ecclesiastical 
relation  to  the  Conference. 

When  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  was  organized, 
it  was  foreseen  that  the  rapidly  changing  conditions  in  our  coun- 
try, resulting  from  the  movement  of  populations,  the  crowding 
together  in  cities,  the  influx  of  foreigners,  and  the  introduction  of 
public  schools,  would  necessitate  corresponding  changes  in  methods 
to  adapt  the  work  to  varying  needs.  Already  the  wisdom  of  the 
flexibility  of  the  organization  adopted  is  manifest. 

MANAGEMENT. 

This  is  vested  in  a  General  Board,  consisting  of  two  represen- 
tatives from  each  Conference  Society,  the  Secretaries  of  Bureaus, 
the  editor  and  publisher  of  the  paper,  and  the  General  Executive 


676 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Board.  Its  meetings  are  held  annually,  when  the  work  of  the 
Society  is  reviewed,  plans  for  the  future  discussed  and  arranged, 
and  the  funds  of  the  Society  appropriated. 

BUREAUS  OR  METHODS  OF  WORK. 

The  details  of  the  several  departments  of  work,  and  of  the 
more  than  sixty-live  missions,  are  provided  for  by  committees 
called  bureaus.  The  Bureau  is  held  responsible  for  the  success 
of  the  department,  and  for  administering,  under  the  directions  of 
the  General  Executive  Board,  the  missions  included  in  the  terri- 
tory assigned.    There  are  eighteen  of  these  divisions. 

The  Bureau  for  Systematic  Beneficence  is  responsible 
for  securing,  as  far  as  possible,  systematic  giving,  following  the 
Bible  plan  of  consecrating  "  a  tenth  to  God,"  which  is  his  by  right, 
and  employing  the  remaining  nine  tenths  for  freewill  offerings,, 
the  care  of  the  poor,  and  the  family.  Liberality  in  giving  de- 
pends upon  a  realization  of  our  obligation  to  God,  and  a  true  un- 
derstanding of  the  conditions  of  need.    To  this  end  : 

The  Bureau  for  Lectures  and  Home  Missionary  Reading 
Circle  was  organized  nine  years  ago  for  the  dissemination  of 
Home  Missionary  intelligence  on  the  plan  of  the  Chautauqua  Lit- 
erary and  Scientific  Circle.  The  course  of  reading  extends 
through  three  years.  About  20,000  members  are  enrolled,  and 
the  interest  is  steadily  increasing. 

The  Bureau  for  Young  People's  Work  stimulates  the  or- 
ganization of  youth  in  Queen  Esther  Circles,  Lucy  Webb  Hayes 
Bands,  and  in  the  Mothers'  Jewels.  A  secretary  in  each  Confer- 
ence systematically  solicits  enrollment  with  the  auxiliaries  of  the 
Society,  and  urges  the  circulation  of  the  children's  paper,  and  the 
enlistment  of  boys  as  well  as  girls,  which  brings  them  into  the- 
work  of  the  Church. 

Bureau  for  Mission  Supplies. — During  the  quadrennium 
this  department  has  distributed  supplies  valued  at  $298,746.67  ;. 
also  several  hundred  dollars  in  cash.  The  department  was  organ- 
ized to  aid  frontier  ministers  and  their  families  with  clothing  and 
household  goods,  theological  students  with  books,  Sabbath  and 
mission  schools  with  lesson  papers  and  other  helps,  and  our  indus- 
trial schools  with  materials  for  practice. 

The  work  of  this  Bureau  has  enabled  hundreds  of  ministers  to- 
remain  at  their  posts  of  duty  during  these  years  of  financial  dis- 
aster and  drought  in  various  sections  of  the  country,  and  the  cor- 
respondence between  the  prosperous  churches  and  the  mission 
fields  consequent  upon  the  work  has  awakened  sympathy  and  in- 
creased missionary  interest. 

During  the  quadrennium  not  less  than  12,000  packages  have 
been  sent  to  our  schools  and  ministers,  carrying  blessing  and 
happiness  to  as  many  families. 

The  Bureau  for  Immigrants  has  the  general  direction  of  the 
work  in  behalf  of  immigrants  at  our  ports  of  entry,  the  missions 
being  conducted  by  competent  local  committees.    The  reports  of 


1896.]    Report  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.  677 


these  missions  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia  show  that 
3,560  steamers  have  been  met  during  the  quadrennium  by  our 
missionaries,  25,000  lodgings  provided,  and  100,000  meals  served. 
Thousands  of  girls  have  received  protection  and  counsel,  employ- 
ment has  been  found  for  thousands,  and  hundreds  have  been  sent 
to  their  friends. 

The  Bureau  for  Orientals  takes  the  place  of  the  Woman's 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  organized  about  twenty- 
five  years"  ago,  and  which  had  labored  successfully  in  behalf  of 
Chinese  in  association  with  the  Missionary  Society.  In  1893  it  was 
consolidated  with  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  and 
the  work  placed  under  a  bureau  to  include  Japanese  and  other 
oriental  peoples  throughout  the  country.  The  methods  include 
rescue  missions  and  industrial  homes  and  schools.  Excellent  re- 
sults have  been  secured  in  San  Francisco  and  Southern  Cali- 
fornia. 

An  urgent  appeal  comes  to  the  Society  in  behalf  of  the  Chinese 
in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  the  work  is  administered  by  the 
Parent  Society  as  a  domestic  mission,  and  where  a  large  field  for 
our  Society  presents  itself.  A  nurse  deaconess  from  our  Home 
in  San  Francisco  has  occupied  this  field  a  part  of  the  last  year. 

In  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  the  work  is  administered  by 
two  Bureaus,  one  for  Indians  and  the  other  for  Spanish-Ameri- 
cans. The  former  has  missions  at  Dulce  and  Jewett  for  the 
Apaches  and  Navajoes,  and  the  latter  at  Albuquerque,  Las  Cru- 
ces,  and  Las  Vegas  for  Spanish- Americans.  A  mission  building 
has  just  been  completed  at  Albuquerque  at  a  cost  of  $7,000,  and 
important  additions  have  been  made  to  those  at  Jewett  and  Dulce. 
Ten  missionaries  are  employed  by  this  Bureau,  and  the  work  is 
broadly  influential. 

Bureau  for  Indians.  Previous  to  1892  the  Society  had  re- 
ceived from  the  United  States  Treasury  funds  for  the  support  of 
schools  for  Indians.  The  General  Board  of  Managers  at  its 
meeting,  October,  1892,  approved  the  action  of  the  General  Con- 
ference recommending  the  withdrawal  of  our  Church  from  this 
association  with  the  government,  and  our  work  among  Indians 
from  that  time  has  been  supported  by  the  Society. 

Indian  stations  hold  the  frontier  for  good  or  evil.  The  plea 
for  them  is  a  plea  for  our  cities  yet  to  be,  and  cannot  from  an 
economic  point  of  view  be  disregarded,  and  certainly  must  not 
from  the  higher  claims  of  the  Gospel.  In  saving  the  Indians  we 
are  saving  the  future  of  our  own  race  in  the  West.  Our  work  of 
carrying  the  Gospel  to  these  stations  has  been  rewarded  by  the 
establishment  of  self-supporting  churches  in  several  places,  as 
Pawhuska,  El  Reno,  and  Pawnee,  Ok.  Ter.  Our  missions  among 
the  Arapahoes,  Apaches,  Nooksachs,  Navajoes,  Cheyennes,  the 
Osages,  and  the  Digger  Indians,  Ukiah,  Cal.,  being  the  center  of 
an  extensive  work  of  establishing  preaching  places  and  in  break- 
ing up  the  traffic  in  intoxicants. 

Permanent  buildings  and  industrial  schools  are  provided  at 


678 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Ponca,  Pawnee,  and  Pawhuska,  Ok.  Ter.,  and  the  Stickney  Indus- 
trial Home  and  School  at  Lyndon,  Wash.  It  has  not  been  the 
policy  of  the  Society  to  erect  expensive  buildings  in  the  West.  A 
few  hundred  dollars  wisely  expended  will  establish  influences 
that  will  stimulate  and  encourage  people  to  provide  schools  and 
churches  for  themselves. 

Bureau  for  Alaska.  Buildings  have  been  erected  at  Una- 
laska  and  Unga  for  school  and  mission  purposes.  The  former  is 
the  principal  seaport  and  recruiting  station  of  that  region,  and  the 
latter  the  center  of  important  mining  fields.  Our  plans  include 
religious  agencies  in  behalf  of  these  transient  populations. 

The  schools  in  Alaska,  until  1893,  were  conducted  on  the  con- 
tract plan,  our  Society  furnishing  the  buildings  and  special  train- 
ing. The  action  of  the  General  Conference  in  May,  and  later  of 
the  Mission  Committee  in  October,  1892,  declining  to  approve  the 
continuance  of  work  by  the  Church  in  this  field  virtually  closed 
the  mission  for  the  time.  The  Society  had  previously  expended 
$8,000  in  this  territory.  A  fund  of  several  thousand  dollars  was 
in  the  treasury  for  this  object,  and  widespread  interest  had  been 
awakened.  The  following  year  the  Society  made  a  limited  appro- 
propriation  and  appointed  a  committee  of  ladies  to  meet  the 
Mission  Committee,  represent  this  interest,  and  solicit  approval. 
The  action  of  the  previous  year  was  reconsidered,  and  the  Society 
was  authorized  to  go  forward  with  its  work  in  Alaska.  A  good 
building  for  school  and  home  has  been  erected  during  the  last 
year,  which  will  accommodate  thirty  or  forty  more  pupils,  and 
additional  missionaries  have  been  employed.  The  school  here  is 
maintained  by  the  government,  and  our  Society  supports  the 
pupils  in  the  Home  and  provides  for  the  industrial  and  moral 
training. 

Bureau  for  Utah.  Fifteen  schools  and  missions  have  been 
maintained  in  this  State.  The  Society  owns  mission  buildings  in 
Logan,  Spring  City,  Maroni,  Provo,  Ephraim,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Elsi- 
nore,  and  two  in  Salt  Lake  City.  These  have  generally  served 
for  school,  church,  and  Sabbath  school,  as  well  as  a  home  for.Mie 
missionary.  The  average  annual  enrollment  of  the  fifteen  schools, 
formerly  about  one  thousand,  after  the  establishment  of  a  good 
system  of  public  schools  was  less  than  four  hundred.  The  teach- 
ers in  the  public  schools,  with  few  exceptions,  are  Mormons,  and 
it  is  only  through  missionary  and  evangelistic  agencies  that  we  can 
reach  this  population  and  aid  in  reclaiming  Utah,  which  is  vital  to 
the  interests  of  the  Church  and  the  nation. 

During  the  year  1893-94  we  solicited  the  advice  of  the  Presid- 
ing Elders  and  the  Superintendent  of  Missions,  and,  through  the 
Bishop,  requested  the  Utah  Mission  Conference  to  recommend  for 
us  a  plan  of  work. 

The  Conference  elected  a  "  Board  of  Deaconesses,"  with  the 
Superintendent  of  Missions  as  its  chairman,  and  in  a  communica- 
tion, prepared  jointly  by  the  Committees  on  "  Education  "  and  on 
"  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,"  solicited  "  the  cooperation 


1896.]    Report  of  the  Woman 's  Home  Missionary  Society.  679 


of  the  Society  for  the  establishment  of  deaconess  work;  to  make 
Davis  Hall,  in  Salt  Lake  City,  headquarters  for  it;  to  employ  dea- 
conesses and  trained  nurses  wherever  practicable  throughout  the 
territory;  to  establish  kindergartens  and  to  provide  for  the  rescue 
of  girls  and  women  who  become  stranded  in  the  city."  The  Con- 
ference voted  to  close  Salt  Lake  Seminary  and  to  place  at  our  dis- 
posal the  hall,  erected  ten  years  ago,  for  Home  and  Boarding  De- 
partment, to  which  we  had  contributed  $7,000. 

Bishop  Merrill  assured  us  that  he  had  "  given  the  matter  care- 
ful attention;  was  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  Deaconess  Board 
and  in  Conference  sessions  when  action  was  taken;  and  that  he  ap- 
proved of  what  was  done." 

The  recommendations  were  approved,  and  the  Board  of  Dea- 
conesses was  made  a  "  standing  committee,  associated  with  tjie 
Bureau,  to  supervise  the  work  and  administer  the  funds  appro- 
priated for  Utah."  The  Home  was  opened  with  four  deaconesses, 
and  deaconesses  were  employed  in  Provo,  Logan,  and  Ogden,  the 
superintendents  in  Salt  Lake  City  and  Ogden  being  graduates  of 
the  Training  School  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Missionaries  are  em- 
ployed in  Mt.  Pleasant,  Ephraim,  and  Richfield,  schools  being 
maintained  only  in  Maroni,  Spring  City,  and  Elsinore.  The  Society 
has  invested  over  $25,000  in  mission  property  in  Utah,  and  has 
expended  in  fifteen  years  in  this  territory  over  $75,000. 

in  the  West,  as  in  the  South,  the  towns,  rapidly  growing  into 
cities,  are  urging  the  introduction  of  deaconess  methods,  as  the 
most  satisfactory  and  economical  agency  of  meeting  the  needs  of 
crowded  \  nidations. 

In  the  South,  Five  Bureaus  are  employed  in  conducting  the 
sixteen  industrial  homes  and  schools.  The  growing  demand  for 
city  missionaries,  and  the  large  number  of  intelligent  and  conse- 
crated women  desiring  to  devote  themselves  to  this  work,  make 
it  advisable  at  an  early  date  to  arrange  for  the  training  of  deacon- 
esses for  this  field. 

The  Industrial  or  Model  Homes  at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  Holly 
Spring  ',  Miss.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Greensboro,  1ST.  C,  Orangeburg, 
S.  C,  Marshall,  Tex.,  New  Orleans,  La.,  Morristown  and  Athens, 
Tenn.,  and  Clarkson,  Miss.,  are  arranged  to  accommodate  from 
fifteen  to  fifty  girls,  and  provide  for  industrial,  moral,  and  reli- 
gious training  in  connection  with  the  colleges  of  the  Education 
Society.  They  furnish  a  pleasant  home  for  worthy  girls  while 
they  pursue  a  course  of  study,  and  provide  for  these,  and  large 
classes  from  the  school  not  resident  in  the  Home,  instruction  in 
all  departments  of  housekeeping,  plain  sewing,  dressmaking, 
cooking,  vegetable  gardening,  etc.  The  plan  of  cooperation  with 
the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  specifies  that  the  girls  in  the  senior 
class  shall  spend  the  last  year  in  the  Home,  and  that  it  shall  be 
filled  from  the  most  advanced  students. 

Besides  the  institutions  associated  with  colleges,  wre  have  at 
Savannah  and  Speedwell,  Ga.,  Jacksonville  and  Ocala,  Fla.,  Cam- 
den, S.  C,  and  Asheville,  N.  C,  Industrial  Homes  and  schools 


680 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


combined,  which  furnish  educational  privileges  in  addition  to  a 
thorough  course  of  industrial  instruction.  These  provide  for  the 
educational  needs  of  the  people  where  the  Church  has  not  yet 
established  schools. 

Forty  missionaries  are  now  employed  by  the  Southern  Bureaus. 
Buildings  have  been  erected  at  Ocala  and  Speedwell,  and  additions 
have  been  made  and  the  facilities  for  the  work  improved  in  many 
places.  The  property  owned  by  the  Society  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  work  in  this  field  is  valued  at  $145,000. 

The  Bureau  for  Local  Work  authorizes  the  inauguration 
and  supervises  the  conduct  of  mission  work  in  cities  and  towns 
where  neither  Deaconess  Homes  nor  organized  missions  have 
been  provided.  The  Bureau  has  an  important  relation  to  the 
Society,  stimulating  and  giving  direction  to  missionary  effort. 
The  reports  show  good  work  in  twelve  cities  in  Indiana,  ten  in 
Pennsylvania,  six  in  Nebraska,  and  several  each  in  Michigan, 
New  York,  Delaware,  Massachusetts,  Oregon,  Kansas,  Ohio, 
California,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Iowa,  Maine,  and  Vermont. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  that  no  member  of  the  family  can 
safely  be  left  out  of  account  in  arranging  reformatory  agencies, 
that  the  family  must  not  be  treated  as  a  unit  in  the  social  organ- 
ism, and  in  order  to  make  its  work  permanent  and  effective  the 
Society  provides  for  kindergarten,  kitchengarten,  and  industrial 
training  for  youth,  reading  clubs  for  young  women  in  service, 
mothers'  meetings,  evangelistic  services,  and  night  schools  and 
reading  rooms  for  boys  and  young  men.  These  agencies  make 
more  effective  the  service  of  the  home  missionary,  and  of  the 
deaconess,  as  defined  by  the  Discipline.  By  such  means,  espe- 
cially in  our  local  or  city  missions  and  Deaconess  Homes,  the  So- 
ciety endeavors  to  reach  all  ages  and  sexes  with  elevating  influ- 
ences. 

City  Missions,  in  which  the  work  is  nearly  identical  with  our 
Deaconess  Homes,  except  that  the  workers  do  not  wear  the  garb 
or  hold  a  relation  to  the  Conference,  have  grown  out  of  the 
Bureau  of  Local  Work,  as  Glenn  Home,  Cincinnati,  the  Bohemian 
Mission  in  Chicago,  the  Immigrants'  Homes  in  New  York, 
Boston,  Baltimore,  and  Philadelphia,  the  Italian  Mission  in  New 
Orleans,  and  kindred  to  them,  the  Watts  de  Peyster  Industrial 
Home  at  Tivoli,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Children's  Home  in  York,  Ne- 
braska. 

The  Deaconess  Bureau  cannot  properly  be  called  a  depart- 
ment. Deaconess  service,  as  defined  by  the  Discipline,  includes  the 
entire  object  of  our  organization  as  a  woman's  society.  The  "  Bu- 
reau "  has  a  general  supervisory  relation  to  the  work.  It  secures 
uniformity  and  harmony  in  methods,  furnishes  a  connectional 
bond,  and  arranges  for  the  training  and  distribution  of  workers. 

The  General  Conference  wisely  left  these  details  undecided, 
which  has  encouraged  growth  and  development  along  providen- 
tial lines.  Conditions  differ,  and  the  Board  of  Deaconesses  in 
each  locality  can  select  more  wisely  the  available  agencies  of  sup- 


1896.]    Report  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.  681 

port  calculated  to  secure  success,  than  could  be  determined  by 
more  specific  legislation. 

The  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  when  deaconess  work 
is  to  be  introduced  into  a  Conference,  offers  its  organization  to 
cooperate  with  the  Board  of  Nine  for  its  management,  and  to 
collect  funds  for  its  support,  tf  this  aid  is  accepted,  a  local 
board,  to  hold  the  property  and  manage  all  the  details  of  the 
work,  is  selected  by  the  joint  action  of  the  Conference  Board  of 
Nine  and  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Conference  Woman's  Home 
Missionary  Society.  One  half  of  the  membership  dues  in  cities 
where  Deaconess  Homes  are  located,  and  the  Deaconess  Fund 
gathered  in  all  the  auxiliaries  of  the  interested  Conferences,  is 
paid  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  Conference  Society  directly  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Deaconess  Home,  and  reported  by  voucher  to 
the  General  Treasurer. 

Inasmuch  as  the  Society  is  accountable  to  the  Church  for  moneys 
gathered  in  its  name,  and  is  also  morally  as  well  as  financially 
responsible  for  its  Deaconess  Homes,  it  requires  quarterly  reports 
of  work  and  of  receipts  and  expenditures. 

Four  years  ago  the  Society  reported  seven  Deaconess  Homes. 
Now  it  has  twenty,  a  Training  School  for  deaconesses,  a  Hospital 
for  nurse  training,  and  a  Rest  Home  for  deaconesses,  just  pro- 
vided at  Ocean  Grove.  Then  it  owned  only  the  furnishings;  now 
it  has  property  in  Homes  valued  at  $132,000,  the  small  indebted- 
ness reported  last  July  having  been  largely  provided  for.  Homes 
will  be  opened  in  several  other  localities  as  soon  as  trained  work- 
ers can  be  secured.  The  Deaconess  Homes  of  the  Society  are  lo- 
cated at  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Washington,  D.  C;  Philadelphia,  Pitts- 
burg, and  Harrisburg,  Pa.;  Wilmington,  Del.;  Brooklyn, Syracuse, 
and  Buffalo, N.  Y. ;  Cleveland, O. ;  Detroit  and  Grand  Rapids, Mich. ; 
Knoxville,  Tenn.;  Urbana,  111.;  Salt  Lake  City,Provo,Ogden,  and 
Logan,  Utah;  Portland,  Ore.;  and  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

To  secure  uniformity  the  Society,  in  1890,  adopted  the  general 
rules  as  to  support  of  deaconesses,  term  of  service,  costume,  age  of 
admission,  and  support  of  disabled  workers,  approved  by  the  Dea- 
coness Conference  which  met  at  Chautauqua  in  1890,  and  sent 
delegates  to  this  Conference  until  1891,  when  its  meeting  ceased 
to  be  profitable. 

Conventions  under  the  auspices  of  the  Society  in  connection 
with  its  anniversary  have  been  held  at  Ocean  Grove,  July,  1894 
and  1895.  Representatives  from  the  Boards  of  Management  and 
from  the  several  Homes  associated  with  the  Society  and  others 
have  attended.  These  meetings  for  the  discussion  of  general 
interests  have  proved  helpful  and  inspiring. 

The  Lucy  Webb  Hayes  Training  School  for  Missionaries, 
at  1140  North  Capitol  Street,  Washington,  D.  C,  opened  four 
years  ago,  has  demonstrated  its  usefulness.  Its  students  and 
graduates,  being  widely  distributed  throughout  the  country,  are 
doing  successful  work  as  pastors'  assistants  and  are  engaged  in 
conducting  industrial  homes  and  city  missions.    Two  thirds  of  our 


682 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Deaconess  Homes  have  had  superintendents  or  deaconesses  trained 
at  Washington.  Sibley  Hospital,  erected  and  equipped  at  a  cost 
of  about  $12,000,  and  associated  with  it,  furnishes  the  facilities  for 
the  training  of  nurses.  A  thorough  and  comprehensive  course  of 
study  has  been  arranged,  and  an  able  corps  of  instructors  pro- 
vided. An  adjoining  building  has  been  rented,  but  additional  ac- 
commodations are  greatly  needed.  To  successfully  supply  the  de- 
mands of  the  field  hundreds  of  young  women  should  be  in  training. 
Dr.  Ames  is  President  of  the  School  and  General  Superintendent 
of  our  Deaconess  Work,  this  office  being  included  in  the  Bureau. 

LITERATURE. 

Woman's  Some  Missions,  the  official  organ  of  the  Society,  has 
a  circulation  of  18,000,  and,  with  a  subscription  price  of  twenty- 
five  cents,  has  been  more  than  self-supporting  from  the  begin- 
ning. Two  years  ago  the  Deaconess  at  Work  was  consolidated 
with  Woman's  Home  Missions,  and  since  then  the  two  have  been 
issued  under  one  cover. 

The  issue  of  Children's  Home  Missions,  a  bright,  illustrated 
paper  for  youth,  of  twelve  pages,  was  commenced  January,  1895, 
and  already  has  a  circulation  of- over  4,000. 

During  the  quadrennium  the  Society  has  circulated  over  12,- 
000,000  pages  of  leaflet  and  periodical  Home  Missionary  litera- 
ture. 

MISSIONARIES. 

The  Society  has  sustained  in  the  Industrial  Homes  and  Schools 
in  the  South  and  West  during  the  four  years,  respectively,  67,  75, 
85,  and  87  missionary  teachers.  City  missionaries  and  deacon- 
esses added  to  these  make  a  corps  of  over  250  missionaries  under 
the  direction  of  the  Society.  There  are  also  many  associated 
helpers,  and  not  less  than  600  young  women,  who,  after  a  course 
of  training  in  our  Industrial  Schools  and  Model  Homes,  are  ren- 
dering efficient  missionary  service  among  their  people. 

Statistics  of  the  work  of  these  can  be  given  only  in  a  few  par- 
ticulars, as  follows: 

Yearly  enrollment  in  industrial  classes   3,500 

Lessons  in  sewing  and  cooking  during  the  quadrennium  260,000 

Young  people's  and  temperance  meetings,  Sabbath  school  and 

other  services   46,505 

Bible  readings  given   45,868 

Bibles  and  Testaments  distributed   24,196 

Calls  on  the  needy,  visits  to  the  sick,  hospitals,  etc  299,160 

Tracts  distributed.  292,085 

LOCATION  OF  INDUSTRIAL  HOMES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  MISSIONS. 

FRONTIER  MISSIONS. 

Adelaide  Springer  Industrial  Home  and  School  Pawhuska,  Ok.  Ter. 

Adeline  M.  Smith  Industrial  Home  *  Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Asheville  Industrial  Home  and  School  Asheville,  N.  C. 

Bennett  Industrial  Home  and  School  Clarkson,  Miss. 

Browning  Industrial  Home  and  School  Camden,  S.  C. 


1896.]    Report  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  /Society.  683 


Boylan  Industrial  Home  and  School  Jacksonville,  Fla. 

Columbus  Mission  Home  and  School  r  Elsinore,  Utah. 

Dulce  Mission  and  Industrial  School  Dulce,  N.  Mex. 

Emerson  Memorial  Industrial  Home  and  School  Ocala,  Fla. 

Elizabeth  L.  Rust  Industrial  Home  Holly  Springs,  Miss 

Gurley  Mission  Home  and  School  Maroni,  Utah. 

Harwood  Industrial  School  and  Home  Albuquerque,  N.  Mex. 

Haven  Industrial  Home  and  School  Savannah,  Ga. 

Jewett  Mission  and  Industrial  School  Jevvett,  N.  Mex. 

Jesse  Lee  Industrial  Home  Unalaska,  Alaska. 

Kent  Industrial  Home  Greensboro,  N.  C. 

King  Industrial  Home,  Marshall,  Tex. 

Las  Cruces  Industrial  Home  and  School. ,  Las  Cruces,  N.  Mex. 

Las  Vegas  Industrial  Home  and  School  Las  Vegas,  N.  Mex. 

Leech  Industrial  Home  and  School  Spring  City,  Utah. 

Mary  Haven  Industrial  Home  and  School  Speedwell,  Ga. 

New  Jersey  Industrial  Home  Morristown,  Tenn. 

Palmer  Mission  Ephraim,  Utah. 

Palen  Mission  Richfield,  Utah. 

Peck  Industrial  Home  1906  Peters  Ave.,  New  Orleans,  La. 

Ritter  Industrial  Home  Athens,  Tenn. 

Spencer  Home  Scandinavian  Mission  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

Simpson  Memorial  Industrial  Home  Orangeburg,  S.  C. 

Stickney  Memorial  Industrial  Home  and  School  Lyndon,  Wash. 

Thompson  Memorial  Mission  Home  Mt.  Pleasant,  Utah. 

Thayer  Industrial  Home  South  Atlanta,  Ga. 

DEACONESS  HOMES. 

Aldrich  Memorial  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Baltimore  708  Lombard  St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Brooklyn  1034  Bedford  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Buffalo  108  S.  Division  St.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Cleveland  208  Woodland  Ave.,  Cleveland,  O. 

Cunningham  Deaconess  Home  and  Orphanage  Urbana,  111. 

Detroit  53  Elizabeth  St.,  Detroit,  Mich. 

East  Ohio  Methodist  Deaconess  Home  Provo,  Utah 

Harrisburg  Methodist  Deaconess  Home  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

Jane  Abraham  Deaconess  Home  Portland,  Ore. 

Knoxville  315  Clinch  St.,  Knoxville,  Tenn. 

Lucy  Webb  Hayes  National  Training  School.  1140  N.  Capitol  St.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Ogden  Methodist  Deaconess  Home  Ogden,  Utah. 

Philadelphia  Conference  Mission  and  Deaconess  Home  Logan,  Utah. 

Philadelphia    611  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pittsburg  614  Fifth  Ave.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Rest  Home  for  Deaconesses  Ocean  Grove,  N.  J. 

Salt  Lake  City  Deaconess  Home  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

San  Francisco  312  Castro  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Sibley  Hospital  Pierce  and  North  Capitol  Sts.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Syracuse  1519  Grape  St.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Washington  1142  North  Capitol  St.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Wilmington  Deaconess  Home.  .  ,  Wilmington,  Del. 

CITY  MISSIONS. 

Elizabeth  E.  Marcy  Industrial  Home  Newberry  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 

French  and  Italian  Mission  New  Orleans,  La. 

Immigrant  Girls'  Home  72  Marginal  St.,  East  Boston,  Mass. 

Immigrant  Girls'  Home  Baltimore,  Md. 

Immigrant  Girls'  Home  27  State  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Immigrant  Mission  Station  Ellis  Island,  N.  Y. 

Immigrant  Girls'  Home  965  and  967  Otsego  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mothers'  Jewels'  Home  York,  Neb. 


684 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Orientals,  Chinese  Mission  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Orientals,  Japanese  Mission  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Orientals,  Chinese  Mission  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Orientals,  Chinese  Mission  San  Diego,  Cal. 

Rhuea  Deakiu  Mission  Fifth  and  Front  Sts.,  Cincinnati,  0. 

Watts  ae  Peyster  Industrial  Home  and  School  Tivoli,  N.  Y. 

William  Glenn  Industrial  Home  ..645  West  Fourth  St.,  Cincinnati,  0. 

ORGANIZATION  AND  MEMBERSHIP. 


Mothers'  Jewels   1,439 

Life  Members   3,447 

Honorary  Managers   289 

Honorary  Patrons   100 


The  organisation  includes: 

Conference  Societies   76 

Auxiliary  Societies   2,419 

Adult  Members   49,221 

Young  Ladies'  Circles   4,331 

Juvenile  Societies   4,075 

Home  Mission  Reading  Circle.. .  6,499  Total  of  all  classes   69,401 

RECEIPTS  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

These  include  annual  and  life  membership  dues,  special  dona- 
tions, collections,  and  bequests.  Mission  supplies  are  credited  at 
a  carefully  estimated  value.  The  moneys  for  deaconess  and  local 
missionary  work  are  paid  to  the  institution  by  the  donors,  and 
reported  by  voucher  to  the  General  Treasurer.  The  work  of  the 
quadrennium  has  been  carried  forward  under  the  embarrassment 
of  unusual  financial  pressure,  and  yet  the  result,  compared  with 
previous  years,  is  most  encouraging. 

July  15,  1880,  to  October  15,  1883,  three  years  and  three 
months : 

Cash  .   $23,874  19 

Supplies   3,428  91 

Total   $27,303  10 

October  15,  1883,  to  October  15,  1887 : 

Cash   $130,334  09 

Supplies   87,031  06 

Total   $217,365  15 

October  15,  1887,  to  October  15,  1891 : 

Cash   $347,791  74 

Supplies   208,849  62 

Total   $556,641  36 

October  15,  1891,  to  July  15,  1895,  three  years  and  nine 
months : 

Cash   $472,887  20 

Supplies   298,746  67 

Gifts  of  property  not  included  in  cash  receipts   125,000  00 

Total  for  the  quadrennium   $896,633  87 


Grand  total  for  fifteen  years  $1,697,943  48 

Receipts  for  July  15,  1880,  to  October  15,  1891    $801,309  61 

Receipts  for  October  15,  1891,  to  July  15,  1895   896,633  87 

Total   $95,324  26 


1896.]    Report  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.  685 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  that  the  receipts  of  the  Society 
during  the  last  quadrennium  exceed  those  of  the  three  preceding 
by  $95,324.26,  notwithstanding  that  it  includes  the  period  of  the 
greatest  financial  struggle  in  the  country,  and  that  by  reason  of  a 
change  in  the  date  of  closing  the  fiscal  year  the  quadrennium 
lacks  three  months  of  being  four  years. 


OUR  DEBT. 

From  1889  to  1892  we  had  an  average  annual  increase  in  cash  re- 
ceipts of  nearly  $20,000.  This  stimulated  the  rapid  extension  of  the 
work.  Pledges  for  buildings  had  been  made,  and  later,  the  finan- 
cial conditions  in  the  country  made  collections  difficult.  At  the 
close  of  the  year  1893-94,  in  order  to  meet  missionaries'  salaries 
and  incidental  expenses,  we  had  accumulated  a  debt  of  $48,401.36. 
Of  this,  $28,401.36  was  due  to  our  own  Special  Funds,  and  nearly 
$20,000  to  outside  parties. 

By  careful  management,  and  retrenchment  wherever  possible, 
we  were  enabled  to  so  reduce  this  indebtedness  that  our  last  re- 
port, July,  1895,  shows  a  debt  of  only  $10,697.23  to  our  Special 
Funds  and  $15,403.33  to  outside  parties,  a  total  of  $26,100.56. 
During  these  two  years,  without  withdrawing  from  a  single  field 
previously  occupied,  the  debt  was  reduced  nearly  one  half,  and 
could  easily  be  met  in  a  single  year  of  ordinary  financial  pros- 
perity. 

INFLUENCE  OF  DEACONESS  WORK. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  should  the  Woman's  Home  Mission- 
ary Society  engage  in  deaconess  work  it  would  interfere  with  its 
frontier  missions.  This  would  aid  rather  than  embarrass  the 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  for  the  work  is  almost  iden- 
tical, and  one  would  supplement  the  other. 

We  give  below  tables  of  receipts  of  Home  Missionary  moneys 
in  several  Conferences  in  1888,  prior  to  the  employment  of  dea- 
conesses, and  the  receipts  in  the  same  Conferences  for  the  fiscal 
year  ending  1895: 


CONFERENCES  IN  WHICH  DEACONESS  WORK  HAS  NOT  BEEN  IN- 
TRODUCED. 


Conferences. 

Receipts,  1895. 

Receipts,  1888. 

Increase. 

Erie  

$2,838  21 
2,975  19 
2,024  62 
1,813  43 
1,415  44 

$1,532  60 
1,771  40 
1,303  54 
1,004  42 
1,212  08 

$1,305  61 
1,203  79 
721  08 
809  01 
203  36 

$11,066  89 

$6,824  04 

$4,242  85 

686  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


CONFERENCES  IN  WHICH  INDEPENDENT  HOMES  ARE  MAINTAINED. 


Conferences. 

Receipts,  1895. 

Receipts,  1888. 

Increase. 

$3,523  59 
2,089  55 
3,701  36 
1,650  58 
2,394  65 

$2,950  80 
1,910  28 
2,536  25 
1,263  96 
3,693  45 

$572  79 
179  27 
1,165  11 
386  62 
*  1,298  80 

$13,359  73 

$12,354  74 

$1,004  99 

*  Loss. 


.CONFERENCES   IN  WHICH  DEACONESS   HOMES  ARE   SUPPORTED  BY 
THE  WOMAN'S  HOME  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


CONFERENCES. 

Receipts,  1895. 

Total 
Receipts, 
1888. 

Increase. 

Deaconess 
Fund. 

Frontier 
Fund. 

Total, 
1895. 

Genesee   

Total  receipts  

$4,761  39 
1,135  39 
2,414  56 
3,777  99 
2,591  76 
1,863  52 

$2,512  26 
2,082  73 
1,889  35 
795  66 
1,790  08 
1,304  20 

$7,273  65 
3,228  12 
4,303  91 
4,573  65 
4,381  84 
3,167  72 

$781  76 
1,735  54 

986  01 
2,843  51 
2,886  66 

830  96 

$6,491  89 
1,492  58 
3,317  90 
1,730  14 
1,495  18 
2,336  76 

$16,544  61 

$10,372  28 

$26,928  89 

$10,064  44 

$16,864  45 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  increase  in  receipts  in  the  five  Confer- 
ences where  deaconess  work  has  not  been  introduced  is  $4,242.85, 
or  62  per  cent;  in  five  Conferences  where  the  Homes  are  con- 
ducted on  the  independent  plan  it  is  $1,004.99,  or  8  per  cent;  and 
in  six  Conferences  where  the  Homes  are  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  it  is  $16,864.45,  or  167.5  per 
cent.  In  these  six  Conferences,  in  addition  to  the  amount  con- 
tributed for  deaconess  support,  we  have  secured  Homes  which 
are  valued  at  $99,000.  A  careful  analysis  might  possibly  present 
some  modifying  circumstances,  but  the  general  statement  would 
not  be  materially  affected. 

The  unconditional  appropriations  made  and  paid  to  the  fron- 
tiers during  the  quadrennium  have  been,  respectively,  $28,225, 
$33,614,  $40,154,  and  $43,169,  showing  a  constant  increase  in  be- 
half of  frontiers  since  entering  upon  deaconess  work. 

As  the  fiscal  year  of  the  Society  closed  July  15,  1895,  and  the 
reports  for  1896  are  not  yet  complete,  the  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures are  not  included  in  this  Report. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Mrs.  Clinton  B.  Fisk, 
Mrs.  R.  S.  Rust,  President. 
Corresponding  Secretary. 


1896.]   Epworth  League  Report  to  the  General  Conference.  687 


Epworth  League  Report  to  the  General  ConeSrEnce. 
Journal,  page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  work  of  the  Epworth 
League  has  made  rapid  advancement  during  the  whole  of  the 
quadrennium  just  closed.  The  extension  of  the  organization  has 
been  rapid,  and  chapters  are  now  found  in  every  country  where 
Methodism  has  established  itself.  The  increase  comparatively 
has  been  greatest  among  our  German  brethren,  in  Scandinavia, 
India,  and  Mexico.  In  May,  1892,  there  were  8,000  chapters. 
There  is  now  a  grand  total  of  over  21,000  chapters;  16,500  of 
them  are  regular  chapters  and  4,500  Juniors. 

But  phenomenal  as  is  this  numerical  increase  it  has  hardly  kept 
pace  with  the  growth  of  the  Epworth  League  literature  and  the 
use  of  the  supplies  provided  by  the  Book  Concern.  The  Epworth 
Herald  has  doubled  its  circulation  in  the  quadrennium,  now  hav- 
ing more  than  one  hundred  thousand  subscribers.  The  Epworth 
League  Reading  Course,  which  was  inaugurated  in  1892-93  and 
circulated  the  first  year  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  sets,  has 
grown  to  the  splendid  total  of  six  thousand  sets  in  the  year  just 
closed,  and  bids  fair  to  again  double  its  circulation  in  the  com- 
ing year.  The  "  Cordial  Welcome  "  topic  cards,  containing  the 
topics  arranged  for  the  weekly  devotional  meetings,  have  attained 
a  regular  semiannual  circulation  of  over  five  hundred  thousand. 
Comments  upon  these  topics,  called  Epworth  League  Bible  Stud- 
ies, designed  to  secure  preparation  for,  and  thoughtfulness  in,  the 
devotional  service,  and  to  aid  in  the  intelligent  recital  of  Christian 
experience,  have  reached  a  sale  of  ten  thousand  copies  semiannu- 
ally. Fifty  thousand  copies  of  the  Epworth  League  Handbook, 
containing  statistics,  suggestions  for  the  departments,  installation 
and  consecration  services,  are  used  annually.  The  sales  of  the 
Anniversary  Program  have  increased  from  five  thousand  in  1892 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  estimated  this  year.  A 
"  League-at-Work  Series,"  with  five  volumes  adopted  for  the 
purpose  of  deepening  and  rendering  more  definite  the  work  of  in- 
dividual chapters,  has  been  prepared.  Additions  to  this  series 
may  be  expected  from  time  to  time.  An  Epworth  collection  of 
hymns  and  tunes  is  in  course  of  preparation  under  the  editorial 
supervision  of  one  of  the  most  competent  musicians  in  the 
Church.  Letters  patent  have  been  issued  upon  the  Epworth 
League  badge,  and  increased  profits  and  sales  from  the  adoption 
of  this  beautiful  badge  and  its  uniform  use  maybe  expected.  It 
is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  the  profits  upon  Epworth 
League  books  and  papers  have  already  rendered  the  Epworth 
League  self-supporting,  and  that  it  will  serve  to  increase  rather 
than  to  decrease  the  dividends  to  superannuated  preachers. 

The  most  sanguine  expectations  are  entertained  for  the  Epworth 
League  Juniors.  A  course  of  reading  has  been  suggested  for 
Junior  superintendents,  and  a  correspondence  course  of  study  has 
been  arranged  for  those  who  are  willing  to  give  the  time  for  a 
more  extended  preparation  for  their  great  work.    A  course  of 


688 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


reading  and  study  extending  over  a  period  of  six  years  has  been 
recommended  for  the  Juniors.  While  too  difficult  for  many, 
and  too  extended  for  the  patience  and  constancy  of  others,  its 
requirements  bid  fair  to  become  generally  used  as  the  basis  of  pro- 
motion to  the  Ep worth  League.  One  hundred  and  forty  compa- 
nies of  Epworth  Guards,  with  a  pledge  against  intemperance,  the 
use  of  tobacco,  profanity,  and  obscene  stories,  and  a  dozen  com- 
panies of  Epworth  Daughters,  organized  for  purposes  of  physical 
culture,  are  in  existence.  The  need  of  a  weekly  paper  for  these 
Juniors  limited  to  the  capacity  of  boys  and  girls  from  twelve  to 
sixteen,  religious  in  tone  and  fertile  in  expedients  and  suggestions 
for  their  entertainment  and  education,  becomes  more  apparent 
with  each  passing  year. 

The  object  of  the  Epworth  League  "  to  promote  intelligent  and 
vital  piety  in  the  young  members  and  friends  of  the  Church  .  .  . 
and  to  train  them  in  works  of  mercy  and  help  "  has  been  steadily 
kept  in  view.  To  make  the  Epworth  League  a  school  for  the 
definite  training  in  practical  religious  work  of  more  than  one 
million  young  people  is  a  great  undertaking,  and  requires  a  pa- 
tience and  persistence  separate  and  above  the  worthy  desire  of 
securing  immediate  results  in  the  local  churches.  We  adduce 
the  following  facts  as  evidence  of  its  success : 

The  large  and  regular  attendance  of  the  young  people  upon 
morning  and  evening  preaching  services  and  the  mid-week  prayer 
meeting  ;  the  inauguration  of  revival  services  in  hundreds  of 
schoolhouses  and  neglected  neighborhoods;  increased  attention 
to  Bible  Study  in  the  presiding  elder's  district  conventions;  grow- 
ing interest  in  the  Epworth  League  Reading  Course;  contribu- 
tions of  money,  food,  clothing,  and  provisions  to  hospitals,  Ep- 
worth Houses,  and  Deaconess  Homes;  house-to-house  visitation; 
more  frequent  and  systematic  visitation  upon  the  aged  and  infirm 
and  added  number  who  make  regular  contributions  to  the  benev- 
olent collections. 

The  most  cordial  relations  are  sustained  with  the  Epworth 
League  of  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  the  Epworth  League 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  with  other  de- 
nominational young  people's  societies,  such  as  the  Baptist  Young 
People's  Society,  the  Luther  League,  and  the  Young  People's 
Christian  Union.  This  spirit  of  fraternity  prevails  as  well  toward 
the  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  a  continuance  and  in- 
crease of  the  most  fraternal  cooperation  with  this  great  inter- 
national organization  may  be  anticipated.  One  million  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  young  Methodists  born  in  our  homes, 
converted  at  our  altars,  and  consecrated  there  in  the  dew  of  their 
youth  to  the  highest  New  Testament  standard  of  experience  and 
life,  holding  in  honor  the  fathers  of  the  Church,  devoted  to  the 
doctrines  and  experience  of  our  common  Methodism,  bring  greet- 
ing to  the  General  Conference  in  this  report  of  the  Epworth 
League.  James  N.  FitzGerald,  President. 

Edwin  A.  Schell,  General  Secretary. 


1896.]  Report  of  the  National  City  Evangelization  Union.  689 


The  Report  op  the  National  City  Evangelization  Union. 
Journal,  page  91. 

National  City  Evangelization  Union. — President,  H.  Sam- 
son, Pittsburg;  First  Vice  President,  Dr.  J.  E.  James,  Phila- 
delphia ;  Second  Vice  President,  Geo.  E.  Atwood,  Esq.,  Boston  ; 
Third  Vice  President,  G.  Lane  Taneyhill,  M.D.,  Baltimore  ; 
Corresponding  Secretary,  Horace  Benton,  Esq.,  Cleveland;  Record- 
ing Secretary,  S.  T.  Stewart,  Esq.,  Brooklyn  ;  Treasurer,  J.  B. 
Hobbs,  Esq.,  Chicago. 

Executive  Committee. — Above  officers  (except  Second  and  Third 
Vice  Presidents),  and  Rev.  F.  M.  North,  D.D.,  New  York;  Geo. 
L.  Thorne,  Buffalo ;  Rev.  Geo.  P.  Mains,  D.D.,  Brooklyn,  and 
Rev.  A.  D.  Traveller,  Chicago. 

Board  of  Managers. — Allegheny,  A.  A.  Horne  ;  Baltimore, 
James  E.  Ingram  ;  Boston,  E.  O.  Fisk  ;  Brooklyn,  J.  E.  Searles  ; 
Buffalo,  H.  H.  Otis ;  Chicago,  William  Deering  ;  Cincinnati,  J. 
R.  Clark;  Columbus,  A.  G.  Paton;  Denver,  J.  R.  Schermerhorn; 
Detroit,  W.  L.  Holmes;  Indianapolis,  Charles  W.  Smith;  Jersey 
City,  W.  H.  Beach  ;  Kansas  City,  Rev.  F.  B.  Price  ;  Milwaukee, 
Rev.  J.  R.  Creighton  ;  Minneapolis,  Dr.  J.  F.  Force  ;  Newark, 
John  M.  Gwinnell;  New  York,  Bowles  Colgate;  Philadelphia,  R. 
W.  P.  Goff ;  Pittsburg,  Samuel  Hamilton ;  Providence,  Geo.  Wt 
Smith  ;  Rochester,  N.  P.  Pond  ;  St.  Louis,  Geo.  W.  Brown  ;  St. 
Paul,  Wm.  K.  Marshall ;  Syracuse,  James  B.  Brooks  ;  Washing- 
ton, G.  W.  F.  Swartzell. 

LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS  IN  THE  CITIES  FOR  CITY  EVANGELIZA- 
TION. 

When  the  First  Society  was  Formed. — For  the  first  cen- 
tury such  a  society  was  unknown.  The  Church  grew  in  the 
city  by  the  same  spirit  and  agency  as  in  the  country.  The  year 
1850  brought  in  the  railroad  era  and  quickened  cities  into  rapid 
growth.  Finding  that  the  churches  in  the  cities  were  not  keep- 
ing pace  with  the  population,  Heman  Bangs  and  M.  D'C.  Craw- 
ford, presiding  elders,  in  1866  organized  the  "New  York  City 
Sunday  School  and  Missionary  Society."  In  the  next  nineteen 
years  five  other  cities  formed  like  organizations,  but  most  of  them 
did  not  incorporate  and,  after  a  brief  activity,  became  dormant. 

Rapid  Increase  Since  1885. — In  that  year  the  Chicago  Society 
was  formed,  and  by  1890  ten  other  cities  had  organized.  Since 
1890,  not  less  than  twenty-five  more  cities  have  organized — the 
whole  number  now  being  about  fifty. 

Name. — As  each  Society  came  into  existence  spontaneously 
and  independently  of  all  the  others,  and  of  all  supervising  au- 
thority, each  adopted  the  name  that  seemed  good  in  its  own  eyes, 


690 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


and  so  we  have  the  "City  Church  Extension  and  Missionary- 
Society,"  "The  Church  and  Sunday  School  Alliance,"  "The 
Church  Society,"  "  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Union,"  "  The  City 
Evangelization  Union." 

Not  till  they  came  together  in  the  National  Convention  did  it 
clearly  appear  that  these  many-named  societies  are  all  practically 
the  same  society — children  belonging  to  the  same  family. 

How  Constituted. — Its  Board  of  Management  is  made  up  of 
any  resident  General  Conference  officer,  of  resident  presiding 
elders  and  pastors,  and  of  lay  representatives  from  all  the 
churches.  It  is  therefore  not  a  society  outside  of  and  separate 
from  the  ohurches,  but  rather  the  churches  themselves  organized 
for  aggressive  activity.  Naturally  the  presiding  elder  is  the  first 
to  see  the  need  for  such  a  society,  and  to  initiate  its  organization; 
but  as  fast  as  laymen  come  to  the  front  in  its  support  they  are 
invited  to  share  the  responsibility  of  its  management.  At  present 
about  four  fifths  of  these  societies  have  a  layman  for  president. 
The  larger  cities  employ  a  salaried  officer  as  City  Mission  Super- 
intendent, to  give  his  entire  time  to  the  work  and  to  supervise 
and  push  it.  In  every  city  where  the  right  man  has  been  found 
for  this  office  the  results  have  more  than  justified  the  outlay. 

What  Has  Been  Demonstrated. — First,  that  this  Society 
will  not  run  itself.  However  desirable  as  an  organization,  if  not 
a  live  organization  and  energized  by  the  true  missionary  spirit,  it 
soon  dies  of  doing  nothing.  Only  in  cities  where  the  churches 
take  a  genuine  interest  in  each  other,  and  in  the  work  and  success 
of  the  denomination  as  a  whole,  can  it  live.  Where  each  church 
is  supremely  absorbed  in  itself,  and  has  no  heart  for  anything  but 
its  own  upbuilding,  there  it  is  soon  frozen  out. 

It  has  also  been  demonstrated  that  in  every  city  where  min- 
isters and  laymen  take  wide  views,  lay  broad  plans,  looking  over 
the  whole  city  and  to  the  city  that  is  to  be,  there  the  Union  be- 
comes a  power  for  good,  both  to  existing  churches  and  to  the 
regions  of  the  city  beyond  the  churches. 

Some  Things  it  Has  Done. — It  has  inaugurated  a  movement 
which  resulted  in  the  payment  of  church  debts :  In  Detroit,  $33,- 
000;  in  Pittsburg,  $35,000;  in  Cleveland,  $45,000.  In  Allegheny, 
in  little  over  a  year,  it  has  bought  a  lot,  built  a  church,  and  re- 
vived a  church  that  was  practically  dead.  In  Baltimore  it  has 
built  and  aided  fourteen  churches.  In  Boston  it  has  in  four  years 
raised  $38,000,  and  been  instrumental  in  organizing  seven  sub- 
urban churches,  four  of  which  now  have  good  buildings.  In 
Brooklyn  its  receipts  have  been  more  than  $100,000,  with  which 
it  has  created,  or  aided  in  creating,  twenty-two  churches.  In 
Buffalo  it  has  invested  $64,000  in  thirteen  churches  and  owns  an 
episcopal  residence  valued  at  $35,000.  In  Chicago  it  has  organ- 
ized forty-one  missions  and  erected  fifty  churches,  and  its  receipts 
in  ten  years  have  been  $200,000.  In  Cincinnati  in  seven  years  it 
has  built  and  aided  nineteen  churches. 

In  Cleveland  it  has  aided  two  churches,  and  in  six  years  built 


1896.]  Report  of  the  National  City  Evangelization  Union.  691 

•eight  churches.  In  Columbus  it  has  raised  $20,000,  and  built  or 
assisted  in  building  one  or  more  churches  a  year  for  the  last  eight 
years.  In  Denver  it  has  raised  and  expended  $12,000  in  church 
building  and  carrying  on  missions.  In  Kansas  City  it  has  raised 
$7,000  and  assisted  nine  missions,  four  of  which  now  have  houses 
of  worship.  In  Minneapolis  it  has  raised  several  thousand  dollars, 
aided  three  churches,  and  aided  to  rebuild  a  church  destroyed  by 
fire.  In  Milwaukee  it  has  built  six  churches.  In  Newark  it  has 
aided  two  churches,  and  aided  in  building  two  parsonages  and 
five  churches. 

In  New  York  it  has  aided  forty-five  church  enterprises,  and 
now  expends  annually  $40,000.  In  Pittsburg  it  has  raised  $59,- 
000,  and  started  or  substantially  aided  fifteen  churches. 

In  Syracuse  it  has  built  seven  churches.  In  Paterson  it 
has  aided  seven  churches.  In  Washington  it  has  aided  North 
Capitol  Church  $5,400.  In  Worcester  it  raised  last  year  about 
810,000  for  three  churches  and  two  missions  under  its  care.  Even 
in  smaller  cities  just  organized — Camden,  New  Haven,  Elmira,  Al- 
toona — it  is  already  bearing  substantial  fruit. 

Ax  Instance  of  Rapid  Growth. — In  Philadelphia  the  Society 
was  revived  and  reorganized  in  1892.  The  first  year  it  raised 
$800,  the  second  year  $4,000,  the  third  year  $10,000,  and  last 
year  $31,000. 

Amount  Raised  Last  Year. — At  the  National  Convention  in 
Baltimore  last  November,  thirty  Unions  reported  having  raised 
in  the  past  year  $175,000,  being  an  advance  of  $31,000,  or  twenty- 
two  per  cent  over  the  preceding  year. 

What  this  $175,000  Has  Accomplished. — A  small  part  of  it 
has  gone  to  support  the  Gospel  in  missions  just  opened,  to  pay  in- 
terest or  part  of  the  principal  on  debts  of  struggling  churches. 
But  by  far  the  greater  part  has  gone  to  start  new  enterprises 
in  destitute  and  strategic  localities,  where  they  develop  into  self- 
supporting  churches,  in  most  cases  the  first  year. 

City  Church  Extension  Pays. — For  every  dollar  given  by 
the  Union  the  community  in  which  the  enterprise  is  started  gives 
three  dollars  more,  in  Baltimore  four  more,  in  Chicago  eight  more, 
in  not  a  few  cities  ten  more.  Then  wisely  selected  suburban  sites 
appreciate  in  value,  as  the  Catholic  Church  has  long  understood, 
and  as  Ave  are  beginning  to  understand. 

The  Spiritual  Side. — This  is  full  of  encouragement.  Mission 
churches,  when  wisely  located  and  faithfully  supervised,  supply 
good  material  for  Sunday  schools  and  revivals.  They  are  our 
chief  reliance  for  increase  in  the  cities.  In  Chicago  they  have  add- 
ed  10,000  members  and  18,000  Sunday  school  scholars  ;  in  New 
York,  16,000  members. 

The  Spiritual  and  Financial  Cowork. — In  Detroit  the 
number  of  churches  has  doubled  since  the  Union.  In  Cleveland 
only  nine  of  its  thirty  congregations  are  now  worshiping  in  the 
same  church  edifice,  as  when  the  Union  was  formed.    In  Brook- 


692 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


lyn,  with  its  fifty-four  churches  and  20,000  members,  one  third  of 
the  strength  of  the  denomination  is  attributed  to  the  Union.  In 
Columbus,  a  church  organized  six  and  a  half  years  ago  in  a  room 
over  a  bakeshop  is  now  one  of  its  four  strongest  churches. 

Before  the  Union  was  Formed  and  Since. — "In  Buffalo 
the  Church  has  grown  more  in  five  years  than  in  twenty-five  years 
before  the  Union."  "  In  Worcester  the  Church  has  grown  three 
or  four  times  faster  since  the  Union."  In  Newark  "  only  two 
churches  were  added  in  twenty  years  before  the  Union.  After 
the  Union,  four  churches  were  added  in  five  years."  In  every  city 
where  the  Union  has  a  vigorous  life  the  testimony  is  the  same. 

Some  say,  "  Let  us  have  fewer  churches,  but  stronger  /  "  Facts 
do  not  show  that  ceasing  to  plant  new  churches  in  growing  cities 
increases  the  strength  of  the  denomination  in  the  city.  On  the 
contrary,  the  great  downtown  churches,  most  in  sympathy  with 
the  City  Home  Mission  Society,  are  the  churches  that  are  centers 
of  greatest  power.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  Presby- 
terian, Baptist,  and  Congregational  Churches  have  not  discovered 
that  the  way  to  make  existing  churches  strong  is  to  cease  to  plant 
new  ones.  Their  Church  Unions  are  exceedingly  active  in  the 
cities  in  planting  new  churches.  When  the  saloon  ceases  to  mul- 
tiply— ceases  to  make  its  appearance  in  every  suburban  addition — 
when  the  cities  cease  to  grow,  then  let  Methodism  cease  to  mul- 
tiply churches  in  the  cities  ;  but  when  the  fifty  largest  cities  have 
increased  forty-five  per  cent  in  the  last  decade,  adding  over  three 
and  a  half  millions  to  these  fifty  cities,  Methodism  is  not  going  to 
cease  her  efforts  to  keep  pace  with  this  tremendous  increase  of 
population,  especially  when  all  indications  are  that  cities  in  the 
future  are  to  grow  more  rapidly  than  in  the  past. 

One  Way  to  Have  Strong  Churches. — Let  them  be  located  in 
strategic  points  selected  hy  the  united  wisdom  of  all  the  churches, 
and  not  by  unauthorized  persons,  nor  by  disaffected  seceders  go- 
ing off  to  start  an  opposition  church  on  the  next  block.  Thereby 
reduce  the  wasteful  competition  that  now  keeps  so  many  churches 
weak.  Let  the  churches  learn  that  we  grow  strong,  not  by  trans- 
fers of  membership,  but  by  conversions  from  the  world.  Let  every 
enterprise  that  has  the  least  likelihood  of  developing  into  a 
church  be  under  the  protection  of  the  Union  from  its  beginning. 
If  it  is  wise  that  authority  to  locate  new  schoolhouses  should  be 
vested  in  a  Board  of  Education,  is  it  less  wise  that  the  location  of 
churches  should  be  vested  in  a  Union  in  which  is  represented  the 
united  wisdom  of  all  the  churches. 

Other  Lines  of  Work  Taken  Up  by  the  Unions. — The 
General  Missionary  Society  is  increasing  its  grants  to  Missions 
among  the  foreigners  in  our  cities.  In  many  cities  the  Unions 
are  supplementing  this  work,  furnishing  additional  helpers,  pay- 
ing rent  of  hall  and  other  expenses,  and,  in  due  time,  building 
churches.  In  Boston  the  Union  has  a  mission  to  the  Italians  and 
a  church  in  the  North  End  made  up  of  five  nationalities.  In  East 
Boston  it  has  helped  to  establish  a  work  among  the  Swedes,  and 


1896.]  Report  of  the  National  City  Evangelization  Union.  693 

in  Cambridge  and  Concord  it  has  made  possible  a  work  among 
the  Norwegians  and  Danes,  who  now  have  a  church.  In  New 
York  the  Union  has  five  missions  to  foreigners,  including  Italians, 
Hebrews,  Swedes,  and  Chinese.  In  Brooklyn  the  Union  has  mis- 
sions to  Norwegians  and  Swedes.  In  Philadelphia  it  has  missions 
to  Italians,  French,  and  Russian  Jews.  In  Baltimore  it  has  a  mis- 
sion to  the  Bohemians.  In  Cleveland  a  church  under  the  care  of 
the  Union  began  a  work  among  the  Bohemians  which  has  been 
signally  blessed,  and  which  now  has  the  largest  Sunday  school  in 
Cleveland  Methodism.  In  this  church  and  Sunday  school  are 
represented  ten  nationalities.  In  Cincinnati  the  Union  has  the 
only  Protestant  Mission  in  the  city  to  the  Italians.  The  Chicago 
Union  has  four  missions  to  the  Bohemians,  for  whom  it  is  now 
building  a  second  church  ;  amission  to  the  Italians,  to  the  Welsh, 
and  it  is  now  building  three  churches  for  the  Swedes. 

The  foreign-born  already  make  up  more  than  one  third  of  our 
great  cities.  If  the  command  to  "  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture "  includes  them,  then  are  these  City  Home  Missions  doing 
foreign  missionary  work  in  our  own  American  cities.  This  field 
is  white  unto  the  harvest,  and  it  may  be  God  will  yet  use  the 
Methodist  Church  to  do  for  some  other  nationalities  what  it  has 
already  done  for  the  Germans. 

The  Forward  Movement. — Under  the  auspices  of  the  Union, 
an  evangelistic  campaign  has  been  inaugurated  in  several  cities. 
They  bear  witness  that  the  old  Methodist  revival  spirit — hearts 
set  on  fire  for  the  conversion  of  sinners — has  not  died  out  in  the 
cities. 

The  Forward  Movement  is  a  movement  of  the  churches  toward 
the  people  to  win  them  to  Christ.  In  New  York  the  great  Met- 
ropolitan Meetings  have  found  permanent  headquarters  in  the  now 
Central  Metropolitan  Temple.  In  Buffalo  the  Forward  Movement 
reported  three  hundred  conversions,  and  in  Philadelphia  six  hun- 
dred. In  the  latter  city  its  quickening  influence  reached  out  to  a 
multitude  of  churches.  In  several  cities  churches  situated  near 
each  other  have  joined  in  a  Forward  Movement  with  blessed  results. 

Special  Lines  of  Work. — In  different  cities,  in  addition  to 
its  regular  Church  Extension  Work,  the  Union  is  reaching  out 
along  special  lines  of  work.  The  Boston  Union,  in  1892,  estab- 
lished the  first  Evangelistic  University  Settlement  in  America. 
The  Ep worth  Settlement  in  Chicago  is  carrying  physical  relief  in 
one  hand,  and  the  Gospel  in  the  other,  to  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren hitherto  separated  from  the  churches  by  a  vast  chasm.  The 
Worcester  Union  holds  tent  meetings  in  the  suburbs  during  the 
summer  months  with  blessed  results.  The  Cincinnati  Union 
averages  a  service  a  day  with  its  well-equipped  Gospel  carriage 
among  the  street  crowds  of  that  city. 

Humanitarian  Work. — The  Columbus  Union  organized  the 
only  Protestant  hospital  in  that  city,  giving  to  it  for  the  first  two 
years  half  of  its  income,  till  the  hospital  got  on  to  a  self-support- 
ing basis. 


694 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


In  the  city  of  Washington  one  of  the  objects  for  which  the 
Union  was  formed  was  to  establish  a  Home  for  Aged  Persons  in 
in  the  church. 

In  Detroit  the  President  of  the  Union  gave  each  year  a  series 
of  entertainments  of  a  high  order  to  the  poor  people,  selling 
tickets  at  about  four  cents  each,  the  attendance  averaging  three 
thousand  a  night  for  thirty-six  nights.  It  kept  them  from  the 
saloons,  and  knowing  that  Christian  men  were  back  of  it,  it 
brought  some  of  them  into  the  churches. 

The  Downtown  Centers  of  Population. — No  problem  be- 
fore the  Church  of  to-day  is  more  important  and,  perhaps,  none 
more  difficult.  Instead  of  meeting  it  heroically  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  the  Church  has  been  running  away  from  it.  As  boarding 
houses  and  tenement  houses  take  the  place  of  family  residences, 
the  Church  has  been  moving  out  and  away  onto  the  avenue,  leav- 
ing its  old  parish  to  become  the  seething,  congested  center  of  the 
saloon,  the  gambling  hell,  and  the  brothel. 

Institutional  Churches. — In  every  large  city  the  Union  is 
considering  the  problem  of  the  downtown  centers.  While  some 
Unions  are  only  looking  at  it,  others  are  heroically  attacking  it. 

As  Christ  healed  the  sick  and  preached  the  Gospel,  so  they  are 
caring  for  both  body  and  soul.  In  Boston  the  Union  is  carrying 
on  Institutional  Church  work  in  one  of  its  churches — Morgan 
Chapel. 

In  several  other  cities  the  Union  has  under  its  care  churches  de- 
veloping along  the  same  line  of  Institutional  Church  work. 

In  St.  Louis  the  Niedringhaus  Mission  is  perhaps  the  most  effi- 
cient Institutional  Church  of  our  denomination.  It  is  supported 
mainly  by  its  founder.  In  Toronto,  Canada,  the  Fred  Victor 
Mission,  the  gift  of  the  late  A.  H.  Massey,  of  blessed  memory, 
is  doing  a  most  Christlike  work. 

Union  Missions. — Many  of  the  most  successful  downtown 
missions  are  interdenominational.  In  these  our  people  heartily 
cooperate,  and  not  infrequently  their  superintendent  is  a  mem- 
ber of  our  church.  But  sporadic  missions,  started  by  irresponsible 
parties  appealing  to  the  public  for  support,  are  not  always  as 
satisfactory  in  abiding  results  as  missions  under  the  care  of  some 
responsible  church. 

What  is  Being  Done  with  the  Downtown  Church? — 
Heretofore  it  has  been  customary  to  sell  it  out  and  reinvest  in  a 
family  church  uptown.  In  Chicago  a  wiser  thing  was  done  when 
Clark  Street  Church  was  partially  converted  into  business  prop- 
erty, the  rent  of  which  nets  Chicago  Methodism  more  than  $30,- 
000  a  year.  A  good  thing  was  done  in  Brooklyn  when  the  $90,- 
000  received  for  the  Washington  Street  Church  was  given  to  the 
Brooklyn  Union  to  be  invested  as  a  loan  fund.  The  historic  Wa- 
bash Avenue  Church,  Chicago,  has  just  been  deeded  to  the 
Chicago  Union  to  be  the  headquarters  of  a  downtown  evangel- 
istic work.  As  one  goes  from  city  to  city,  and  has  pointed  out  to 
him  valuable  business  property  now  yielding  a  vast  income — 


1896.]   Report  of  the  National  City  Evangelization  Union,.  695 

property  which  once  belonged  to  our  church  and  was  sold  for  a 
small  sum — he  cannot  but  see  how  suicidal  this  policy  has  been. 
In  every  city,  if  the  Union  does  no  more,  it  at  least  raises  its  pro- 
test against  the  abandonment  of  the  downtown  centers  by  the 
churches. 

The  Social  Feature. — In  cities  where  we  have  no  Methodist 
Social  Union,  the  City  Evangelization  Union  cultivates  the  social 
side  of  Methodism  in  tea  meetings  and  banquets,  made  attractive 
by  the  preseuce  and  addresses  of  distinguished  guests.  The  Co- 
lumbus Union,  on  Thanksgiving  eve  and  the  night  following, 
holds  in  the  largest  room  in  the  city  its  annual  "  Convocation  " — 
a  gigantic  church  social  of  all  the  churches — realizing  ordinarily 
a  thousand  dollars  from  articles  on  sale  in  its  bazars.  The  Balti- 
more Union  is  about  to  try  this  plan  on  a  very  large  scale. 

Connection  al  Spirit. — Every  city  presiding  elder  knows  that 
Methodist  churches  easily  drift  apart,  and  need  hooks  of  steel  to 
hold  them  together.  In  every  city  where  the  Union  is  a  reality, 
and  not  a  dead  letter,  it  is  a  "  hook  of  steel."  Philadelphia  has  a 
hundred  and  fourteen  Methodist  Episcopal  churches;  but  in  the 
Philadelphia  Church  Extension  and  Missionary  Society  they  are 
one  church,  one  City  Missionary  organization,  with  Philadelphia 
as  thei|;  one  field  of  labor. 

It  is  sad  to  see  in  some  cities  how  our  churches  have  drifted 
apart.  They  seem  to  be  working  as  so  many  competing  organiza- 
tions, and  not  as  one  firm.  Such  churches  need  to  have  put  before 
them  some  aggressive  work,  some  achievement  for  the  good  of  the 
whole  denomination  in  the  city,  some  work  of  faith  and  courage 
in  which  they  all  have  a  common  interest.  Unless  there  is  a 
Union  to  summon  them  to  such  a  work  they  become  self-absorbed, 
lose  the  spirit  of  connectionalism,  and  lose  that  associate  power 
that  comes  by  massing  all  the  forces  at  the  right  time  on  a  given 
point. 

At  a  time  when  the  forces  of  evil  have  by  their  solidarity  be- 
come well-nigh  omnipotent  in  the  city,  is  it  not  providential  that 
in  the  cities  our  churches,  as  if  moved  by  a  divine  impulse,  are 
organizing  Unions  ? 

The  Union  a  Coworker  with  the  Other  Societies. — The 
Deaconess  Home,  The  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  and 
the  Epworth  League  are  fellow-partners  in  this  work.  Between 
them  and  the  Union  in  the  cities  a  close  fellowship  is  growing  up. 
The  New  York  Union  inaugurated  the  Deaconess  Home  and 
Training  School.  The  Boston  Union,  by  an  arrangement  with 
the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  gives  one  fourth  of  its 
collection  to  the  Deaconess  Home. 

In  Cincinnati  a  joint  committee  from  the  several  societies  in- 
vited the  Union  to  take  the  responsibility  of  deciding  in  what 
new  fields  it  is  desirable  to  undertake  City  Mission  work.  In  its 
City  Church  Extension  work  the  City  Union  is  lending  a  helping 
hand  to  the  General  Board  of  Church  Extension  and  doing  a  work 
which  that  Board  would  gladly  do  if  only  its  income  would  per- 


696 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


mit.  If  the  Union,  by  asking  for  a  collection  for  City  Missions, 
occasionally  diverts  from  the  other  societies,  the  new  churches 
which  it  is  planting  will  soon  be  pouring  their  gifts  into  all  the 
benevolences  of  the  Church. 

Raising  Money. — Most  of  the  Unions  are  of  so  recent  origin 
that  they  as  yet  hardly  have  courage  to  ask  the  churches  for  con- 
tributions. They  begin  with  a  membership  fee  of  fifty  cents  or  a 
dollar.  The  friends  of  the  cause  add  volunteer  subscriptions.  As 
the  pastors  and  churches  see  the  great  good  accomplished  by  so 
small  an  outlay  an  increasing  number  are  observing  "  City  Mis- 
sion Day."  A  few  Unions  publish  a  monthly  in  order  to  keep 
the  churches  posted  in  regard  to  their  work,  finding  that  just  in 
proportion  as  the  Union  gives  information  to  the  churches  the 
churches  give  assistance  to  the  Union.  Several  Unions  are  plan- 
ning for  a  loan  fund.  Two  have  already  made  a  beginning — 
New  York,  $50,000,  and  Brooklyn,  $90,000. 

NATIONAL  CITY  EVANGELIZATION  UNION. 

It  was  manifest  destiny  that  these  Methodist  Episcopal  Unions 
— these  City  Evangelization  Unions — should  learn  their  kinship  to 
one  another,  and  desire  to  form  each  other's  acquaintance.  Such 
an  opportunity  offered  five  years  ago,  when  the  Missionary  Com- 
mittee met  in  Cleveland.  A  preliminary  meeting  then  held  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  National  City  Evangelization  Union  in  Pitts- 
burg, since  which  annual  conventions  have  been  held  in  New  York, 
Cincinnati,  Buffalo,  Baltimore,  and  a  sixth  to  be  held  in  Chicago 
next  fall.  Its  officers,  who  have  had  the  laboring  oar,  greatly  re- 
gret that  no  more  has  been  accomplished.  There  being  no  funds 
to  employ  a  competent  officer  to  supervise  and  push  the  work, 
the  National  Union  has  accepted  such  volunteer  service  as  it  could 
command.  More  than  thirty  cities  have  been  visited,  not  so  much 
to  deliver  addresses  as  to  make  a  study  of  the  situation  and  learn, 
if  possible,  what  obstacles  the  Unions  have  overcome,  what  mis- 
takes they  have  eliminated,  what  valuable  experiences  they  have 
gained — in  short,  what  is  the  true  sphere  and  work  of  the  City 
Home  Mission  Society  in  our  Church.  The  result  is  an  irresistible 
conviction  that  this  Society  is  no  useless  wheel,  but  that  it  has 
been  providentially  raised  up  to  meet  an  emergency  confronting 
us  in  the  cities,  and  that  it  has  come  to  stay. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  in  some  cities  the  work  is  vigorously 
pushed,  in  others  fairly  so,  and  in  others  only  moderately.  Some 
have  only  recently  organized,  and  start  off  with  enthusiasm.  All 
the  cities  of  over  100,000  have  now  fallen  into  line,  the  last  being 
Indianapolis,  Providence,  and  Jersey  City.  There  are  four  so- 
cieties on  the  Pacific  Coast,  two  of  them  recently  organized. 

A  few  societies,  organized  years  ago,  have,  through  bad 
debts  and  bad  management,  become  inactive  and  must  be 
revived.  Several  cities  between  50,000  and  100,000  are  now 
considering  the  question  of  organizing.  Experience  shows  that 
when  a  leading  church,  especially  if  out  of  debt,  holds  back, 


1S96.]  Report  of  John  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  697 


that  city  is  not  yet  ready.  If  no  large-hearted,  influential  layman 
can  be  found  to  lead  off,  that  city  is  not  yet  ready.  If  the  Presiding 
Elder  can  see  no  need  for  such  a  society,  that  city  is  not  yet  ready. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  been  raised  up  of  God  as 
a  Church  to  the  people.  Wherever  the  people  go  there  the  Church 
goes.  Now,  when  the  people  are  flocking  by  millions  to  the  cities, 
the  Church  is  wisely  readjusting  itself  so  as  to  become  as  great  a 
power  in  the  cities  as  it  has  been  and  still  is  in  the  rural  district*. 
Already  the  Church  has  given  its  verdict  that  in  every  city  there  is 
need  of  a  City  Home  Missionary  Society,  a  City  Evangelization 
Union.  The  last  ten  years  have  given  abundant  proof  of  the  value 
of  this  Society,  and  that  every  city  ought  to  have  one,  and  a  good 
one.  Whatever  possibilities  are  in  it  must  be  tested  and  made 
manifest  to  the  Church.  The  Church  is  fully  resolved  on  doing  its 
share  in  taking  the  cities.  To  this  end  it  is  ready  to  avail  itself 
of  any  valuable  agency,  whether  old  or  new.  And  if  the  City 
Missionary  Society,  though  least  among  the  princes  of  Judah, 
can  be  made  truly  helpful  to  the  Church  in  its  conquest  of  the 
cities,  then  the  Church  will  give  it  Godspeed.  But  it  is  not 
enough  to  say,  "  Be  ye  warmed  and  filled."  Not  yet  has  the  Church 
given  this  Society  a  sufficient  place  in  its  thought.  Seeing  that 
something  more  was  needed,  the  National  City  Evangelization 
Union  has  espoused  the  cause  of  the  City  Home  Missionary 
Society — the  City  Evangelization  Union. 

Something  has  been  accomplished  by  bringing  their  represent- 
atives together  in  annual  conventions.  But  it  is  painful  to  see  in 
how  many  cities  the  Society  is  weak  where  it  ought  to  be  strong. 
At  present  there  is  less  need  of  new  organizations  than  that  some 
which  we  already  have  should  be  resuscitated  and  revived. 

If  the  General  Conference  in  its  wisdom  should  devise  some 
more  efficient  plan  for  supervising  and  developing  these  local 
Unions  in  the  cities,  the  National  Union  will  greatly  rejoice  ;  but 
until  that  is  done  the  National  Union  will  do  what  in  it  lies  to 
emphasize  the  value  of  these  Local  Organizations  and  encourage 
them  to  better  and  greater  things. 

H.  Samson,  President. 

Horace  Benton,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
April,  1896.   


Report  of  the  Trustees  of  the  John  Street  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.    Journal,  page  299. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  Trustees  of  the  John 
Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  desire  to  express  their  grati- 
tude to  the  gracious  Providence  which  has  guided  its  interests 
during  the  past  quadrennium,  both  spiritually  and  temporally. 

For  the  first  time  in  more  than  a  century  the  pastoral  term  has 
fovf;red  five  consecutive  years,  and  with  gratifying  results.  The 
ministerial  services  of  Rev.  F.  G.  Howell  have  been  acceptable, 
not  only  as  a  preacher,  but  all  departments  of  the  work  have 


698 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


been  fostered,  and  the  attendants  on  the  means  of  grace 
have  grown  in  numbers  and  spirituality;  the  outlook  for  the 
increased  usefulness  of  the  first  organized  society  of  Meth- 
odism in  this  country  is  very  encouraging,  and  prayer  is  ascend- 
ing to  the  throne  of  grace  that  the  pastor  about  to  be  appointed 
will  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  efficient  in  building  up  and 
strengthening  what  has  been  accomplished,  and  extend  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Gospel  over  larger  numbers. 

All  expenses  for  the  maintenance  of  the  church  have  been  met, 
and  no  incumbrance  on  the  property  or  unpaid  debt  exists  at  this 
date. 

During  the  past  year  the  church  edifice  has  been  very  much 
improved,  both  inside  and  externally,  and  never  in  its  history  been 
more  inviting  as  a  place  of  worship.  A  bequest  of  $2,000  from  the 
estate  of  the  late  William  Collins,  for  more  than  twenty  years  a 
Trustee  of  the  church,  supplied  largely  the  means  for  effecting  the 
improvements  referred  to,  supplemented  by  generous  contribu- 
tions from  the  membership  and  friends  interested  in  the  work  of 
the  church.  Since  the  last  General  Conference  a  commodious 
and  well-located  parsonage  has  been  purchased  and  thoroughly 
furnished  for  the  residence  of  the  stationed  preacher,  at  a  cost  of 
nearly  115,000,  by  a  corporation  organized  for  that  object  and 
other  purposes  whereby  the  efficiency  of  the  church  can  be  assist- 
ed. Herewith  is  transmitted  the  action  of  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence, nominating  nine  trustees  for  election  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  special  charter  and 
deed  of  conveyance  thereunder  to  the  custody  of  the  General 
Conference,  to  which  your  considerate  attention  is  requested. 

By  order  of  the  Board, 

(Signed,)  W.  H.  De  Put,  President. 

(Signed,)  James  Wright,  Secretary. 
New  York,  April  1,  1896. 


Certificate  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  the  John 
Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

This  is  to  certify  that  Edward  Allen,  John  Bentley,  James  S. 
Coward,  William  H.  De  Puy,  Reese  B.  Gwillim,  Benjamin  F. 
Tilton,  James  Wright,  Bowles  Colgate,  and  Edward  F.  Allen 
were  nominated  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  the  John  Street 
Charge,  New  York  East  Conference,  held  January  13,  1896,  and 
by  adjournment,  March  25,  1896,  for  election  by  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  convene  at  Cleve- 
land, O.,  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1896,  as  Trustees  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Centennial  Church  (John  Street)  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  under  and  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York  passed  in  1866. 

(Signed,)       Geo.  Van  Alstyne,  Presiding  Elder. 

(Signed,)       John  Bentley,  Secretary. 


1896.]  Report  of  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition.  699 


Report  of  the  Permanent  Committee  on  Temperance  and 
Prohibition.    Journal,  page  91. 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  convened  in 
Cleveland,  0.,  May  1,  1896: 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  Your  Committee,  having  been 
appointed  by  the  General  Conference  of  1892  in  accordance  with 
instructions  then  given,  hereby  submit  to  you  report  of  our  ac- 
tion during  the  quadrennium  : 

The  Committee  proceeded,  as  early  as  practicable,  to  organize 
by  the  appointment  of  the  following  officers :  A.  J.  Kynett, 
Chairman  ;  William  Swindells,  Secretary  ;  and  S.  W.  Gehrett, 
Treasurer. 

The  officers,  together  with  J.  B.  Graw,  Job  J.  Jackson,  A.  B. 
Leonard,  and  James  Gillinder,  were  constituted  an  Executive 
Committee. 

The  additional  members  were  J.  G.  Evans,  E.  D.  Whitlock, 
George  Clark,  Samuel  Dickie,  J.  W.  Hamilton,  George  H.  Bridg- 
man,  C.  N.  Grandison,  and  A.  J.  Nast.  A  vacancy  having  been 
occasioned  by  the  retirement  of  C.  N.  Grandison,  Charles  H. 
Payne  was  chosen  in  his  stead. 

The  widely  separated  residences  of  the  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee made  frequent  or  full  meetings  impracticable.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly agreed  that  a  majority  of  the  Executive  Committee 
should  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business,  and 
that  matters  of  general  interest  should  be  submitted  by  corre- 
spondence for  the  concurrence  of  other  members. 

By  the  terms  of  the  action  creating  the  Committee,  it  was  in- 
vested "  with  power  to  act  within  the  authorized  declarations  by 
our  Church  to  promote  the  following  ends: 

"  First, — The  organization  in  every  church,  under  the  direction 
of  the  pastor  and  Quarterly  Conference,  of  a  Christian  Temper- 
ance League,  to  include  all  members  of  the  congregation  willing 
to  unite  for  practical  effort  in  suppressing  the  liquor  traffic. 

"  Second. — The  alliance  of  such  leagues  with  one  another  and 
with  similar  leagues  of  other  religious  bodies  for  such  particular 
measures  in  this  behalf  as  their  combined  wisdom  and  Christian 
conscience  may  approve." 

The  Committee  was  also  "  authorized  to  correspond  with  similar 
committees  of  other  Churches  with  a  view  to  an  alliance  of  Chris- 
tian people  to  strive  together  for  the  suppression  of  this  great 
evil  throughout  the  country  and  the  world." 

It  was  also  "  authorized  to  propose  a  plan  of  action  for  our 
churches,  and  to  invite  the  appointment  of  auxiliary  committees 
in  all  our  Annual  Conferences." 


700 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


ACTION  OF  THE  COMMITTEE. 

Under  date  of  September  1,  1892,  the  Committee  issued  an  ad- 
dress to  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  reminding  them  of  the  position  of  our  Church  on  this 
subject  as  expressed  in  its  "  authorized  declarations,"  and  calling 
upon  them  to  "  organize  for  the  suppression  of  the  saloon." 

In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  our  commission,  we  proposed 
as  a  basis  of  united  action  the  following: 

Object,  "  '  The  Suppression  of  the  Saloon.' — This  by, 

"  1.  The  strict  enforcement  of  the  suppressive  measures  of  ex- 
isting laws. 

"  2.  The  early  enactment  of  more  stringent  suppressive  laws. 
"  3.  The  final  adoption  of  constitutional  prohibition  for  State 
and  nation." 

Declaration. — 1.  Primary  allegiance  to  God  and  mankind,  to 
our  country  and  commonwealth ;  all  party  measures  subordinate 
to  these  higher  aims. 

2.  Personal  liberty  to  choose  political  affiliations,  but  freedom 
from  the  liquor  power  through  any  party. 

The  Committee  agreed  upon  a  form  of  constitution  and  by- 
laws for  organization,  recommended  a  form  for  the  enrollment  of 
members,  and  announced  that  these  requisites  for  organizing  in 
harmony  could  be  obtained  by  application  to  the  Committee. 
The  attention  of  each  Annual  Conference  was  invited  to  this  sub- 
ject with  request  that  in  each  a  Permanent  Conference  Commit- 
tee, auxiliary  to  our  Permanent  Committee,  be  appointed  ;  and 
the  organization  of  district  leagues,  under  the  direction  of  presid- 
ing elders,  was  also  recommended.  We  also  published  an  appeal 
to  "  our  bishops,  editors,  presiding  elders,  and  pastors  "  to  lead 
the  way  in  carrying  out  the  plans  indicated  by  the  action  of  the 
General  Conference.  Our  plan  was  summarized  in  these  words : 
"All  workers  enrolled:  A  company  in  every  church  ;  a  regiment 
in  every  town  ;  a  brigade  in  every  county ;  a  division  in  every 
city ;  an  army  corps  in  every  State  ;  a  conquering  army  in  the 
nation  ;  a  country  without  a  saloon  ;  eternal  vigilance."  Our 
motto  was,  "  Organize  !  Educate  !  Act !  Persevere !  and  the  vic- 
tory is  assured  !  " 

A  pamphlet,  entitled  The  Path  Finder,  was  prepared  by  our 
Chairman,  and  published  by  the  Committee,  stating  the  purpose 
to  be  "an  open,  honest,  and  earnest  effort,  entirely  free  from 
party-political  or  sectarian  bias,  or  any  ulterior  design,  to  enlist 
and  unite  all  temperance  people,  accessible  chiefly  through  Chris- 
tian churches,  for  'this  one  thing — the  suppression  of  the 
liquor  traffic.  '  "  It  suggested  how  to  organize  ;  how  to  util- 
ize the  several  leagues  ;  reasons  for  confidence  in  the  practicability 
of  the  plan  ;  that  suitable  temperance  literature  could  be  ob- 
tained of  the  National  Temperance  Society  and  of  the 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  and  Church  Publishing 
and  Tract  Societies  ;   gave   facts  and  principles  regarded  as 


1896.]  Report  of  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition.  701 

decisive  on  the  question  of  duty;  made  special  call  for  action 
of  Christian  pastors  ;  gave  brief  extracts  from  the  authorized 
declarations  of  nearly  all  the  great  denominations  of  the  country; 
and  otherwise  sought  to  promote  the  objects  of  its  appointment. 

It  also  opened  correspondence  with  the  Permanent  Committee 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had  been  appointed  by  the 
General  Assembly  some  ten  years  previously,  and  with  committees 
of  other  Churches  and  with  leading  ministers  where  no  committee 
had  been  appointed;  also  with  other  temperance  organizations, 
indicating  the  object  of  our  appointment  and  soliciting  cooper- 
ation in  the  general  work. 

HINDRANCES. 

1.  The  general  apathy  which  has  rested  upon  the  public  mind, 
tending  to  paralyze  all  organized  efforts  to  suppress  the  liquor 
traffic. 

2.  Divided  counsels  as  to  methods,  notwithstanding  the  almost 
perfect  unity  of  the  sentiment  of  all. 

3.  Lack  of  revenue,  no  provision  having  been  made  for  the 
means  required  to  carry  out  our  commission. 

4.  Imperfect  and  inadequate  lines  of  communication  with  those 
whose  cooperation  was  essential. 

The  pages  of  Christianity  in  Earnest  had  been  open  for 
discussion  which  prepared  the  way  for  the  action  of  the  General 
Conference,  but  were  closed  against  it  during  the  last  quadren- 
nium  until  the  March- April  number  for  1895,  when  your  Com- 
mittee was  permitted  to  add  eight  pages  to  the  number  previ- 
ously published  by  assuming  the  additional  cost  of  publication 
after  applying  receipts  from  subscriptions  and  advertisements. 
The  Church  papers  were  open  to  original  communications,  but  not 
for  the  uniform  and  simultaneous  publication  of  formal  matter. 

5.  Of  course,  the  organized  resistance  of  the  liquor  power  to 
all  efforts  to  suppress  the  evil,  so  controlled  and  directed  as 
to  combine  and  concentrate  with  unlimited  resources  at  any 
point  where  efforts  to  suppress  might  be  instituted,  was,  and 
will  continue  to  be,  the  most  formidable  hindrance  encountered. 

WORK  ACCOMPLISHED 

1.  A  considerable  number  of  churches  throughout  the  country 
organized  leagues  in  accordance  with  our  recommendations,  and 
in  a  few  instances  local  alliances  were  formed,  but  they  were 
generally  sporadic. 

2.  Our  Annual  Conferences,  generally,  had  already  temperance 
societies,  giving  usual  attention  to  this  cause,  but  with  no  plans 
for  associated  activity.  Some  of  them  took  action  favorable  to 
our  plans. 

3.  In  a  few  States  State  Alliances  were  formed,  our  chairman 
assisting  by  invitation.  The  most  important  of  these  were  the 
organizations  for  Pennsylvania,  Indiana,  and  Ohio.  In  other 
States  similar  organizations  were  effected,  as  in  Illinois  and 


702 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Missouri;  while  State  Temperance  Societies  in  others,  as  in  Con- 
necticut and  Massachusetts,  indicated  a  desire  for  more  com- 
plete organization  looking  toward  one  of  national  character. 

4.  The  most  important  of  all,  and  the  culmination  of  our  plans 
as  to  organization,  and  of  like  plans  of  others,  inspired  by  the 
necessities  of  the  situation  felt  by  all,  was  the  organization  at 
the  national  capital  in  December,  1895,  of 

"THE  AMERICAN  ANTI-SALOON  LEAGUE." 

Our  Committee,  through  its  chairman,  united  in  the  call  for 
the  convention  at  which  this  organization  was  effected.  The 
call  set  forth  that, 

I.  All  churches,  temperance  societies,  and  kindred  organiza- 
tions of  good  citizens  are  practically  agreed, 

1.  That  aTHE  SALOON,"  as  an  institution,  must  be  sup- 
pressed. 

2.  That  all  legislation  relating  to  the  subject,  whether  munici- 
pal, State,  or  national,  should  advance  toward  this  end. 

3.  That  all  provisions  of  law  restricting  or  prohibiting  the 
sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  should  be  enforced  strictly. 

II.  Heretofore  we  have  agreed  as  to  such  matters  in  resolu- 
tions rather  than  in  resolute  action,  and  the  united  enemy,  with 
the  great  power  due  to  its  ill-gotten  wealth,  has  consequently 
been  able  to  exert  the  greater  influence. 

III.  Believing  that  the  time  has  now  come  when  we  should  ar- 
range for  united  aggressive  work  in  harmony  with  our  convic- 
tions, in  demonstration  of  the  one  spirit  which  in  fact  inspires  us, 
and  in  assurance  of  the  coming  victory  we  can  only  hope  to  gain 
by  united  action,  we  hereby  join  in  calling  a  National  Anti- 
Saloon  Convention. 

At  this  Convention  forty-nine  different  organizations — Chris- 
tian and  temperance — were  represented,  and  others  have  since 
joined  in  the  movement.  The  proceedings  were  marked  by  a  de- 
gree of  harmony  not  hitherto  attained  in  any  similar  convention, 
and  the  organization  was  effected  under  the  most  favorable 
auspices. 

The  basis  of  united  effort  is  set  forth  in  the  Constitution  : 
Article  II. — "  The  object  of  this  League  is  the  suppression 
of  the  saloon.  To  this  end  we  invite  the  alliance  of  all  who 
are  in  harmony  with  this  object,  and  the  League  pledges  itself  to 
avoid  affiliation  with  any  political  party  as  such,  and  to  maintain 
an  attitude  of  neutrality  upon  questions  of  public  policy  not  di- 
rectly and  immediately  concerned  with  the  traffic  in  strong 
drink  ; "  and 

Article  III  provides  that  "  All  organizations  pledging  cooper- 
ation in  the  object  of  this  League  shall  be  members  and  entitled 
to  representation  therein." 

We  heartily  commend  this  movement  to  the  favorable  consid- 
eration of  the  General  Conference  as  promising  a  realization  of 
the  ends  sought  by  by  the  appointment  of  your  Committee. 


1896.]  Report  of  Committee  on  Temperance  and  Prohibition.  703 


"THE  AUTHORIZED  DECLARATIONS  OF  OUR  CHURCH." 

These  have  given  forth  no  uncertain  sound.  They  have  been 
uttered  as  with  one  voice  by  our  chief  pastors  and  have  been  re- 
peated and  emphasized  by  successive  General  Conferences,  es- 
pecially within  the  last  twenty  years,  and  concurred  in  with  one 
accord  by  our  Annual  Conferences.  Analyzed  and  summarized, 
without  repetition, 

1.  They  have  declared  the  heinous  character  of  the  traffic  in 
intoxicating  drinks:  "The  liquor  traffic  is  so  pernicious  in  all  its 
bearings,  so  inimical  to  the  interests  of  honest  trade,  so  repug- 
nant to  the  moral  sense,  so  injurious  to  the  peace  and  order  of 
society,  so  hurtful  to  the  home,  to  the  Church,  and  to  the  body 
politic,  and  so  utterly  antagonistic  to  all  that  is  precious  in  life, 
that  the  only  proper  attitude  toward  it  for  Christians  is  that  of 
relentless  hostility." 

"  In  our  judgment  the  saloon  is  an  unmixed  evil,  full  of  diabol- 
ism, a  disgrace  to  our  civilization,  the  chief  corrupter  of  political 
action,  and  a  continual  menace  to  the  order  of  society  and  the 
peace  and  purity  of  our  homes." 

"  One  of  the  dark  reproaches  of  our  times  is  that  the  saloon 
has  been  allowed  to  become  a  political  gambler,  and  to  do  broker- 
age business  with  the  ballot  box  as  part  of  its  stock  in  trade." 

2.  They  have  declared  the  only  proper  attitude  of  the  Church  to- 
ward this  evil:  "  We  declare  before  all  the  world  that  the  Church 
of  God  ought  to  be  known  always  and  everywhere  as  the  relent- 
less and  uncompromising  foe  of  this  ungodly  business,  and  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to  wage  ceaseless  warfare  against 
it." 

3.  They  suggest  modes  of  treatment,  and, 

First.  They  condemn  the  license  system  :  "  License  laws  are  the 
liquor  traffic's  strongest  bulwark  of  defense.  They  are  wrong  in 
principle  and  impotent  for  good.  We  are  unalterably  opposed 
to  the  enactment  of  laws  that  propose  by  license,  taxing,  or  other- 
wise to  regulate  the  drink  traffic,  because  they  provide  for  its 
continuance  and  afford  no  protection  against  its  ravages." 

Second.  They  quote,  with  hearty  approval,  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States:  "The  State  cannot  by  any  contract  limit 
the  exercise  of  her  power  to  the  prejudice  of  the  public  health 
and  the  public  morals." 

Ttdrd.  They  commend  political  action — nonpartisan  or  omni- 
partisan :  "  We  urge  it  as  an  imperative  duty  of  Christian  men 
to  attend  the  primaries,  to  wrest  the  sovereignty  of  the  caucus 
from  the  grip  of  the  saloon,  to  purify  and  elevate  the  caucus  by 
their  presence  and  make  it  a  promoter  of  morals  and  good  order. 
Beginning  with  the  caucus,  let  us  work  upward  through  all  the 
departments  of  legitimate  civil  action  until  our  entire  citizenship 
is  emancipated  from  this  bondage." 

"  We  recommend  all  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  whoenjoythe  elective  franchise  to  so  use  that  solemn  trust 
45 


704 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


as  to  promote  the  rescue  of  our  country  from  the  guilt  and  dis- 
honor which  have  been  brought  upon  it  by  criminal  complicity 
with  the  liquor  traffic." 

"  We  do  not  presume  to  dictate  the  political  conduct  of  our 
,  people,  but  we  do  record  our  deliberate  judgment  that  no  political 
party  has  a  right  to  expect,  nor  ought  it  to  receive,  the  support 
of  Christian  men  so  long  as  it  stands  committed  to  the  license 
policy,  or  refuses  to  put  itself  on  record  in  an  attitude  of  open 
hostility  to  the  saloon  ; "  but  "  this  shall  not  be  construed  as  an 
indorsement  of  any  political  party." 

"  We  believe  it  to  be  the  wisest  policy  and  the  supreme  duty 
of  all  legislative  bodies  to  enact  such  legislation  that  under  the 
forms  of  the  Constitution  the  people  may  protect  the  home  against 
the  saloon,  by  no-license  votes,  under  a  local  option  regimen, 
and,  as  soon  as  possible,  by  constitutional  prohibitory  amend- 
ments." 

"  The  Church  will  continue  to  oppose  all  forms  of  intemperance 
until  legal  sanction  of  the  evil  shall  be  removed  from  the  statute 
books." 

"  Complete  legal  prohibition  of  the  traffic  in  alcoholic  drinks  is 
the  duty  of  civil  government." 

"  We  urge  a  spirit  of  kindly  conciliation  and  cordial  cooperation 
among  all  temperance  workers,"  and  "  we  seek  to  enlist  our  peo- 
ple more  fully  in  this  great  movement  against  the  drink  custom 
and  the  drink  traffic  which  disgrace  our  civilization." 

THE  GREATEST  AND  MOST  URGENT  NEED. 

This  has  been  clearly  discerned  and  forcibly  expressed  and  re- 
peated by  the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  :  "  The  pronounced 
and  stupendous  need  of  the  hour  to  meet  this  enemy  of  every- 
thing American  and  Christian  is  an  aroused  Church  consecrated 
to  the  extermination  of  the  liquor  traffic." 

The  Churches  have,  with  one  accord,  proclaimed  war  on  the 
saloon.  They  have  not  organized,  armed,  or  equipped  a  disci- 
plined army,  nor  provided  intelligent  and  courageous  general- 
ship. For  this  no  proclamations,  however  forcible,  can  be 
substituted.  Our  motto  should  therefore  be,  "  Harmonize  ! 
Organize!  Combine!  Act!  Persevere!"  There  can  be  no  dis- 
charge, no  furlough,  no  substitute  in  this  war. 

We  therefore  respectfully  and  earnestly  recommend: 

1.  That  this  General  Conference  continue  a  Committee  with 
powers  like  those  granted  to  us  four  years  ago,  and  with  addi- 
tional instructions  as  the  General  Conference  shall  deem  wise. 

2.  That  the  General  Conference  recommend  to  our  Annual  Con- 
ferences the  early  appointment  of  permanent  committees  with 
instructions  to  cooperate  with  the  Permanent  Committee  of  the 
General  Conference. 

3.  That  in  each  Conference  district  committees  be  appointed, 
with  the  presiding  elders  as  chairmen,  with  instructions  to  co- 


1896.]       Report  of  the  German  Assistant  Secretary.  705 


operate  under  the  direction  of  the  Permanent  Committee  of  the 
Conference. 

4.  That  in  every  pastoral  charge  it  be  made  the  duty  of  the 
Committee  on  Temperance  to  cooperate  with  the  district  com- 
mittee,  and,  wherever  practicable,  all  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion willing  to  unite  for  practical  effort  in  suppressing  the  liquor 
traffic  be  organized  under  the  direction  of  the  pastor  and  Quar- 
terly Conference. 

5.  That  the  General  Conference  proclaim,  in  behalf  of  our  peo- 
ple, that  as  a  Church  "  we  covet  an  alliance,  offensive  and  defen- 
sive, with  every  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,"  for  relentless  warfare 
against  this  common  "  enemy  of  everything  American  and 
Christian." 

6.  That  the  General  Conference  declare  its  confidence  in  the 
American  Anti-Saloon  League,  as  organized  under  its  Constitu- 
tion, and  pledge  hearty  cooperation  with  its  object  and  efforts 
for  the  suppression  of  the  saloon. 

7.  That  the  General  Conference  appoint  ten  delegates  to  the 
Annual  Convention  of  "  The  American  Anti-Saloon  League,"  to 
serve  during  the  ensuing  four  years,  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  Article  VIII  of  the  Constitution  of  said  League. 

A.  J.  Kynett,  Chairman. 
William  M.  Swindells,  Secretary. 


Report  of  the  German  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Epworth 
League  to  the  Board  of  Control.    Journal,  page  91. 

In  geographical  extent  we  are  as  large  as  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States,  besides  taking  in  two  foreign 
eountries,  which,  of  course,  means  that  our  work  is  necessarily 
very  much  scattered. 

The  work  of  the  League  is  prospering.  We  number  nearly  five 
hundred  chapters,  with  a  membership  of  about  sixteen  thousand. 
The  Junior  League  cause  is  also  beginning  to  gain  ground  since 
a  year  or  two. 

July  last  we  held  our  sixth  annual  General  Epworth  League 
Conference  at  Chicago,  111.,  with  an  attendance  of  over  six  hun- 
dred delegates  and  visitors.  It  was  the  largest  gathering  of  Ger- 
man Methodists  in  the  history  of  our  beloved  Church,  and  a  great 
success.  The  next  general  conference  of  this  kind  is  to  convene 
at  Cincinnati,  O.,  the  headquarters  of  German  Methodism. 

Besides  these  general  conferences  of  the  German  chapters  of 
the  League,  we  hold  many  Presiding  Elders'  District  Conferences, 
of  which  it  is  my  privilege  to  visit  quite  a  number  in  the  West- 
ern, Middle,  and  Eastern  States.  They  are  a  great  help  to  our 
young  people,  and,  in  fact,  to  the  old  people  also. 

We  have  a  course  of  study  and  reading  for  our  young  people, 
which  proves  very  beneficial  to  as  many  as  make  use  of  it. 


706 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


In  general  we  try  to  conduct  our  work  in  the  same  way  as  our 
English-speaking  chapters. 

Many  times  I  have  heard  ministers  say  :  "  My  young  people  of 
the  League  are  my  most  efficient  workers  in  the  Sunday  school 
and  in  protracted  meetings ;  I  always  can  depend  on  them.  If  I 
have  missionary  work  to  do,  tracts  to  distribute,  they  are  ready 
for  the  task." 

Haus  unci  Herd  is  our  official  organ  and  finds  warm  support, 
especially  if  we  take  into  consideration  that  we  live  in  a  land 
where  the  English  language  predominates,  and  our  young  people 
use  it  more  readily  than  the  German. 

The  League  has  come  to  be  a  great  power  in  the  German 
branch  of  Methodism.  And  may  God's  blessing  rest  on  the 
same  in  the  future !  Respectfully  submitted, 

F.  L.  Nagler. 


Report   of  the   Trustees   of   the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.    Journal,  page  91. 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren:  The  Trustees  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  have,  during  the  last  four  years,  looked 
carefully  after  all  matters  involving  the  interest  of  the  Church, 
as  defined  in  paragraphs  315  and  316  of  the  Discipline,  so  far  as 
we  have  had  information.  The  trust  created  by  the  Gamble 
family  of  Cincinnati,  in  the  interest  of  the  Elizabeth  Gamble 
Deaconess  Home  Association,  represents  the  most  important 
property  to  which  we  have  become  related  during  the  quadren- 
nium.  This  Board,  after  careful  consideration,  assumed  a  visit- 
orial  trust  toward  that  property,  in  order  to  secure  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  conditions  of  use  named  in  the  deed  of  conveyance 
and  accepted  by  the  Association.  In  case  those  conditions  be 
violated,  the  property  goes  to  the  Missionary  Society  of  our 
Church.  We  have  also  accepted  a  trust  in  the  interest  of  Christ's 
Hospital  in  Cincinnati — which  is  a  branch  of  the  work  of  the 
Elizabeth  Gamble  Deaconess  Home — by  which  Robert  T.  Miller, 
of  Covington,  Ky.,  with  five  thousand  dollars,  endows  in  perpetu- 
ity a  Kentucky  Conference  bed  in  that  hospital,  with  a  reversion- 
ary right  in  favor  of  the  Preachers'  Relief  Association  of  the 
Kentucky  Conference. 

Circumstances  have  appeared  to  render  it  unadvisable  for  the 


1896.]  Report  of  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  707 


Board  to  accept  any  offers  that  have  been  made  for  the  Piano 
Company  stock,  held  by  us  for  the  benefit  of  the  Gammon  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  under  a  contract  made  with  Mr.  Gammon  in 
his  lifetime. 

During  the  quadrennium,  three  members  of  the  Board  have 
died,  namely,  Amos  Shinkle  and  John  Cochnower,  whose  term  of 
office  would  have  expired  at  this  General  Conference,  and  P.  M. 
Bigney,  whose  term  would  have  expired  in  1900.  The  Bishops, 
according  to  the  power  conferred  on  them  by  the  charter  of  the 
Board,  filled  the  vacancies  as  follows:  R.  T.  Miller,  of  Coving- 
ton, Ky.,  was  appointed  to  take  the  place  of  Amos  Shinkle;  and 
J.  D.  Hearne,  of  Covington,  Ky.,  to  take  the  place  of  John 
Cochnower.  As  Dr.  P.  M.  Bigney  died  but  recently,  the  vacancy 
bas  not  been  filled.  The  term  of  the  following  members  of  the 
Board  expires  with  this  General  Conference,  namely:  Ministers 
—John  M.  Walden,  Wilbur  P.  Thirkield,  David  H.  Moore. 
Laymen — Marcellus  B.  Hagans,  Robert  T.  Miller,  and  John  D. 
Hearne. 

The  report  of  our  treasurer,  Earl  Cranston,  herewith  submitted 
and  made  a  part  of  this  report,  gives  a  full  and  accurate  account 
of  "  the  funds  and  property  on  hand,"  together  with  the  receipts 
and  disbursements  for  the  last  four  years. 

On  behalf  of  the  Board, 

J.  M.  Walden,  President. 
John  Pearson,  Secretary. 

Cincinnati,  O.,  April  30,  1896. 


REPORT  OF  EARL  CRANSTON,  TREASURER  OF  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  FOR  THE  FOUR  YEARS 


ENDING  APRIL  23,  1896. 

1892.  Dr. 

April  20.  Balance  on  hand  as  per  report   $21,726  29 

Aug.  25.   Bequest,  Philura  C.  Holmes,  for  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society   $100  00 

Oct.    7.  Interest  on  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  Bonds   487  50 

M     7.   Bequest,  James  Mills,  for  superannuated  preachers   186  39 

"    31.  Gilbert  Academy  Fund,  included  in  loan  to  William  Grant's 

Sons,  Springfield,  0   3,700  00 

"    31.  New  Orleans  Medical  School,  included  in  loan  to  William 

Grant's  Sons   1,300  00 

Nov.  7.  Bequest,  Harriet  Wneadon  Smith,  for  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary  843  07 

Dec.  22.  Bequest,  Sarah  Brooks,  for  superannuated  ministers   172  06 


708  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

Report  op  Earl  Cranston,  Treasurer. — Continued. 

Dr. 

1893.  Brought  forward  $6,789  02  $21,726  29» 

Jan.  26.  Bequest,  Mrs.  Sabra  Lewis,  for  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 

Society   100  00 

Feb.  11.   Interest  one  year  on  William  Grant's  Sons'  loan   1,500  00 

"    23.  Bequest,  Franklin  Spaudling,  for  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society   461  95 

"    25.  Dividend,  Piano  Manufacturing  Company   9,490  00 

Mar.  4.  Account  expense  collections   5  03 

"    14.  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  for  note, 

E.  H.  Gammon,  and  interest   4,474  40 

May    1.  Interest,  six  months  to  April  1,  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  bonds    487  50 
Aug.  3.  Paris,  G.  Haynes's  bequest  for  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 

Society   203  30 

Oct.  14.  Interest  six  months,  bonds,  Freedmen's  Aid  Society   487  50 

  23,998  70' 

Dec.  16.  Bequest,  Persis  Carpenter,  for  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 

Society   $115  54 

1894. 

Feb.    2.   Bequest,  Mary  M.  Whipple,  for  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 

Society   874  63 

M    19.  Interest  six  months,  William  Grant's  Sons   750  00 

April  2.  Interest  six  months,  bonds,  Freedmen's  Aid  Society   487  50 

May  28.  Bequest  of  Caroline  Clark  for  superannuated  preachers   475  00 

"    31.   Account  expenses,  S.  M.  Norris's  bequest   1  50 

Aug.  20.  William  Grant's  Sons,  six  months'  interest  on  loan   750  00 

Oct.  11.  Six  months' interest,  Freedmen's  Aid  Society   487  50 

"    11.  From  North  Ohio  Conference,  proceeds  sale  of  two  churches.     570  00 
Nov.  22.  Bequest,  Sarah  M.  Norris,  for  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 

Society   200  00 

 4,711  67 

1895. 

Feb.  19.  Interest  six  months,  William  Grant's  Sons'  loan   $750  00 

April  4.  Interest  six  months,  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  bonds   500  00 

May  15.   Bequest,  Caroline  M.  Wallingford   1,654  41 

June  3.  Interest  on  note,  W.  P.  Thirkield   150  00 

July  5.  Bequest,  Caroline  M.  Wallingford   66  95 

5.  Bequest,  Thomas  Wiley   53  00 

Aug.  17.   Six  months'  interest,  William  Grant's  Sons1  loan   750  00 

"    17.   Dividend  First  National  Bank,  Covington   150  00 

"    21.   Rent  on  Langdon  lot   30  00 

Oct.    4.   Interest  six  months,  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  bonds   500  00 

Nov.  9.  Bequest,  R.  W.  Black   300  00 

1896. 

Jan.    3.   Dividend  First  National  Bank,  Covington   150  00 

Feb.  18.   Interest  six  months,  William  Grant's  Sons'  loan   750  00 

April  13.  Interest  six  months,  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  bonds   500  00 

  6,304  36 


$56,741  02 


1896.]  Report  of  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  709 


1892. 

April  25. 

"  27. 

"  30. 

"  30. 
Aug.  5. 

"  15. 


16. 

17. 

« 

18. 

13. 

It 

19. 

Sept. 

22. 
3. 

20. 

Oct. 
it 

29. 

H 
tl 

29. 
29. 

Nov. 

29. 
11. 

189C 

Jan. 

25. 

Mar. 

4. 

4. 

ii 

4. 

H 

4. 

It 

4. 

11. 

it 

22. 

22. 

Aug.  25. 

Oct. 

23. 

18. 

tt 

18. 

tt 

25. 

1894. 

Jan. 

13. 

27. 

Feb. 

». 
9. 

Report  of  Earl  Cranston,  Treasurer. — Continued. 


TREASURER. 

Cr. 

By  paid  notary  fee   $0  40 

"     telegram   60 

"     interest  Henrietta  Stitt  bequest   63  00 

"      for  printing   12  00 

"     recording  Act  of  Incorporation    1  60 

"      Mrs.  L.  Alderman,  Corresponding  Secretary,  bequest  of  Mrs. 

S.  W.  Lewis   400  00 

"     amount  loan  to  William  Grant's  Sons   25,000  00 

"     telegram   110 

"     D.  D.  Woodmansee,  attorney  fees   30  90 

"     telegram   88 

M      telegram   30 

"      express  charges   25 

"      interest  Oliver  Collins  bequest    50  00 

"      expenses  W.  P.  Thirkield   22  60 

"      Missionary  Society  interest,  Jos.  Jones  Mission  Fund   1,166  25 

"            "          "         "       Mrs.  Owens  bequest   53  30 

"            "          "         "       Deborah  B.  Parks  bequest   58  10 

**            "          "         "       account  bequest  Job  Gilpin   1,260  00 

"     attorney's  fee   2  00 


Recorder's  fees   2  50 

interest  account  Grant's  loan   216  67 

Gilbert  Academy  Fund   1,174  20 

Gammon  School  Theology   76  10 

New  Orleans  Medical  School  expenses   2  13 

F.  A.  and  S.  E.  Society  for  Gammon  School  Theology, 

dividend  Piano  Manufacturing  Company  stock. $7,200  00 
Less  expenses   10  80 

  7,189  20 

amt.  of  Piano  dividend  paid  to  Earl  Cranston,trustee.  $2,290  00 
Less  expense   3  43 

  2,286  57 

interest  on  Henrietta  Stitt  bequest   63  00 

Mrs.  J.  M.  Cornell,  bequest  Harriett  Wheadon  Smith   841  81 

Mrs.  L.  Alderman,  corresponding  Secretary,  bequest  Mrs. 

Sabra  Lewis   99  25 

interest  Oliver  Collins  bequest   50  00 

Missionary  Society  for  interest  as  follows : 

Jos.  Jones  Mission  Fund   $774  59 

Mrs.  Owens  bequest   26  09 

Deborah  B.  Parks   115  00 

  915  68 

expenses  W.  P.  Thirkield   28  90 

expenses  Luke  Hitchcock   12  00 

Mrs.  J.  C.  Kunz,  Treasurer  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, for  bequest  of  Paris  C.  Haynes   203  05 


Mrs.  J.  C.  Kunz,  Treasurer  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, for  bequest  of  Persis  Carpeuter   115  54 

telegrams  (expense)   82 

telegrams  (expense)   52 

Mrs.  H.  B.  Skidmore,  for  bequest  Mary  M.  Whipple   873  13 


710 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Report  of  Earl  Cranston,  Treasurer. —  Continued. 

Cr. 

1894.  Brought  forward   $43,274  a5 

Mar.  31.    By  paid  interest  six  months,  William  Grant's  Sons'  loan,  as  follows: 

Gammon  School  Fund   $600  00 

Gilbert  Academy  Fund   Ill  00 

New  Orleans  Medical  School   39  00 

  750  00 

May  31.        "     interest  on  Henrietta  Stitt  bequest,  as  follows : 

Missionary  Society   $15  75 

W.  F.  M.  Society   15  75 

W.  H.  M.  Society   15  75 

Church  Extension  Society   15  75 

^    63  00 

June.  1.       "     notary  fees,  account  bequest  S.  M.  Norris   45 

"     4.       "     acknowledgment  of  deed   40 

"      5.        "      W.  P.  Thirkield  loan   2,500  00 

Aug.  20.       41     interest  six  months,  William  Grant's  Sons'  loan,  as  follows : 

Gammon  School  Fund   $600  00 

Gilbert  Academy  Fund   11100 

New  Orleans  Medical  School   39  00 

  750  00 

Sept.  15.       "      Missionary  Society  on  account  Republic  Circuit,  North  Ohio 

Conference,  from  Oliver  Collins  bequest   50  00 

Oct.    9.       M     telegram   43 

"    17.       "     certified  copy  Act  of  Incorporation  of  Trustees  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church  s   2  00 

Oct.  23.       '*      Missionary  Society,  as  follows : 

Jos.  Jones  Mission  Fund   $776  00 

Mrs.  Owens  bequest   26  40 

Deborah  B.  Parks  »   57  27 

  859  67 

Nov.  22.       "      Mrs.  L.  Alderman  for  bequest,  P.  C.  Holmes  account  Woman's 

Foreign  Missionary  Society.   99  85 

"    22.       "      Mrs.  H.  B.  Skidmore,  for  bequest,  Sarah  M.  Norris  account 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society   199  70 

"  30.  "  J.  M.  Heath,  for  copy  of  "  will  "  of  Caroline  M.  Wallingford.  50 
Dec.    6.       "      Freedmen's  Aid  Society  for  bond  and  interest  account  fund, 

North  Ohio  Conference   504  55 


Feb.  19.       "      interest  to  Gammon  School  Theology   $600  00 

Interest  to  Gilbert  Academy  Fund   Ill  00 

Interest  to  New  Orleans  Medical  School   39  00 

  750  00 

"    28.       "     one  ledger   1  50 

'*    28.        "      M.  B.  Hagans,  attorney   9  35 

April  29.       M      interest  Henrietta  Stitt  bequest   63  00 

May  15.       "      L.  A.  Alderman,  Corresponding  Secretary,  bequest  Caroline 

M.  Wallingford   1,646  14 

"    23.        "      Mrs.  D.  B.  York,  Treasurer,  bequest  of  Franklin  Spauldlng. . .        457  14 

Aug.  9.       "      Mrs.  D.  B.  York,  Treasurer,  bequest  of  Thomas  M.  Wiley   52  73 

"     9.        "      E.  Holt,  Treasurer,  bequest  of  Caroline  M.  Wallingford   66  61 

"    31.        "      interest  to  Gammon  School  Theology   $600  00 

"    31.        M      interest  to  Gilbert  Academy  Fund   Ill  00 

"    31.       "      New  Orleans  Medical  School   39  00 

  750  00 

Sept.  4.        »•      interest  Oliver  Collins  bequest   50  00 


1896.]  Report  of  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  711 


Report  of  Earl  Cranston,  Treasurer. —  Continued. 

Cr. 

1895.  Brought  forward   $51,90137 

Oct.   16.    By  paid  interest  as  follows: 

Missionary  Society,  Jos.  Jones  Fund   $773  61 

**  '*      Mrs.  Owens  bequest   26  40 

"  lk      Deborah  B.  Parks   57  79 

  857  80 

Nov.  11.        "      Mrs.  E.  B.  Stephens,  for  bequest  of  R.  W.  Black   298  50 

Dec.  26.       M      John  Wilson,  of  North  Ohio  Conference   595  70 


Feb.  18.       "     interest  as  follows : 

Gammon  School  Theology   $600  00 

Gilbert  Academy  Fund   Ill  00 

New  Orleans  Medical  School   39  00 

  750  00 

M    24.       "      H.  C.  Weakley  for  Deaconess  Home   298  50 

Mar.  11.       "      telegram   65 

M    30.        "      interest  on  Henrietta  Stitt  bequest   63  00 

854,765  52 

April  23.       M     George  I.  Bodine,  Treasurer,  for  Mills  bequest   212  46 

$54,977  98 

44    25.       "      Balance  on  hand   1,763  04 


$56,741  02 

INVESTMENTS. 

720  shares  Piano  Manufacturing  Company  Stock  $72,000  00 

Mortgage  note,  William  Grant's  Sons   25,000  00 

Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  bonds   20,000  00 

W.  p.  Thirkield,  note   2,500  00 

50  shares  stock  First  National  Bank,  Covington,  Ky   5,000  00 

Cash   1,763  04 

 $126,263  04 


LIABILITIES. 

E.  H.  Gammon  Fund,  Piano  stock  $72,000  00 

Grant  loan   20,000  00 

 $92,000  00 

New  Orleans  Medical  School   1,300  00 

Gilbert  Academy  Fund   3,700  00 

Joseph  Jones  Mission  Fund   15,550  00 

Mrs.  E.  Owens  bequest   533  00 

Mrs.  Deborah  B.  Parks  bequest   1,161  98 

Oliver  Collins  bequest   1,000  00 

Henrietta  Stitt  bequest   1,050  00 

Attilla  F.  Christman  bequest   1,475  00 

Elizabeth  Gamble  Deaconess  Home   5,000  00 

McNamer  estate   300  00 

Sarah  Brooks  bequest   172  06 

Caroline  Clark  bequest   475  00 

Interest   2,546  00 

 $126,263  04 

Earl  Cranston,  Treasurer. 


712 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference,  [1896. 


Quadrennial  Report  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern 
Education  Society.    Journal,  page  91. 

To  the  General  Conference,  1896  : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  Gratefully  acknowledging 
the  continued  favor  of  God  upon  our  work,  we  herewith  respect- 
fully present  our  report  as  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Freed- 
men's Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society,  for  the  quadrennium 
beginning  July  1,  1891,  and  ending  June  30,  1895. 

In  Memoriam. — Death  has  invaded  our  ranks.  Since  our  last 
report,  four  of  the  Board  of  Managers  have  been  called  to  their 
eternal  reward — Hon.  Amos  Shinkle,  Rev.  H.  Liebhart,  D.D., 
Dr.  P.  M.  Bigney,  and  Rev.  W.  P.  Stowe,  D.D.— all  brethren 
widely  known  and  honored  in  the  Church,  leaving  examples  of 
Christian  fidelity  in  positions  of  honor  and  usefulness,  and  of  tri- 
umphant faith  in  the  hours  of  their  departure. 

General  Conference  Action. — The  organization  and  devel- 
opment of  this  Society  has  been  clearly  providential.  Organized 
in  1866,  the  General  Conference  of  1868  accorded  to  it  recognition 
as  a  Methodist  Society,  but  kept  it  on  probation  for  four  years. 
In  18*72  it  was  given  a  place  among  the  connectional  agencies  of 
the  Church;  in  1880,  the  work  was  extended  to  the  white  people 
of  the  South;  in  1888,  the  name  was  modified  by  the  insertion  of 
the  phrase,  "Southern  Education;"  in  1892,  two  Corresponding 
Secretaries  were  elected  instead  of  one,  the  work  of  the  Society 
was  more  clearly  defined,  and  a  General  Committee  provided  f  or? 
organized  in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  Missionary  and 
Church  Extension  Societies.  In  each  of  these  successive  historic 
stages  in  the  development  of  the  Society,  the  General  Conference 
recognized  and  fully  indorsed  what  had  previously  been  accom- 
plished, and  used  its  best  judgment  in  providing  for  the  con- 
stantly-increasing responsibilities  incident  to  the  development  of 
a  great  educational  movement. 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  last  General  Con- 
ference, the  charter  of  the  Society  was  amended  under  the  laws 
of  Ohio,  so  as  to  carry  into  effect  the  legislation  of  1892. 

Character  of  our  Work. — Our  work,  as  set  forth  by  the  Dis- 
cipline and  expressed  in  our  charter,  is: 


1896.]    Freedmeri's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  713 


"The  establishment  and  maintenance  or  aiding  of  institutions 
of  Christian  learning  among  both  colored  and  white  people  in 
the  Southern  States,  and  in  such  other  territory  as  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  may,  from  time  to 
time,  designate." 

Our  work  is  confined  wholly  to  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  institutions  of  Christian  learning  among  both  colored 
and  white  people  in  the  sixteen  Southern  States.  This  involves 
the  purchase  of  lands,  erection  and  equipment  of  buildings,  em- 
ployment of  faculties,  either  directly,  or  with  the  advice  and  co- 
operation of  local  boards;  and  such  administrative  superintend- 
ence as  to  guarantee  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  money,  the 
largest  local  self-help  and  efficiency  in  instruction. 

Institutions  of  Learning. — The  following  institutions  of 
learning  have  been  maintained  during  the  quadrennium.  The 
number  of  students  and  estimated  value  of  property  is  for  the 
scholastic  year  of  1894-95. 

In  addition  to  the  367  regular  teachers  given  below,  there  are 
employed  106  practice-teachers,  making  a  total  teaching  force  of 
473. 

Little  Rock  University,  while  so  chartered,  has  for  several  years 
done  but  little  beyond  academic  work. 

Institutions  among  Colored  People. 


INSTITUTIONS. 


Founded. 

Teachers 
Past  Year. 

Students 
Past  Year. 

Estimated 
Value  of 
Property. 

1875 

4 

84 

$100,000 

1866 

38 

454 

125,000 

1868 

13 

341 

350,000 

1868 

10 

230 

75,000 

1869 

28 

570 

100,000 

1869 

24 

603 

125,000 

1872 

9 

161 

100,000 

1873 

10 

160 

30,000 

1873 

11 

277 

25.000 

1876 

15 

269 

30,000 

1894 

5 

74 

50,000 

1868 

3 

170 

5,000 

1870 

3 

130 

6,000 

1870 

2 

150 

5,000 

1872 

9 

247 

80,000 

1875 

6 

117 

50,000 

1878 

25,000 

1879 

*3 

'221 

5,000 

1881 

11 

289 

35,000 

1888 

5 

101 

10,000 

1889 

10 

128 

4 

69 

THEOLOGICAL. 

Gammon  Theological  Seminary,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

COLLEGIATE, 

Central  Tennessee  College,  Nashville,  Tenn. . 

Clark  University,  Atlanta,  Ga  

Rust  University,  Holly  Springs,  Miss  

Claflin  University,  Orangeburg,  S.  C  

New  Orleans  University,  New  Orleans,  La.  . . 

Morgan  College,  Baltimore,  Md  

Bennett  College,  Greensboro,  N.  C  

Wiley  University,  Marshall,  Tex  

Philander  Smith  College,  Little  Rock,  Ark. . . 
George  R.  Smith  College,  Sedalia,  Mo  


ACADEMIC. 

Haven  Academy,  Waynesboro,  Ga  

Central  Alabama  Academy,  Huntsville,  Ala  

La  Grunge  Academy,  La  Grange,  Ga  

Cookman  Academy,  Jacksonville,  F!a  «  

Gilbert  Academy,  Winsted,  La  

Samuel  Houston  College,  Austin,  Tex.  (not  opened  the  past  year). 

Meridian  Academy,  Meridian,  Miss  

Morrlstown  Academy,  Morristown,  Tenn  

Delaware  Academy,  Princess  Anne,  Md  

Alexandria  Academy,  Alexandria,  La  

Lynchburg  Academy,  Lynchburg,  Va  


714  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


Institutions  among  White  People. 


INSTITUTIONS. 

Founded. 

Teachers 
Past  Year. 

Students 
Past  Year. 

EstimateJ 
Value  of 
Property. 

COLLEGIATE. 

U.  S.  Grant  University,  Athens  and  Chattanooga,  Tenn.*  1867, 1886, 

1889 

36 

675 

300,000 

1871 

37 

833 

100,000 

1883 

6 

52 

65,000 

1874 

3 

143 

8,000 

1877 

3 

112 

2,000 

1878 

4 

64 

4,500 

1880 

4 

161 

5,000 

1881 

3 

122 

5,000 

1882 

3 

23 

30,000 

1884 

2 

40 

3,000 

1886 

3 

111 

5,500 

1887 

5 

84 

1,500 

1887 

3 

117 

1,000 

1887 

3 

90 

2,800 

1890 

9 

82 

6,000 

2 

90 

3,500 

6 
7 

2 
11 

3 

94 
C02 

"92 
224 
70 

5,000 
8,000 
75,000 

Roanoke  Academy,  Roanoke,  Va.  (not  opened  the  past  year)  

30,000 

(Institutions,  44.) 

367 

8.735 

$1,969,800 

The  titles  to  $1,691,800  of  the  above  property  are  invested  in  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  South- 
ern  Education  Society,  and  $278,000  in  local  trustees.  

*  The  theological  department  is  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.— teachers,  4 ;  students,  36. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  TEACHERS  AND  STUDENTS. 

The  character  of  the  work  in  these  institutions  will  best  be  in- 
dicated by  the  following  classification  of  teachers  and  students, 
as  reported  at  the  close  of  the  last  scholastic  year : 

Regular  Teachers  in  all  Grades:  Male,  221 ;  female,  146  ;  practice-teachers,  106. 
Total  number  of  teachers,  473. 

Stude?it<t  Enrolled:  Among  colored  people,  4,845;  among  white  people,  3,880. 
Total  enrollment,  8,725. 

Students  in  College  Courses  of  Study:  Classical,  162;  Scientific,  26;  Philosoph- 
ical, 19  ;  Specials,  11.    Total  in  College  Courses,  218. 

Students  in  Academic  Courses  of  Study :  College  Preparatory,  1,003  ;  Normal, 
688  ;  English,  4,630  ;  Specials,  210.    Total,  6,523. 

Preparing  for  the  Ministry:  Regular  Course,  128;  Special  Course,  91.  Total, 
219. 

In  other  Professional  Schools:  Medicine,  285  ;  Dentistry,  12;  Pharmacy,  16; 
Law,  6. 

Shidents  in  Music :  Vocal  Classes,  1,610;  Organ,  127;  Piano,  258;  Special,  97. 
Total,  2,092. 

Students  in  Art :  79. 

Commercial:  Bookkeeping,  287;  Typewriting,  109;  Stenography,  111;  Pen- 
manship, 1,346.    Total,  1,853. 

In  Manual-training  and  Trade  Schools:  1,549. 

The  Manual-training  and  Trade  Schools,  up  to  this  date,  have 
all  been  in  the  schools  among  the  colored  people,  and  include 
thirty  different  trades. 


1896.]    Freedmeri's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  716 


We  call  especial  attention  to  the  proportion  of  students  in  the 
higher  classes;  namely,  218  in  the  College  Departments,  1,003  in 
the  College  Preparatory,  and  618  in  the  Normal  Classes.  Com- 
paring these  figures  with  the  total  enrollment,  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  proportion  of  those  who  are  in  the  different  classes  is  about 
the  same  as  in  schools  of  similar  grade  throughout  the  North, 
and  also  that  the  great  bulk  of  our  educational  work  is  in  the 
academic  grades. 

As  in  all  similar  institutions  where  numbers  in  the  higher 
classes  are  small,  the  members  of  the  Faculty  teach  in  different 
grades  ;  so  that,  while  provisions  are  made  for  students  who  ad- 
vance to  the  College  Classes,  teachers  competent  to  instruct  them 
give  a  portion  of  their  time  to  other  departments. 

School  Property. — One  of  the  remarkable  features  of  the  work 
of  this  Society  is  the  amount  and  excellent  quality  of  property 
acquired  in  lands,  buildings,  and  school  equipments,  including 
furniture,  libraries,  and  school  apparatus.  The  estimated  value  of 
real  estate  in  lands  and  building  is  $1,969,800.  Of  this  amount, 
8278,000  is  held  by  local  trustees,  leaving  $1,691,800  owned  by 
the  Society.  To  this  should  be  added  at  least  $75,000  repre- 
sented in  furniture,  heating  outfits,  libraries,  and  other  school 
equipments.  Is  it  not  a  remarkable  evidence  of  God's  approval 
that  the  Society,  after  setting  aside  portions  of  land  not  now 
occupied  by  buildings  sufficient  to  pay  its  indebtedness,  would 
yet  hold  over  $1,500,000  worth  of  valuable  lands  and  buildings, 
wisely  located  at  different  centers  throughout  the  South,  and 
consecrated  to  Christian  education  ?  This  real  estate,  now  so 
valuable,  was  at  several  points  acquired  early  in  the  history  of 
the  work  through  the  wise  foresight  of  Bishops  Clark,  Wiley, 
Haven,  Warren,  and  Mallalieu,  and  of  Drs.  Rust,  Fuller,  and 
other  noble  men. 

Comparative  Statement  with  Preceding  Quadrennium. — 
In  view  of  the  unprecedented  financial  depression  during  three 
years  of  the  quadrennium  ending  June  30,  1895,  it  was  hardly  to 
be  expected  that  the  income  of  the  Society  would  be  as  large  as 
during  the  preceding  four  years.  In  this,  however,  we  have  been 
happily  disappointed.  Not  only  has  the  Society  held  its  own  in 
receipts,  but  the  quadrennium  shows  an  increase  from  all  sources 
over  the  preceding  four  years  of  $261,521.10.  Of  this  increase, 
$63,718.57  came  from  Annual  Conference  collections. 

From  the  total  increase  of  $261,521.10  should  be  deducted 
$28,103.56  received  on  insurance.  This  makes  the  net  increase 
from  all  sources,  $233,418.36. 

Why  an  increase  of  indebtedness  with  so  large  an  increase  of 
income?  Because  a  very  large  proportion  of  this  income  is  not 
subject  to  appropriation  by  the  Board,  being  given  for  specific 
purposes. 

The  following  table  gives  the  comparison  of  receipts  for  each  of 
the  two  quadrenniums,  year  by  year  : 


716               Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

1. — FROM  CONFERENCES  ONLY. 

1887-91.  1891-95. 

First  year             $85,427  00  $121,473  00       Increase,  $36,046  00 

Second  year             85,702  00  112,592  00           "         26,890  00 

Third  year              103,653  00  109,508  72            "           5,855  72 

Fourth  year           106,651  00  101,577  85       Decrease,    5,073  15 

Total  $381,433  00  $445,151  57       Net  Inc.,  $63^718  57 

2. — FROM  ALL  SOURCES,  INCLUDING  CONFERENCE  COLLECTIONS. 

First  year            $170,417  85  $352,751  40     Increase,  $182,333  55 

Second  year           221,438  41  354,155  60           "        132,717  19 

Third  year             266,684  48  243,002  51      Decrease,    23,681  97 

Fourth  year            322,656  44  250,809  59          "          71,846  85 


Total   $981,197  18    $1,242,619  10     Increase,  $261,521  10 


RECEIPTS  BY  QUADRENNIUMS. 

It  is  both  interesting  and  encouraging  to  study  the  steadily- 
rising  tide  in  the  income  of  the  Society  since  its  organization. 
The  following  are  the  figures  by  quadrenniums.  Receipts  from 
loans  and  sale  of  bonds  are  excluded,  the  purpose  being  to  indi- 
cate the  income  from  regular  sources  : 

1866-70  $262,113  74,  includes  Freedmen's  Bureau  Receipts. 

1870-75   241,051  00  Decrease  $21,062  74 

1875-79   264,023  00  Increase  in  four  years   21,972  00 

1879-83   403,858  00         "         "  "    139,835  00 

1883-87   624,000  26         "         "  "    220,142  26 

1887-91,   981,197  18        "        "  "    357,196  92 

1891-95  1,242,619  10        "         "  "    261,521  10 

$3,976,962  28,  total  August,  1866,  to  June  30,  1895. 

Add  to  these  receipts  the  indebtedness  of  the  Society,  June  30, 
1895,  $185,390.40,  and  we  have  $4,162,352.68,  the  total  expendi- 
tures since  the  beginning  of  the  work  in  August,  1866. 

NEW  BUILDINGS  DURING  THE  QUADRENNIUM. 

The  Society  has  expended  during  the  quadrennium  $219,908.88 
in  real  estate.  Of  this,  a  comparatively  small  amount  was  paid 
on  lands.  In  nearly  every  case  the  demand  was  absolute,  growing 
out  of  providential  conditions,  and  the  money  was  contributed  or 
secured  for  each  particular  enterprise. 

We  particularize  the  following  principal  expenditures  : 
1.  At  Rust  University,  Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  $37,637.14  have 
been  expended  in  completing  one  of  the  most  commodious  a  1 
complete  educational  buildings  in  the  South.  The  burning  of  tne 
old  hall  necessitated  the  building,  and  the  work  was  begun  in 
1891.  The  growing  demands  of  the  school  required  a  larger 
building,  costing  more  than  twice  the  amount  of  the  insurance 


1896.]    FrecibnaCs  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  Ill 


received.  Of  the  amount  expended  $10,000  or  more  were  re- 
ceived from  insurance. 

2.  At  George  R.  Smith  College,  Sedalia,  Mo.,  $29,819.05  have 
gone  into  a  building  which  is  in  every  way  creditable  to  the 
Church.    This  work  was  necessary  to  save  a  large  gift  in  land. 

3.  Morgan  College,  Baltimore,  Md.,  which  school  receives  the 
collections  of  four  adjacent  Conferences,  and  is  otherwise  inde- 
pendent, h  is  expended  $29,568.37  in  buildings,  chiefly  at  Lynch- 
burg, Va. 

4.  At  Cookman  Institute,  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  a  good  building 
and  lot  have  been  bought  for  a  permanent  home  for  the  teachers. 
The  expense  was  $5,124.62. 

5.  At  Morristown  Academy,  Morristown,  Tenn.,  $4,612.75  were 
expended  in  enlarging  and  improving  the  old  property  and 
putting  in  foundations  of  new  building.  Money  was  specially 
contributed  for  the  latter.  Later,  by  a  rare  good  fortune,  a  new 
and  splendid  property,  which  cost  $15,000,  was  secured  for 
-So, 322. 33.    Money  for  this  was  also  specially  solicited  and  given. 

6.  At  Clark  University,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  $23,091.50  went  into  the 
new  Chrisman  Hall.  The  old  hall  burned,  and  in  addition  to  the 
insurance  money  received  ($18,110.56),  enlargement  and  other 
improvements  were  necessary. 

7.  At  Claflin  University,  Orangeburg,  S.  C,  $14,176.98  have 
been  paid  on  a  new  building,  now  nearing  completion,  and  abso- 
lutely necessary.  By  having  the  work  done  by  the  Industrial  De- 
partment of  the  institution,  several  thousand  dollars  were  saved. 

8.  Gilbert  Academy,  Winsted,  La.,  $6,183.41,  chiefly  from 
special  gifts,  have  added  greatly  to  the  efficiency  of  that  center. 

9.  At  Central  Tennessee  College,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  $11,446.33 
have  been  expended  in  erecting  a  School  of  Mechanic  Arts  and 
other  permanent  improvements. 

10.  At  New  Orleans  University,  New  Orleans,  La.,  $2,746.30 
have  been  expended  in  erecting  a  Normal  Hall,  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  accommodate  the  growing  demands  of  the  school. 

11.  At  U.  S.  Grant  University,  in  Athens,  Tenn.,  $13,181.44 
were  paid  on  the  property  during  the  first  year  of  the  quadren- 
nium,  to  complete  the  transfer  of  that  property  to  the  Society, 
which  transfer  was  approved  by  the  last  General  Conference. 

OUR  SOUTHERN  EDUCATIONAL  FIELD. 

The  present  strength  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
South,  or  on  what  was  slave  territory,  is  shown  byr  the  following 
figures: 


CONFERENCES. 

Members. 

Churches.  1  Value. 

Parson- 
ages. 

Value. 

Total  

801,234 
252,676 

3,503  $9,820,193 
2,906  3,251,514 

850 
779 

$1,383,096 
364,504 

553,910 
449,772 

6,409'  $13,071,707 
5,359  $11,073,092 

1,629 
1,494 

$1,747,598 
$1,545,913 

718 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1896. 


This  remarkable  increase,  from  1864  to  1895,  while  more  rapid 
in  the  first  few  years,  has  been  continuous,  and  is  now  going  for- 
ward at  a  healthy  and  encouraging  rate.  During  the  past  four 
years  in  the  twelve  Annual  Conferences  among  the  white  people 
in  the  States,  where  at  the  close  of  the  war  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  had  not  a  single  member,  there  are  now  72,680, 
with  $1,629,481  in  churches  and  parsonages.  This  is  an  increase 
of  4,502  members  in  the  past  four  years.  During  the  same  four 
years  our  colored  membership  has  increased  18,640  members. 
Taking  the  whole  South,  our  white  membership  has  increased 
within  these  four  years  31,862.  This  makes  a  total  increase  in 
membership  in  the  South  during  the  quadrennium  of  50,502, 
which  is  more  than  the  average  increase  in  the  Church  as  a 
whole. 

Outside  the  Conferences  among  the  white  people  in  Delaware, 
Maryland,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  the  entire 
educational  work,  except  such  loans  as  are  made  to  individual 
students  by  the  Board  of  Education,  among  these  vast  sections  of 
Methodism,  has  been  committed  to  this  Society.  It  is  impossible 
to  overestimate  the  significance  and  far-reaching  importance  of 
this  work.  Eighteen  Annual  Conferences  among  the  colored 
people,  and  nine  Annual  Conferences  among  the  white  people, 
making  a  total  of  twenty-seven,  look  to  this  Society  almost  wholly 
for  direction  and  aid  in  the  development  of  educational  institu- 
tions. 

Indebtedness. — The  indebtedness  of  the  Society,  June  30, 
1895,  was  $185,309.40.  This  is  an  increase  of  $53,072  over  four 
years  ago. 

This  growth  of  indebtedness,  in  spite  of  the  increase  in  income 
over  the  preceding  four  years,  has  not  been  without  good  and 
sufficient  reasons.  The  marvel  is  that  we 'have  been  enabled  to 
carry  forward  our  work  in  the  midst  of  unparalleled  financial  dis- 
tress throughout  the  country,  pay  such  large  amounts  as  have 
been  found  necessary  over  and  above  our  regular  expenses,  and 
not  increase  the  indebtedness  much  more.  The  result  has  been 
achieved  only  by  the  most  heroic  methods  of  economy,  in  which 
officers  and  teachers  gladly  cooperated.  One  important  point  to 
be  borne  in  mind  is,  that  considerably  more  than  one  half  the  in- 
come of  the  Society  each  year  is  practically  beyond  the  control  of 
the  Board,  except  to  administer  as  directed  by  the  donors,  or  for 
the  purposes  for  which  it  was  collected.  The  first  year  of  the 
quadrennium  had  practically  closed  when  the  last  General  Con- 
ference adjourned,  and  before  the  pressure  of  hard  times  was  felt. 
Contracts  had  already  been  entered  into  at  Rust  and  Clark  Uni- 
versities, George  R.  Smith  College,  and  other  important  centers, 
which  had  to  be  carried  forward.  We  call  especial  attention  to 
this,  as  set  forth  in  the  financial  statement,  and  in  the  list  of  new 
buildings  for  the  quadrennium. 

Another  important  matter  was  the  payment  of  $13,181.44 
during  the  first  year  in  closing  up  the  property  transfers  of 


1896.]    FreedmeiCs  Aid  and  /Southern  Education  Society.  719 


U.  S.  Grant  University  to  the  Society,  an  event  reported  to,  and 
approved  by,  the  General  Conference.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
Society  paid  the  deficiency  in  two  years'  salaries,  amounting  to 
$4,639.10,  in  the  same  institution.  The  Board  felt  that  the  suc- 
cess of  the  school  demanded  this  additional  appropriation.  At 
several  institutions  were  local  claims  not  heretofore  included  in 
the  Society's  indebtedness. 

Among  our  fixed  expenses  is  the  large  item  of  interest,  which, 
exclusive  of  annuities,  amounted  during  the  quadrennium  to 
$33,650.87.  There  were  also  some  special  funds,  which,  because 
of  emergencies  in  the  past,  had  been  used  in  the  general  work, 
which  have  been  repaid;  so  that  all  trust  funds  now  held  by  the 
Society,  of  whatever  kind,  are  permanently  invested. 

During  the  last  year  of  the  quadrennium  the  indebtedness  was 
■decreased  $11,241.43  as  compared  with  the  previous  year.  Shall 
this  good  beginning  continue  until  this  indebtedness  is  entirely 
paid  ?  The  Board  of  Managers  are  determined  it  shall.  If  the 
Annual  Conference  collections  were  only  $200,000  a  year  for  a 
quadrennium,  the  debt  would  be  paid  and  the  work  greatly  en- 
larged. If  this  cannot  be,  the  Board  must  sell  lands  now  held  for 
future  endowments,  and  pay  this  debt  as  soon  as  returning 
financial  prosperity  will  justify. 

Self-help  Among  Our  Colored  People. — The  policy  of  the 
Society  is  to  develop,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  local  resources 
among  the  people  themselves,  and  also,  as  rapidly  as  can  be  wisely 
done,  to  increase  the  influence  of  local  Boards  of  Trustees  in  the 
management  of  the  schools.  The  results  of  this  policy  have  been 
most  gratifying.  The  schools  are  more  and  more  becoming  in- 
tegral parts  of  our  Church,  as  a  whole,  in  the  South,  and  the  col- 
lections from  the  Annual  Conferences  in  that  section  are  being 
increased.  The  policy  has  also  been  to  employ,  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  young  men  and  women  graduates  of  our  schools.  At 
present  there  are  over  seventy  young  colored  men  and  women 
teaching  in  our  schools,  and  four  of  our  institutions  have  colored 
men  at  their  head. 

As  illustrating  what  our  colored  students  are  doing  in  the  way 
of  self-help,  we  name  the  following  facts,  all  applying  to  the 
scholastic  year  ending  June  30,  1895: 

Paid  in  tuition  and  room-rent,  $33,683  33 

Paid  in  board  bills  in  the  dormitories  of  our  larger  institutions,  .  34,376  59 
Paid  on  book  account,  about   5,000  00 

Total,  $73,059  92 

This  was  paid  in  one  year  by  our  four  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-five  Negro  pupils  in  twenty-two  different  institutions, 
and  does  not  include  clothing,  traveling,  and  other  incidental 
expenses.  This  is  certainly  a  most  creditable  showing,  and  indi- 
cates wise  and  aggressive  administration  on  the  one  hand,  and  a 
growing  appreciation  of  education  on  the  other. 
46 


720 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Another  important  item  is  that  our  sixteen  colored  Conferences- 
in  the  South  raised,  during  the  same  twelve  months,  $8,584  in 
Conference  collections  for  the  work  of  the  Society.  Add  this^ 
and  we  have  a  total  amount,  exclusive  of  clothing,  traveling  ex- 
penses, and  other  incidentals,  of  $81,643.92,  contributed  by  our 
colored  students  and  people  for  their  own  education  in  the  schools 
of  their  own  Church. 

The  year  named  was  an  average  year,  so  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  colored  students  and  congregations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  South,  during  the  past  quadrenniurn,  have  con- 
tributed the  magnificent  sum  of  $326,575. 6S  toward  educating 
themselves. 

EDUCATIONAL  WORK  AMONG  WHITE  PEOPLE. 

The  last  General  Conference  gave  careful  attention  to  the  edu- 
cational work  of  this  Society  among  the  white  people  in^he 
South,  and  especially  to  U.  S.  Grant  University,  which  institu- 
tion, during  the  previous  quadrenniurn,  had  been  organized  by 
the  uniting  of  Chattanooga  University  and  Grant  Memorial 
University,  the  latter  located  at  Athens,  Tenn.,  the  distance 
between  the  two  places  being  fifty  miles. 

Concerning  this  institution,  the  following  action  was  taken  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Freedmen's 
Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  be,  and  are  hereby,  requested 
to  carefully  look  into  the  present  status  of  U.  S.  Grant  Uni- 
versity, and,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  adjust  the  various  depart- 
ments at  both  Athens  and  Chattanooga  so  as  *to  secure  the 
greatest  possible  economy  in  expenditures  and  efficiency  in 
scholastic  wTork." 

This  suggestion  of  the  General  Conference  has  been  carefully 
followed. 

The  enrollment  the  past  year  was  675  students  in  all  depart- 
ments, and  the  Faculty  numbered  twenty-six  teachers.  The 
Medical,  Pharmaceutical,  and  Business  Colleges  are  at  Chatta- 
nooga, and  are  entirely  self-supporting.  The  School  of  Theology 
is  located  in  the  same  city,  and  now  ranks  with  similar  institu- 
tions of  the  Church,  and  has  already  entered  upon  its  great  mis- 
sion of  educating  an  indigenous  ministry,  especially  for  our  white 
Conferences  in  the  South.  The  Literary  Schools  at  Athens, 
including  College,  College  Preparatory,  English,  Normal,  and 
Musical  Courses,  have  all  been  well  attended.  Bishop  Joyce  has 
acted  as  Chancellor  without  compensation,  and  at  a  large  personal 
expense  to  himself  in  traveling  and  other  expenses.  The  provi- 
dential outlook  and  the  importance  of  this  central  institution  in 
a  large  section  of  our  Methodism,  and  our  nation  as  well,  are 
such  as  to  command  the  most  thoughtful  attention  and  hearty 
financial  support  of  the  whole  Church. 

The  expenditures  of  money  in  connection  with  this  institution,, 
commencing  in  1883,  although  they  have  been  large,  are  fully 
justified  by  the  splendid  results.    The  property  at  the  two  een- 


1890.]    Freedmetfs  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  721 

ters  is  worth,  at  a  low  estimate,  $350,000.  Without  the  Society 
we  would  have  nothing  at  Chattanooga,  and  our  property  at 
Athens  would  have  been  swept  away  by  the  accumulated  indebt- 
edness of  years.  It  is  but  just  to  say  that  nearly  $100,000  of  our 
indebtedness  came  in  the  establishment  of  this  great  central  in- 
stitution. 

Fort  Worth  University,  Fort  Worth,  Tex. — The  property 
of  this  institution  consists  of  ten  acres  of  land  and  several  build- 
ings, worth  fully  $100,000.  The  Faculty  last  year  numbered 
37,  and  the  attendance  in  all  departments  was  832.  The  school 
is  almost  entirely  self-supporting.  Several  years  ago  the  property 
became  involved  in  debt,  and  would  probably  have  been  sacri- 
ficed had  not  the  Society  come  forward  and  paid  $12,000,  which, 
with  the  interest  to  date,  forms  a  part  of  our  indebtedness. 

Academies  Among  White  People. — Twenty  institutions  of 
academic  grade  are  maintained  among  the  white  people  in  the 
States  of  Georgia,  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  Louisiana,  Alabama, 
and  Mississippi.  The  appropriations  to  them  have  been  small 
only  because  the  finances  of  the  Society  would  not  permit  the 
giving  of  more.  The  schools  are  very  largely  supported  by  the 
people  themselves. 

INSTITUTIONS  AMONG  COLOKED  PEOPLE. 

One  theological,  ten  institutions  of  collegiate,  and  eleven  of 
academic  grade  are  maintained  among  the  colored  people. 

Gammon  Theological  Seminary,  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  has  risen  to 
the  rank  of  a  first-class  school  of  its  kind.  This  success  could  only 
have  been  possible  through  the  fostering  care  of  this  Society.  It 
began  as  a  department  of  Clark  University.  The  Society  after- 
ward bought  property,  expended  large  sums  each  year  in  sup- 
porting the  school,  and  later  entered  into  an  agreement  with  Mr. 
Gammon  by  which  he  proposed  to  do  largely  in  the  way  of 
erecting  buildings  and  endowing  the  school.  So  well  was  he 
pleased  that  he  made  the  institution  the  heir  of  a  large  propor- 
tion of  his  estate.  For  three  years,  since  the  probating  of,  the 
will,  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  institution  has  been  charged  to 
the  Endowment  Fund.  Since  then,  the  Society  has  advanced 
over  $15,000  beyond  what  has  been  received  from  that  source, 
and  will  continue  to  make  whatever  advances  are  necessary  until 
the  institution  can  be  wholly  supported  from  the  income  of  its 
own  endowment. 

Ten  institutions  of  collegiate  grade  are  centrally  located  in  the 
midst  of  vast  Negro  populations  in  as  many  different  States. 
Those  institutions,  with  Gammon  Theological  Seminary,  repre- 
sent the  largest  expenditures,  and  very  largely  the  crowning  re- 
sults of  the  work  of  this  Society  since  its  organization.  In  each 
of  these  schools  are  maintained  College,  College  Preparatory, 
Normal,  English,  and  Musical  Courses  of  study.  Besides,  in  sev- 
eral of  the  larger  ones  are  Industrial  Departments,  where  various 
trades  were  taught  last  year  to  1,549  students.    Besides  these, 


722 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


there  are  the  medical  schools  at  Nashville  and  New  Orleans,  in 
each  of  which  a  four  years'  course  of  medicine  is  required  before 
graduation.  The  Schools  of  Dentistry,  Pharmacy,  and  of  Law, 
at  Nashville,  are  also  three  other  departments  of  great  signifi- 
cance and  encouragement. 

The  eleven  schools  of  academic  grade  among  the  colored  peo- 
ple are  located  so  as  to  be  feeders  to  these  central  collegiate  in- 
stitutions, and  are  doing  a  work  second  in  importance  to  no  edu- 
cational endeavor  of  the  Church. 

ANNUITY  FUNDS. 

The  Society  has  received,  up  to  June  30,  1895,  $112,800  in 
Annuity  Funds,  subject  to  annual  interest  during  the  lives  of  the 
donors.  Of  this  amount  $83,450  were  given  for  immediate  use 
in  the  general  work,  and  the  Society  is  held  only  for  the  interest 
during  the  lifetime  of  the  donors.  The  remaining  $29,350  are 
for  special  purposes,  and  are  invested,  the  interest  received  pay- 
ing the  annuity  during  the  life  of  the  givers,  and  then  to  go  to 
the  several  causes  intended. 

During  the  past  quadrennium  two  contributors  to  this  fund  have 
authorized  that  their  gifts,  amounting  to  $15,000,  shall  be  used 
for  general  work. 

AUXILIARY  AIDS. 

The  Society  has  for  a  number  of  years  had  the  cooperation  of 
four  other  organizations,  which  have  aided  largely  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work  : 

The  first  of  these  is  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  which  through  its  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Rev.  C.  H.  Payne,  D.D.,  has  contributed  in  loans  nearly  ten 
thousand  dollars  a  year  during  the  past  four  years  to  the  aid  of 
students  in  the  various  schools  of  higher  grade,  and  more 
especially  in  the  theological  seminaries. 

The  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  has  also  maintained, 
In  connection  with  our  schools,  Industrial  Homes  for  girls  at  Mar- 
shall, Tex. ;  New  Orleans,  La. ;  Holly  Springs,  Miss.  ;  Greensboro, 
N.  C.  ;  Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Athens,  Tenn. ;  and  Morristown,  Tenn. 
The  young  women  in  these  Homes  receive  their  literary  training 
in  our  schools.  These  industrial  schools  are  managed  by  differ- 
ent bureaus,  under  the  general  direction  of  Mrs.  R.  S.  Rust,  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  and  are  doing  excellent  work. 

The  John  F.  Slater  Fund,  through  its  general  agent,  Dr.  J.  L. 
M.  Curry,  has,  for  a  number  of  years  aided  four  of  our  schools, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  each  year  to  from  ten  to  twelve 
thousand  dollars.  This  money  is  given  for  the  express  purpose 
of  giving  instruction  in  Industrial  Departments,  except  the  an- 
nual appropriation  to  Meharry  Medical  College. 

The  Peabody  Fund,  through  the  same  agent,  has  contributed 
from  one  to  two  thousand  dollars  to  the  Normal  Department  of 
Claflin  University,  at  Orangeburg,  S.  C. 


1896.]    FreedmerCs  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  723 


FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  FOR  THE  QUADRENNIUM. 

(Beginning  July  1,  1891,  and  Ending  June  30,  1895.) 

RECKIPTS. 

Balance  in  treasury  July  1,  1891   $852  00 

Received  from  July  1,  1891,  to  June  30,  1892: 

From  Annual  Conferences  collections  $121,473  00 

From  other  sources   230,426  40 

  352,751  40 

Received  from  July  1,  1892,  to  June  30,  1893  : 

From  Annual  Conference  collections  $112,592  85 

From  other  sources   241,562  75 

  354,155  60 

Received  from  July  1,  1893,  to  June  30,  1894 : 

From  Annual  Conference  collections   $109,508  72 

From  other  sources   133,493  79 

  243,002  51 

Received  from  July  1,  1894,  to  June  30,  1895 :. 

From  Annual  Conference  collections  $101,577  85 

From  other  sources   191,231  74 

  292,809  59 

$1,242,619  10 

Loans,  year  ending  June  30,  1892  $15,000  00 

Loans,  year  ending  June  30,  1893   9,634  40 

Loans,  year  ending  June  30,  1894   36,620  58 

Received  on  bonds,  year  ending  June  30,  1895   75,000  00 


$146,254  98 

Less  paid  on  bills  payable   42,000  00 


104,254  98 


$1,346,974  08 


DISBURSEMENTS. 
REAL  ESTATE  CHIEFLY  ON  BUILDINGS  '. 

Julv  1,  1891,  to  June  30,  1892: 

Central  Tennessee  College,  Nashville,  Tenn   $3,652  43 

Rust  University,  Holly  Springs,  Miss   24,172  54 

Claflin  University,  Orangeburg,  S.  C   676  98 

New  Orleans  University,  New  Orleans,  La   2,446  30 

Morgan  College,  Baltimore,  Md.,  at  Lynchburg,  Va.  5,780  00 

Bennett  College,  Greensboro,  N.  C   2,013  59 

Wilev  University,  Marshall,  Tex   2,380  00 

Philander  Smith  College,  Little  Rock,  Ark   2,396  58 

Central  Alabama  Academy,  Huntsville,  Ala   100  00 

Cookman  Academy,  Jacksonville,  Fla   1,295  62 

Gilbert  Academy,  Winsted,  La   3,003  56 

Morristown  Academy,  Morristown,  Tenn   4,612  75 

George  R.  Smith  College,  Sedalia,  Mo   800  00 

U.S.  Grant  University,  Athens  and  Chattanooga,  Tenn: 

On  propertv  at  Athens  $9,451  89 

On  School  technologv   1,735  71 

School  of  Theology  Building   1,377  71 

New  Building  at  Athens   616  13 

  13,181  44 

Little   Rock   University,  Boys'  Dormitory,  Little 

Rock,  Ark   1,099  10 

Graham  Academy,  Marshallberg,  N.  C   425  00 


68,035  89 


724  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

July  1,  1892,  to  June  30,  1893: 

Central  Tennessee  College,  Nashville,  Tenn   $7,793  90 

Clark  University,  Atlanta,  Ga   23,091  50 

Rust  University,  Holly  Springs,  Miss   10,251  98 

Claflin  University,  Orangeburg,  S.  C   8,000  00 

New  Orleans  University,  New  Orleans,  La   300  00 

Morgan  College,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Lynchburg,  Va., 

building   11,900  00 

Wiley  University,  Marshall,  Tex   600  00 

Philander  Smith  College,  Little  Rock,  Ark   300  00 

Cookman  Academy,  Jacksonville,  Fla   124  62  ~ 

Gilbert  Academy,  Winsted,  La   3,179  85 

Morristown  Academy,  Morristown,  Tenn   603  00 

George  R.  Smith  College,  Sedalia,  Mo   6,505  55 

  72,650  40 

July  1,  1893,  to  June  30,  1894  : 

Clark  University,  Atlanta,  Ga   $824  82 

Claflin  University,  Orangeburg,  S.  C   4,000  00 

Morgan  College,  Baltimore,  Md   23,788  37 

New  Orleans  University,  New  Orleans,  La   2,188  86 

Rust  University,  Holly  Springs,  Miss   2,480  60 

  33,282  65 

July  1,  1894,  to  June  30,  1895 : 

Central  Tennessee  College,  Nashville,  Tenn   $720  00 

Rust  University,  Holly  Springs,  Miss   3,212  62 

Claflin  University,  Orangeburg,  S.  C   5,500  00 

George  R.  Smith  College,  Sedalia,  Mo   23,313  50 

Cookman  Academy,  Jacksonville,  Fla   5,000  00 

Morristown  Academy,  Morristown,  Tenn   5,322  33 

Fort  Worth  University,  Fort  Worth,  Tex   2,721  49 

McLemoresville  Academy,  McLemoresville,  Tenn. . .       150  00 

  45,939  94 

Total  expended  on  real  estate,  chiefly  on  buildings,  during 

the  quadrennium.   $219,908  88 

SUPPORT  OF  TEACHERS  AND  GENERAL  SCHOOL  EXPENSES,   808,401  83 

Students'  aid,  to  those  preparing  for  the  ministry  and  those  aided 

through  Industrial  Schools   32,314  48 

Repairs  on  buildings   16,397  51 

School  furniture...   1,312  60 

Insurance  on  school  buildings   11,169  28 

INTEREST  ACCOUNT, 

On  loans   $11,147  12 

On  annuities   22,888  76 

On  bonds   22,432  57 

  56,468  45 

PRINTING  ACCOUNT. 

Christian  Educator   $7,469  32 

General  account   12,124  39 

  19,593  71 

Legal  services   1,372  18 

Taxes  on  unoccupied  school  lands   2,956  62 

General  Committee  and  Board  of  Managers  Meetings   3,325  48 

Postage   3,300  75 

Paid  on  local  indebtedness  of  institutions   9,489  01 

\ 


1896.]    Freedmeri's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  725 


TRUST   FUNDS  IN VKSTED. 

■Gilbert  Academy  Endowment   $40,000  00 

Maria  Pontius  Bequest   (5,383  32 

Rev.  J.  F.  Conrey  Bequest   500  00 

Milton  Silsby  Annuity   10,000  00 

New  Orleans  Medical  College   4,000  00 


60,833  32 


SALARIES  AND  TRAVELING  EXPENSES  CORRESPONDING  AND  RECORDING 
SECRETARIES  AND  AGENTS  IN  ATTENDING  CONFERENCES,  EXECUTIVE 
OFFICE  WORK,  AND  SUPERINTENDING  SCHOOLS  THROUGHOUT  THE 
SOUTH,  OFFICE  HELP,  STENOGRAPHERS,  AND  INCIDENTALS. 

Julv  1,  1881,  to  June  30,  1892   $15,841  84 

July  1,  1892,  to  June  30,  1893  ,   23,397  80 

July  1,  1893,  to  June  30,  1894   20,273  71 

Julv  1,  1894,  to  June  30,  1895   19,519  37 

  79,032  72 

Rent,  light,  heat,  janitor   1,100  00 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


World's  Fair  exhibit   $3,133  86 

Hurley  property  account   7,185  34 

Sundry  items   369  00 

  10,688  20 


Total  expenditures  for  the  quadrennium  $1,337,665  02 

Balance  in  treasury  June  30,  1895   9,309  06 


$1,346,974  08 

CONCLUSION". 

In  conclusion  the  following  suggestions  are  submitted: 

1.  As  a  Board  of  Managers  we  are  satisfied  that  the  legislation 
of  the  last  General  Conference  touching  the  organization  of  the 
Society  was  wise.  Larger  representation  was  given  in  the 
management  of  the  work.  The  presence  of  the  Bishops  and 
General  Conference  District  Representatives  was  of  great  value 
in  the  annual  review  and  direction  of  administration.  We  believe 
that  the  continuance  of  the  present  organization  of  the  Society  is 
desirable,  and  that,  with  the  enlarged  information  and  experience 
of  the  last  quadrennium,  still  larger  improvement  will  be 
secured. 

2.  We  desire  especially  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  such 
action  as  will  help  to  insure  a  better  representation  of  this  cause 
to  the  congregations  of  the  Church.  We  regard  this  as  the  most 
vital  question  to  be  considered  by  the  General  Conference  in 
relation  to  this  cause.  We  will  not  enumerate  in  detail,  but 
suffice  it  to  say  that  a  combination  of  influences,  especially  during 
the  past  few  years,  have  led  to  the  neglect  among  many  of  our 
pastors,  in  the  presentation  of  this  cause  to  their  congregations. 
The  result  is  that  multitudes  of  our  people  are  growing  up  with- 
out information  as  to  the  increasing  importance  of  this  work. 
We  plead  earnestly  for  such  legislation  as  will  secure  at  least  one 
service  each  year  in  every  congregation,  and  the  presentation  at 
that  service  of  this  cause,  so  that  our  people  may  intelligently 


726 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


make  their  contributions.  Our  General  Committee  at  its  last 
meeting  passed  the  following  resolutions: 

"  Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  and  earnestly  memorialize  the 
General  Conference  to  direct  every  pastor  to  present  the  needs  of 
the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  in  every 
congregation  under  his  charge  on  a  Sabbath  day,  and  take  a 
collection  and  subscriptions  for  the  Society  separate  from  all 
other  causes. 

"Resolved,  That  Paragraphs  98  and  393,  Section  1,  of  the  Dis- 
cipline should  be  so  amended  as  to  include  the  inquiry  to  the 
Quarterly  Conference  with  special  reference  to  this  cause." 

3.  We  believe  that  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  emphasis 
be  given  by  the  General  Conference  to  the  permanency  of  this 
work.  God  has  wonderfully  led  in  its  development  from  small 
beginnings,  and  while  at  first  there  might  be  some  excuse  for 
supposing  that  the  work  of  the  Society  might  be  soon  accom- 
plished, no  such  sentiment  should  have  place  in  the  Church 
to-day.  What  has  been  done  is  but  little  more  than  foundation- 
laying.  The  real  work  of  building  the  superstructure  in  the 
development  and  permanent  support  and  endowment  of  the 
necessary  number  of  institutions  to  meet  the  demands  of  our 
Methodism  in  the  South,  is  now  upon  us,  and  we  must  not  falter 
or  hesitate. 

In  spite  of  all  the  advances  that  have  been  made,  seventy  per 
cent  of  the  colored  and  eighteen  and  one  half  per  cent  of  the 
white  people  of  the  South,  ten  years  of  age  and  over,  cannot 
write.  There  are  529,250  more  black  people  in  the  country  than 
there  were  in  1890.  As  seventy  per  cent  of  all  in  whose  homes 
children  are  born  are  unable  to  write,  only  thirty  per  cent  are 
born  of  parents  competent  or  interested  to  instruct  them.  Hence, 
the  fearful  responsibility,  calling  for  increased  facilities  for  edu- 
cation. As  the  Public  School  system  increases  in  efficiency  the 
responsibility  of  the  Church,  through  this  Society,  will  also  be 
increased,  in  giving  Christian  leadership  among  the  people  of 
both  races.    Respectfully  submitted, 

Bishop  John  M.  Walden,  President. 

W.  H.  W.  Rees,  D.D.,  Recording  Secretary. 

j!  W.^SK^KlK,  \  Corresponding  Secretaries. 
M.  C.  B.  Mason,  Assistant  Corresponding  Secretary 


Cleveland,  O.,  April  29,  1896. 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


727 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Ejnscopal  Church  : 

Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  The  Board  of  Education 
respectfully  submits  to  the  General  Conference,  convening  in 
Cleveland,  O.,  May,  1896,  the  following  report.  Special  pains 
have  been  taken  to  place  before  the  Conference  important  facts 
relating  to  the  history  of  the  Board,  its  scope,  the  work  achieved, 
the  demands  made  upon  it,  and  the  possibilities  before  it.  In- 
asmuch as  the  province  of  the  Board  includes  the  entire  field  of 
educational  work  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church,  the  material 
here  presented  properly  embraces  this  wide  field.  The  list  of 
institutions  here  given,  with  very  complete  statistics,  will  serve 
to  indicate  the  importance  of  the  work  committed  to  the  Board. 

Historic  Facts  Concerning  the  Board  of  Education. 

The  General  Conference  of  1864,  with  the  great  centennial 
movement  of  1866  in  full  view,  appointed  a  Centenary  Commit- 
tee, consisting  of  all  the  Bishops,  twelve  ministers,  and  twelve 
laymen,  "  to  determine  to  what  objects  and  in  what  proportions 
the  moneys  raised  as  connectional  funds  shall  be  appropriated." 
This  committee  unanimously  recommended  the  organization  of 
the  Board  to  take  charge  of  whatever  moneys  might  be  con- 
tributed during  the  centenary  celebration,  and  thereafter,  for  the 
general  purposes  which  were  afterward  specified  in  the  charter 
and  constitution  of  the  present  Board  of  Education.  The  next 
General  Conference  unanimously  approved  the  action  of  the  Cen- 
tenary Committee  and  instituted  the  Board.  C.  C.  North,  a  lead- 
ing layman  of  New  York,  was  appointed  by  the  Board  as  Corre- 
sponding Secretary,  December,  1869,  and  continued  in  office  until 
1872,  doing  much  good  work  of  a  preparatory  character  to  put 
the  new  organization  on  a  firm  basis. 

The  amount  of  centenary  educational  collections  was,  for  the 
Children's  Sunday  School  Fund,  $56,674.40,  and  for  the  General 
Educational  Fund,  $9,155.32;  total,  $65,829.72.  In  1868  this  sum 
had  increased  to  about  $84,000,  which  amount  was  placed  under 
the  control  of  the  newly  organized  Board;  and,  by  consent  of 
the  contributing  Conferences,  the  funds  were  invested,  and  "  but 
little  was  done  for  the  next  four  years  except  of  a  preliminary 
character."  In  April,  1869,  a  charter  of  incorporation  was  ob- 
tained from  the  State  of  New  York,  and  a  constitution  and  by- 


728 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


laws  were  adopted.  In  1870  the  Board  proposed  to  the  Annual 
Conferences  that  the  second  Sunday  in  June  of  each  year  be  cele- 
brated as  Children's  Day,  and  a  collection  be  taken,  to  be  given 
to  the  Children's  Fund.  The  General  Conference  of  1872  re- 
affirmed its  approval  of  the  Board,  officially  recommended  the  ob- 
servance of  Children's  Day,  and  asked  for  collections  in  all  the' 
Sunday  schools  in  aid  of  the  " Sunday  School  Children's  Fund" 
of  the  Board  of  Education.  It  also  elected  a  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary, with  instructions  to  devote  all  his  time  to  the  promotion 
of  its  work.  Dr.  E.  O.  Haven  was  made  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary. Not  long  after  this,  however,  Dr.  Haven  accepted  the 
presidency  of  Syracuse  University,  still  retaining  the  secretary- 
ship of  the  Board  and  doing  considerable  work  for  it,  but  was 
not  able  with  his  other  duties  to  devote  very  much  time  to  the 
work  of  the  Board.  The  first  aid  to  students  was  granted  in 
1873,  the  amount  disbursed  that  year  being  $300.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Board  the  General  Conference  of  1876  elected  no 
Corresponding  Secretary,  and  none  was  again  elected  by  that 
body  until  1888. 

Dr.  D.  P.  Kidder  followed  Dr.  Haven  as  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, having  been  appointed  to  that  office  by  the  Board  in  1880, 
and  reappointed  until  his  resignation.  He  gave  several  years  of 
laborious  and  successful  service  to  the  Board.  Failing  health 
forced  him  to  retire  in  1887,  when  Dr.  (now  Bishop)  D.  A.  Good- 
sell  was  appointed  to  the  secretaryship  of  the  Board,  and  for  the 
short  time  of  his  incumbency  of  the  office  until  his  election  to 
the  episcopacy  in  1888  rendered  efficient  service.  Only  the  in- 
terest of  the  Fund  was  by  the  charter  permitted  to  be  spent  in 
aiding  students  until  the  General  Conference  of  1884,  which  made 
provision  that  the  "Board  of  Education  may  appropriate  imme- 
diately in  aid  of  students  such  a  proportion  of  the  principal  of  all 
gifts  and  contributions  to  the  Sunday  School  Children's  Fund 
thereafter  received  as  will  enable  it  to  provide  suitably  for  the 
aid  of  all  properly  recommended  students."  The  General  Con- 
ference of  1888  took  still  more  decisive  action,  and  recommended 
that  "  hereafter  no  accumulation  of  endowment  funds  be  made, 
except  by  gifts  and  bequests  specifically  for  that  purpose,  and 
that  all  incomes  from  public  collections  be  devoted  to  annual  dis- 
bursements in  loans  to  students  and  to  its  current  expenses." 

This  General  Conference  also  took  other  decided  action  look- 
ing to  a  broader  scope  of  work  for  the  Board,  and  again  made 
the  Corresponding  Secretary  a  General  Conference  officer  elected 
by  that  body.    Rev.  C.  H.  Payne  was  elected  to  the  office. 

This  General  Conference  also  authorized  the  appointment  of 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


729 


an  "Educational  Commission  to  consider  the  subject  of  reorganizing  the 
educational  work  of  the  Church  so  as  to  give  it  more  unity,  breadth,  and 
effectiveness." 

In  1892  the  General  Conference  adopted  a  new  chapter  on  Education. 
It  was  made  the  duty  of  every  pastor  to  observe  Children's  Day,  to  take 
a  collection  expressly  for  the  Children's  Fund,  and  to  forward  this  collec- 
tion to  the  Board. 

The  scope  of  the  Board's  work  was  enlarged,  a  "University  Senate" 
was  authorized  to  formulate  a  standard  of  requirements  for  graduation  to 
the  Baccalaureate  degree  in  our  Church  schools,  and  the  Board  was  au- 
thorized to  apply  this  standard  and  classify  as  colleges  such  institutions 
as  meet  the  requirements. 

In  1893  the  "University  Senate"  held  its  first  meeting,  adopted  a 
standard  of  requirements  for  graduation,  and  reported  its  work  to  the 
Board.  The  Board  sent  the  action  of  the  Senate,  with  an  appropriate 
circular,  to  all  the  Church  schools  in  December. 

In  1894  the  requirements  of  the  "University  Senate"  were  applied 
for  the  first  time  to  the  colleges  of  the  Church,  which  were  classified  ac- 
cordingly in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board,  issued  in  March,  1895. 

The  Work  Contemplated  and  the  Work  Accomplished. 

The  work  originally  contemplated  by  the  Board  covers  a  broad  field, 
outlined  in  its  charter  as  follows  (see  Sec.  V): 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board  to  receive  and  securely  invest  the  principal  of 
the  Centenary  Educational  Fuud  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  appro- 
priate the  interest  only,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  following  purposes,  to  wit : 

To  aid  young  men  preparing  for  the  foreign  missionary  work  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

To  aid  young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

To  the  aid  of  the  biblical  or  theological  schools  now  in  existence,  and  of  such 
others  as  may,  with  the  approval  of  the  General  Conference,  hereafter  be  established  ; 
to  the  aid  of  the  universities,  colleges,  or  academies  now  existing  under  the  patron- 
age of  said  Church,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  established. 

The  following  provisos  are  added  : 

Provided  that  no  appropriation  shall  be  made  by  the  Board  at  any  time  for 
building  purposes,  whether  for  biblical  schools  or  for  universities,  colleges,  or 
academies;  and 

Provided,  further,  that  no  university,  college,  or  academy  not  now  in  existence 
shall  be  aided  by  the  Board,  unless  the  Board  shall  first  have  been  consulted  and 
shall  have  approved  of  the  establishment  and  organization  of  such  institutions. 

All  future  contributions  of  money  or  property  made  to  the  Fund  are 
to  be  held  in  trust  by  the  Board  for  the  aid  of  needy  and  worthy  young 
persons  seeking  an  education,  or  for  such  specific  educational  purposes  as 
the  donors  shall  direct. 


730 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


The  charter  also  makes  it  the  duty  of  the  Board  (see  Sec.  V)  "  to 
receive,  separately  invest,  and  augment  the  Sunday  School  Children's 
Fund  commenced  during  the  centenary  year,"  also  to  "  serve  as  a  general 
agency  of  the  Church  in  behalf  of  general  and  ministerial  education,"  to 
encourage  and  recognize  educational  societies  on  condition  that  such  so- 
cieties send  an  annual  report  of  their  statistics  to  the  Board.  In  addition 
"  the  Board  shall  seek  to  promote  the  cause  of  education  throughout  the 
Church  by  collecting  and  publishing  statistics,  by  furnishing  plans  of  edu- 
cational buildings,  and  by  giving  counsel  with  regard  to  the  location  and 
organization  of  new  institutions,  and  shall  also  have  authority  to  constitute 
a  general  agency  for  communication  between  teachers  desiring  employ- 
ment and  those  needing  their  services." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  the  charter  wisely  laid  a  broad 
foundation  for  the  presumably  ever-growing  work  of  the  newly  organized 
Board. 

TWO  CLASSES  OF  WORK. 

The  work  thus  outlined  is  of  two  classes,  special  and  general,  including 
the  aid  of  students  and  of  institutions. 

THE   BOARD'S  SPECIAL  WORK. 

One  special  feature  of  the  work  of  the  Board  is  to  aid  in  securing  a 
well-equipped  force  of  men  and  women  for  the  ministerial,  missionary, 
evangelistic,  and  educational  work  of  the  Church.  To  aid  in  accomplish- 1 
ing  this  object  the  Board  is  intrusted  with  the  management  of  a  Fund] 
called  the  "  Sunday  School  Children's  Fund,"  provisions  for  the  continuance  \ 
of  which  are  made  in  directing  that  an  annual  collection  shall  be  taken  fori 
it  in  all  the  Sunday  schools  of  the  Church.  That  the  Board  has  fully  and] 
successfully  done  this  part  of  its  intended  work  is  evident  from  the  tables  $ 
given  in  this  Report.  It  has  already  far  exceeded  the  expectations  of  its  I 
projectors.  In  the  "  Report  of  the  Central  Centenary  Committee  to  the  J 
General  Conference,  May,  1868,"  the  Committee  says,  "It  is  not  improba-j 
ble  that  there  are  members  of  your  noble  body  who  will  live  to  see  one] 
thousand  recruits  to  the  ministry  through  this  Fund."  The  Board  is  now  | 
able  to  report  that  it  has  aided  6,593  students,  of  whom  probably  three! 
fourths  were  preparing  for  the  ministry  and  missionary  work.  One  year'sg 
work,  that  of  the  last  scholastic  year,  ending  July,  1895,  shows  1,540  stu- J 
dents  aided,  1,121  of  whom  were  in  preparation  for  these  sacred  fields. 

Beyond  doubt  the  honored  members  of  the  General  Conference  ofi 
1868,  still  lingering  with  the  Church  militant,  will  be  gladdened  by  thel 
sight  of  the  more  than  a  full  thousand  recruits  prophesied  for  the  Board's  I 
complete  work  during  their  lifetime,  aided  by  that  Board  into  the  minis- 
terial and  missionary  ranks  of  the  Church  during  this  single  year  of  1895. 
The  growth  of  this  work  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  Board  aided  last  year 
438  more  students  than  it  did  four  years  ago,  and  954  more  than  eight 
years  ago. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Hoard  of  Education. 


781 


THE  BOARD'S  GENERAL  WORK. 

The  other  functions  of  the  Board  were  intended  to  embrace  the  fol- 
lowing :  "A  general  agency  of  the  Church  " — 

1.  In  behalf  of  ministerial  and  general  education. 

2.  For  communication  between  teachers  and  those  needing  their 
services. 

3.  For  collecting  and  publishing  educational  statistics. 

4.  For  furnishing  plans  for  educational  buildings. 

5.  For  giving  counsel  with  regard  to  the  location  and  organization  of 
new  institutions  of  learning. 

6.  Promoting  the  work  of  auxiliary  educational  societies. 

7.  Aiding  in  a  more  direct  way  institutions  of  learning  by  grants  or 
loans  of  money. 

HOW  FAR  HAS  THE  BOARD'S  GENERAL  WORK  BEEN   ACCOMPLISHED  ? 

For  several  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  Board  it  was  not 
deemed  wise  for  it  to  attempt  much  of  the  general  work  originally  contem- 
plated beyond  the  gathering  and  publishing  of  educational  statistics.  But 
the  action  of  the  last  two  General  Conferences  indicated  clearly  a  desire 
for  the  Board  to  broaden  its  field  of  effort,  and  it  has  accordingly  greatly 
enlarged  its  sphere  of  activity  and  of  usefulness. 

A  GENERAL  EDUCATIONAL  AGENCY. 

As  to  the  first  general  function,  that  of  a  general  agency  in  behalf  of 
ministerial  and  general  education,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Board 
has  done  excellent  service  in  this  direction.  Two  features  of  its  work 
alone  will  show  this,  namely,  the  circulation  of  a  large  amount  of  educa- 
tional literature  stimulating  and  inspiring  the  whole  Church,  and  the  per- 
sonal work  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary  in  visiting  and  addressing 
Annual  Conferences,  preachers'  meetings,  summer  assemblies,  camp  meet- 
ings, educational  conventions,  etc. 

During  the  last  quadrennium  the  Secretary  has  visited  and  addressed 
one  hundred  and  seven  Annual  Conferences,  and  has  also  visited  a  large 
number  of  our  institutions  of  learning,  giving  educational  and  religious 
addresses  in  them.  He  has  traveled  over  one  hundred  thousand  miles, 
addressed  a  large  proportion  of  the  entire  ministry  of  the  Church,  and 
touched  the  Church  at  many  vital  points. 

GATHERING  AND  PUBLISHING  EDUCATIONAL  STATISTICS. 

No  work  of  the  Board  requires  more  patient  and  persistent  effort 
than  the  gathering  of  its  educational  statistics.  Not  unfrequently  is  it 
necessary  to  write  several  letters  to  the  same  institution  before  anything 
like  full  statistics  can  be  secured.  Frequently  the  officers  fill  out  such 
blanks  as  are  easily  filled  and  return  them  to  the  office  wholly  incomplete  ; 


732 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


in  all  such  instances  we  return  them  for  fuller  responses.  It  is  not  a 
little  encouraging  to  note  that  we  have,  under  the  circumstances,  succeeded 
so  well.  And  this  encouragement  was  recently  increased  as  we  read  that 
a  committee  appointed  by  the  General  Conference  some  time  in  the 
^fifties"  to  secure  educational  statistics,  after  making  vain  attempts, 
reported  substantially  to  the  next  General  Conference  that  it  was  a  hope- 
less task.  We  are  glad  to  say  that  with  us  it  has  been  a  task  which  is 
neither  hopeless  nor  valueless.  We  are  confident  that  no  Church  in  the 
United  States  presents  anything  like  such  a  full  list  of  its  educational 
institutions,  with  complete  statistics  of  each,  as  will  be  found  in  our 
Annual  Reports.  While  it  ought  not  to  cost  the  Board  so  much  effort, 
and  would  not  if  the  school  officers  would  give  the  matter  more  individ- 
ual attention,  yet  the  results  ultimately  secured  are  worth  immeasurably 
more  than  the  cost.  These  statistics  form  the  basis  of  articles,  addresses, 
and  appeals  to  the  Church  that  nothing  else  could  supply.  The  Church 
may  well  congratulate  itself  on  having  for  ready  reference  such  a  valu- 
able epitome  of  all  its  educational  work. 

teachers'  agency. 

This  department  of  the  Board's  work  is  considerably  enlarging  each 
successive  year,  and  has  greatly  increased  during  the  quadrennium.  It 
furnishes  a  ready  means  of  communication  between  teachers  seeking' 
positions  and  schools  seeking  teachers.  As  it  is  simply  the  object  of  the 
Board  to  bring  such  parties  together,  and  it  is  all  done  gratuitously,  it  is 
not  easy,  nor  is  it  important,  to  formulate  the  actual  results.  We  con- 
stantly learn  of  schools  which  have  secured  teachers  and  of  teachers  who 
have  obtained  positions  through  the  Board.  The  number  of  applicants 
for  positions  is  always  considerably  in  excess  of  the  applications  from  the 
schools.  The  work  entails  a  considerable  amount  of  correspondence  upon 
tha  Board,  but  it  is  legitimate  work,  and  like  many  other  parts  of  the 
work,  while  it  does  not  inure  to  its  financial  benefit,  nevertheless  furthers 
the  educational  interests  of  the  Church. 

As  to  "furnishing  plans  for  educational  buildings,"  the  Board  has  not 
as  yet  published  plans,  since  the  wants  of  different  institutions  are  so 
varied,  but  it  has  by  correspondence  and  visits  given  valuable  informa- 
tion to  the  projectors  of  new  buildings  as  to  where  the  best  models  could 
be  found,  and  other  important  suggestions.  This  department  of  the 
Board's  work  is  also  developing  and  will  continue  to  grow  more  important. 

COUNSEL  CONCERNING  NEW  SCHOOLS. 

The  very  important  function  of  "  giving  counsel  with  regard  to  the 
location  and  organization  of  new  institutions  "  deserves  more  attention 
than  it  has  yet  received.  The  wise  men  who  organized  the  Board  foresaw 
the  importance  of  this  work,  and  properly  made  it  a  charter  duty  of  the 
Board.    They  probably  did  not  and  could  not  foresee  the  difficulties  in 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education.  733 

fulfilling  this  function  and  the  impossibility  of  doing  it  effectively  unless 
the  Board  were  given  more  authority  in  this  direction  than  was  originally 
given  to  it.  The  Board  has  done  what  it  could  by  way  of  advice  and 
counsel,  but,  unfortunately,  that  counsel  has  too  seldom  been  sought  by 
the  projectors  of  new  educational  enterprises,  at  least  until  after  the  most 
important  questions  had  already  been  determined,  such  questions  as  the 
necessity  for  the  proposed  school,  its  scholastic  grade,  its  financial  pros- 
pects, and  its  location.  Not  only  has  the  Board  heretofore  had  very 
little,  if  any,  authority  in  regard  to  these  interests  of  paramount  impor- 
tance, but,  notwithstanding  the  very  advanced  legislation  of  the  last 
General  Conference  greatly  extending  the  authority  of  the  Board  in  many 
other  directions,  it  is  still  left  without  the  power  to  prevent  the  establish- 
lishment  of  new  institutions  that  immediately  upon  their  inauguration  will 
ask  the  recognition  and  aid  of  the  Church.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  by 
those  who  have  given  the  subject  intelligent  consideration  that  at  least, 
in  so  far  as  relates  to  colleges,  no  institution  of  intended  college  grade 
ought  hereafter  to  be  inaugurated  in  the  name  of  Methodism  that  does  not 
first  have  connectional  authorization  for  the  intended  project.  The  College 
Association  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  Board  of  Educa- 
cation  have  united  in  asking  the  General  Conference  to  guard  this  point 
of  weakness  still  remaining  in  our  otherwise  admirable  system,  and  we 
doubt  not  the  recommendation  will  receive  favorable  consideration  by  the 
Conference. 

THE  BOARD  AND  CONFERENCE  EDUCATIONAL  SOCIETIES. 

Precisely  what  relation  would  ultimately  exist  between  the  Board  and 
local  educational  societies  could  not  easily  be  foreseen,  and  was  originally 
left  without  any  very  clear  indications  as  to  the  bond  of  connection  be- 
tween them  and  the  mutual  duties  incumbent  upon  them.  Some  things 
have  been  demonstrated  by  time  and  experience,  and  among  these  is  the 
fact  that  it  is  not  wise  for  local  societies  to  attempt  to  do  on  independent 
lines  the  same  hind  of  work  that  the  Board  is  authorized  to  do  by  and  for 
the  whole  Church.  Under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Board  the  work  of 
aiding  students  has  been  carried  forward  with  such  eminent  success  and 
such  unquestioned  beneficent  results  as  to  place  beyond  further  intelligent 
discussion  the  question  as  to  whether  this  work  could  best  be  done  by  one 
central  connectional  organization  or  by  many  scattered  independent  or- 
ganizations. We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Church  at  large  is 
abundantly  satisfied  with  the  methods  and  results  of  this  branch  of  the 
work  of  the  Board.  We  are  happy  also  to  state  that  while  a  large  num- 
ber of  Conferences  now  have  educational  societies  which  render  more  or 
less  aid  in  promoting  the  educational  interests  of  the  Conference,  the  work 
ot  aiding  students,  which  was  formerly  carried  on  by  these  societies,  has 
been  largely  committed  by  them  to  the  Board  of  Education.  So  far  as 
we  have  been  able  to  learn,  in  every  such  case  the  Board  has  fulfilled  its 


734 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


]_1896. 


pledges  to  the  societies  to  their  entire  satisfaction,  and  the  relations  exist- 
ing between  them  and  the  Board  are  mutually  pleasant.  A  few  Confer- 
ence societies  are  still  directly  disbursing  money  to  students.  The  Board 
has  dealt  in  a  conciliatory  spirit  with  all  these  Conferences  and  with  the 
representatives  of  their  societies,  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  in  eveiy 
instance  the  plan  of  carrying  on  independent  work  has  militated  against 
the  highest  interests  mutually  sought.  It  invariably  produces  friction  in 
respect  to  the  Children's  Day  collections,  causes  confusion  in  the  minds  of 
the  pastors,  and  in  many  instances  known  to  the  Board  has  led  the  pastors 
to  such  a  disposition  of  their  Children's  Day  collections  as  they  themselves 
feared  was  not  in  harmony  with  the  Discipline.  It  is  greatly  to  be  hoped 
that  the  few  Conferences  now  working  on  this  plan  will  speedily  see  and 
adopt  the  more  excellent  way.  The  Board  is  carrying  out  to  the  fullest 
extent  possible  the  requirement  of  the  Discipline,  "  That  it  shall  recognize 
as  auxiliaries  such  educational  societies  as  now  exist  or  may  hereafter  be 
created,  provided  such  societies  prosecute  their  work  in  harmony  with  the 
principles  and  methods  of  the  Board  of  Education."  It  is  a  pleasure  to 
state  that  not  a  few  Conference  educational  societies  are  doing  excellent 
work  iii  various  ways,  and  it  is  the  aim  of  the  Board  to  do  all  it  can  to 
make  its  own  work  and  that  of  these  several  societies  cooperative  and 
mutually  helpful. 

It  has  been  found  impossible  to  secure  anything  like  complete  statis- 
tics of  the  work  done  by  any  considerable  number  of  Conference  societies. 
The  following  are  the  only  Conference  societies  that  have  responded  to 
the  Board's  request  to  furnish  reports  of  students  aided  to  be  inserted  in 
its  quadrennial  report  to  the  General  Conference  at  the  time  this  Report  is 
printed.  There  are  probably  not  more  than  two  other  societies  carrying 
on  this  special  work. 

STUDENTS  AIDED  BY  CONFERENCE  SOCIETIES. 


CONFERENCES. 


c3  o 
fi'3 


3^ 
•C  3 

£3 


Central  Pennsylvania  Conference 
Philadelphia 

Troy  " 
West  Virginia 
Wilmington 

Total  


1871 
1870 
1858 
1854 
1872 


£2,525 
2,950 


575 
$8,416 


121 
195 


265 
48 


629 


$19,043  37 
40,875  00 


5,650  00 
6,617  35 

$72,185  72 


DIRECT  AID  TO  INSTITUTIONS. 


The  work  of  aiding  institutions  directly  by  grants  of  money  or  loans 
has  never  been  attempted ;  a  sufficient  reason  is  that  the  Board  has  had  no 
means  with  which  to  prosecute  such  wrork.  The  original  general  "  Cen- 
tenary Educational  Fund,"  which  might  be  used  for  this  purpose,  proved  to 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education.  t 


735 


be  very  small,  as  nearly  all  contributions  were  made  in  behalf  of  specified 
loQal  institutions  of  learning,  so  that  the  general  connectional  "  Fund  " 
was  only  $9,155.32  ;  only  the  interest  of  this  sum  could  be  used,  and  no 
provision  was  made  for  increasing  it  except  by  special  "  contributions  of 
money  or  property."  Such  special  contributions  will  undoubtedly  be 
made  by  some  liberal  friends  of  the  Church  who  will  give  to  the  Board 
large  sums,  like  Peabody  and  Hand  and  Slater  and  others,  to  aid  worthy 
institutions  of  learning  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church.  No  nobler  ben- 
efaction could  be  made.  The  Board's  charter  properly  provides  that  it 
may  hold  and  administer  such  gifts  for  any  specified  educational  purpose, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  will,  not  many  years  hence,  have  at  com- 
mand the  means  with  which  to  carry  forward  this  department  of  its  possi- 
sible  work. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  brief  survey  of  the  functions  of  the 
Board  and  of  the  work  which  it  is  now  accomplishing  that  it  is  far  from 
being  inactive  or  indifferent  to  any  of  its  charter  duties,  while  its  useful- 
ness in  its  various  departments  of  endeavor  cannot  fail  to  be  apparent. 
But  the  Board  is  now  doing  vastly  more  than  is  indicated  above,  and  more 
than  was  specifically  indicated,  though  possibly  not  more  than  was  contem- 
plated by  some,  at  its  organization. 

GENERAL  AND    SUPERVISORY  WORK  OF  THE  BOARD. 

The  general  work  of  the  Board  as  an  agency  to  promote  higher  educa- 
tion in  the  Church  has  been  greatly  increased,  and  the  supervisory  power 
given  to  it  by  the  last  General  Conference  has  largely  added  to  its  duties 
and  responsibilities.  It  is,  indeed,  a  very  different  Board  from  what  it 
was  previously  to  this  action  of  the  General  Conference.  Its  relation  to 
the  educational  work  of  the  Church  is  more  clearly  defined  and  its  authority 
and  responsibility  are  distinctly  stated  and  greatly  enlarged.  The  action  of 
the  last  General  Conference  in  the  adoption  of  something  like  a  system  of 
education,  including  the  federation  of  the  colleges  and  universities  of  the 
Church  and  the  bringing  of  them  all  under  the  supervisory  care  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  marked  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  education  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  an  epoch  that  will  doubtless  hereafter  be 
remembered  as  the  greatest  in  its  history  up  to  the  present  time. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  SENATE. 

The  authorization  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  University 
Senate  was  a  very  distinct  and  important  feature  of  the  new  departure. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  this  Senate  was  authorized  to  "  determine  the 
minimum  equivalent  of  academic  work  in  our  Church  institutions  for 
graduation  to  the  Baccalaureate  degree."  The  General  Conference  also 
decreed  that  "  The  Senate  shall  at  least  quadrennially  report  to  the  Board 
of  Education  its  work,  and  that  Board  shall  determine  the  institutions 
which  meet  these  requirements,  and  such  institutions  shall  be  designated 


736 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


as  colleges  in  the  official  lists  of  the  educational  institutions  of  the 
Church."* 

OFFICIAL  RECOGNITION  OF  COLLEGES. 

This  action  imposed  upon  the  Board  of  Education  the  very  responsible 
duty  of  supervising  the  scholastic  work  of  the  colleges  and  universities  of 
the  Church.  In  the  discharge  of  this  important  duty  the  Board  has  car- 
ried on  large  correspondence  with  all  the  colleges  of  the  Church,  and  has 
sent  to  their  officers  circulars  and  documents  explanatory  of  the  action  of 
the  University  Senate,  together  with  special  blank  forms  for  reporting 
the  work  done  by  these  colleges,  so  that  the  Board  may  have  before  it 
sufficient  data  to  form  an  intelligent  opinion  as  to  whether  they  were  con- 
forming to  the  requirements  of  the  University  Senate.  Besides  this,  the 
Secretary  has  visited  several  of  these  colleges  and  made  personal  examina- 
tion, of  their  work.  As  a  result  of  this  department  of  its  work  some  forty- 
four  colleges  during  the  last  year  changed  their  curricula,  nearly  all  of 
them  in  the  direction  of  a  decided  advance.  The  fact  that  the  Church 
had  taken  this  advanced  position,  and  that  it  was  being  actually  applied 
to  the  colleges,  has  had  a  tendency  to  bring  our  entire  educational  work  to 
the  front  as  it  has  never  been  brought  before,  and  to  give  it  a  prominence 
and  importance  which  nothing  else  could  have  done.  We  believe  that  it 
cannot  fail  largely  to  influence  the  whole  educational  status  of  the  Church 
in  the  future,  and  to  contribute  much  toward  retaining  in  our  own  higher 
institutions  the  youth  of  Methodist  families  who  have  vaguely  supposed 
that  they  could  secure  better  advantages  by  attending  other  institutions 
of  learning. 

INCREASE  OF  OFFICE  WORK. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  added  responsibility  and  work  com- 
mitted to  the  Board  by  the  last  General  Conference,  together  with  the 
rapid  growth  of  all  its  departments  of  effort,  its  collections  and  its  loans 
having  more  than  doubled  in  the  last  few  years,  have  largely  increased 
the  work  of  the  office.  The  supervisory  and  general  work  of  the  Board 
entails  a  large  amount  of  correspondence  and  requires  much  time  and 
careful  attention.  Every  new  collection  and  every  new  loan  requires 
added  time  and  work  in  bookkeeping.  There  is  probably  no  other  society 
in  the  Church  obliged  to  put  anything  like  as  much  labor  upon  every 
dollar  it  handles  as  the  Board  of  Education.  All  this  money  comes  in 
small  amounts,  sometimes  as  small  as  a  dollar,  and  averaging  only  about 
eight  or  nine  dollars  per  church,  which  must  be  properly  receipted  and 
entered  in  several  books,  while  its  disbursements  are  made  in  small  loans 
three  times  a  year  to  each  student,  though  such  student  may  have  but  fifty 
dollars  for  the  year.  The  handling  of  the  necessary  documents,  putting 
them  on  file,  keeping  the  books  in  proper  form,  all  requires  time.  The  col 
lection  of  the  loans  itself  is  a  department  of  the  work  that  might  well  oc 
cupy  one  capable  person's  entire  time.  Nevertheless  this  work  is  all  done 
and  we  believe  well  done,  promptly  and  in  businesslike  manner. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  'Education, 


EXPENSES. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said  concerning  the  detailed  character  of  a 
large  part  of  the  Board's  transactions  and  the  extraordinary  labor  thus 
entailed,  together  with  a  large  proportion  of  its  work  which  is  of  a  general 
and  supervisory  character  for  the  whole  Church  and  bears  no  relation  to 
the  fund  which  the  Board  administers,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  all  this 
class  of  work  also  entails  a  large  amount  of  direct  expense  in  addition  to 
the  labor  which  it  imposes,  the  injustice  of  estimating  the  value  and 
efficiency  of  the  Board  by  the  ratio  of  the  money  it  expends  to  the  amount 
of  the  fund  it  collects  and  disburses  must  be  clearly  apparent.  The 
single  fact  that  all  the  disbursements  of  the  Board  are  in  the  form  of  small 
loans  which  call  for  an  unusual  amount  of  labor  to  make,  record,  and  col- 
lect, in  itself  alone  separates  this  work  from  the  work  of  an  ordinary 
board.  But  when  we  remember  that  in  addition  to  this  the  Board  is  doing 
for  the  whole  Methodist  Church  what  the  Bureau  of  Education  of  the  United 
States  is  doing  at  large  expense  for  the  nation,  and  even  more  than  this, 
for  the  United  States  Bureau  handles  no  money,  while  it  expends  a  great 
deal,  the  inappropriateness  of  all  calculations  of  this  kind  becomes  evident. 
Nevertheless,  if  put  upon  even  this  unjust  basis,  the  showing  of  the  Board 
is  far  from  unsatisfactory.  Its  income  the  present  year  is  $89,061.43. 
Besides  this  it  cares  for  an  invested  fund  now  amounting  to  $237,000  par 
value,  and  looks  after  outstanding  loans  now  amounting  to  $540,819.39 
unpaid.  Its  expenses  the  last  four  years,  including  salaries,  office  help, 
office  rent  and  fixtures,  stationery,  stamps,  printing,  a  large  amount  of 
educational  literature  gratuitously  distributed,  traveling  expenses  of  its 
Secretary  in  making  one  hundred  and  seven  visits  to  Annual  Conferences 
during  the  quadrennium,  together  with  a  large  number  of  Church  institu- 
tions, all  expenses  of  the  University  Senate,  etc.,  amount  to  $43,263.35 — an* 
average  of  $10,815.83  annually.  If  we  include  all  the  expenses  of  every 
kind  connected  with  the  administration  of  any  other  society  in  the  Church, 
and  take  into  fair  consideration  the  character  of  the  work  done,  we  are 
confident  that  no  society  can  make  a  better  showing. 

THE  FUNDS  OF  THE  BOARD. 

Two  funds  were  originally  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Board  as  the 
result  of  the  centenary  contributions  of  1866.  "  The  General  Centenary 
Educational  Fund"  amounted  to  but  $9,155.32.  "The  Sunday  School 
Children's  Fund  "  amounted  to  $56,674.40.  The  two  sums  united,  with 
accrued  interest,  were  committed  to  the  Board's  custody  at  its  organization 
by  the  General  Conference  in  1868,  and  at  that  time  amounted  to  about 
$84,000.  As  shown  in  the  notes  in  the  charter  (see  Appendix)  the  two 
funds,  though  originally  distinct  and  designed  to  cover  two  fields  of  edu- 
cational aid,  yet,  by  the  terms  of  the  charter,  did,  in  part,  embrace  work 
practically  identical  so  far  as  relates  to  aiding  young  men  preparing  for 


788 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


the  foreign  missionary  work  and  for  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  The  General  Fund  was  broader  in  that  it  included  the  con- 
templated aid  of  institutions  as  well  as  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  and 
foreign  missionary  work  ;  the  "  Sunday  School  Children's  Fund "  was 
broader  in  that  it  included  all  students  of  either  sex  preparing  for  Christian 
work,  proposing,  as  it  did,  "  to  assist  meritorious  Sunday  school  scholars  in 
obtaining  a  more  advanced  education."  As  the  latter  "  Fund"  was  by  far  the 
larger,  and  provision  was  made  for  its  increase  by  collections,  and  no  such 
provision  seems  to  have  been  made  for  the  increase  of  the  "  General  Fund  " 
except  by  special  "  contributions  of  money  or  property,"  and  as  the  two 
funds  by  charter  authority  might  be  devoted  to  the  same  objects,  the  pro- 
ceeds of  both  have  been  administered  thus  far  as  one  fund.  But  the  orig- 
inal amount  of  the  General  Fund,  together  with  all  accrued  interest,  if  so 
determined,  is  available  for  the  broader  work  made  possible  by  the  char- 
ter. It  constitutes  the  nucleus  of  a  fund  which  by  special  donations  may 
yet  grow  to  large  proportions.  The  combined  funds  are  securely  invested, 
as  shown  by  the  Treasurer's  Report,  and  now  amount  to  $237,000. 


Treasurer's  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church. 

From  November  25,  1891,  to  November  30,  1895. 


Receipts  from  Nov.  25.  1891,  to  Nov.  30,  1892: 

Interest  on  investments  

Collections  and  donations  

Martha  Fales  Fund  '.  

Sold— 

20  East  Tennessee,  Virginia  &  Georgia  Cons.  5  per  cent 
bonds  ($1,000  <each)  


Disbursements  from  Nov.  25,  1891,  to  Nov.  30,  1892 : 

Loans  to  students  

Salaries,  clerk  hire,  traveling  expenses,  stenographer, 

typewriter,  etc  

Printing,  stationery,  and  postage  

Rent  of  office  and  safe  in  Safe  Deposit  Company  

Traveling  expenses  of  members  of  the  Board  in  attending 

annual  meeting  

Annuity  

Bought— 

21  Chicago  Gas  Light  &  Coke  1st  mortgage  5  per  cent 
bonds  ($1,000  each)  


Surplus  of  receipts  

Receipts  from  Nov.  30, 1892,  to  Nov.  29, 1893 : 

Interest  on  investments  

Collections  and  donations  

Estate  of  Sylvia  A.  Ham  


Disbursements  from  Nov.  30, 1892,  to  Nov.  29, 1893 : 

Loans  to  students  

Salaries,  clerk  hire,  traveling  expenses,  stenographer, 

typewriter,  etc  

Printing,  stationery,  and  postage  

Rent  of  office  and  safe  in  Safe  Deposit  Company  

Traveling  expenses  of  members  of  the  Board  in  attending 

annual  meeting  

Expenses  of  committee  in  attending  University  Senate — 

Banners  for  World's  Fair  

Annuity  

Bought— 

10  Western  Union  Telegraph  6  per  cent  collateral  trust 
bonds ($1,000 each).. .  


Excess  of  disbursements  over  receipts. 


$12,241  24 
62,777  81 
12  00 

19,375  00 

$94,406  05 

$59,813  08 

7,582  07 
2,829  16 
680  00 

66  00 
350  00 

18,926  25 

$90,246  56 

$12,923  34 
70,372  29 
8  75 

$83,304  38 

$63,932  57 

7,583  85 
1,968  07 
680  00 

79  65 
532  57 

53  00 
350  00 

10,412  50 

$85,592  21 

$2,287  83 


$4,159  49 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education.  789 


treasurer's  report. — (  Continued.} 


Receipts  from  Nov.  29,  1893,  to  Nov.  80,  1894 : 

$10,948  27 

1 

Interest  on  investments  

65,438  89 

11  80 

$76,398  96 

Disbursements  from  Nov.  29, 1893,  to  Nov.  30, 1894 : 

$68,390  43 

Salaries,  clerk  hire,  traveling  expenses,  stenographer, 

7,256  77 

2  495  01 

Rent  of  office  and  safe  in  Safe  Deposit  Company. 

'680  00 

Traveling  expenses  of  members  of  the  Board  in  attending 

96  95 

Expenses  of  Church  exhibit  at  World's  Fair  

93  19 

New  furniture,  repairs,  etc   

209  44 

350  00 

$79,571  79 

Receipts  from  Nov.  30, 1S94,  to  Nov.  30, 1895 : 

$12,532  08 

68,972  13 

$81,504  21 

Disbursements  from  Nov.  30,  1894,  to  Nov.  30, 1895 : 

$68,065  95 

Salaries,  clerk  hire,  traveling  expenses,  stenographer, 

7,449  96 

2,127  26 

Rent  of  office  and  safe  in  Safe  Deposit  Company  

680  00 

Traveling  expenses  of  members  of  the  Board  in  attending 

120  40 

350  00 

$78,793  57 

$2,710  64 

Balance  on  hand  Nov.  25, 1891   

37,402  53 

$38,812  00 

$44,272  66 

$44,872  66 

$335,613  60 

334,204  13 

$1,409  47 

JOSEPH  S.  STOUT,  Treasurer. 


List  op  Investments. 


Par  value. 

Cost. 

50  Missouri  Pacific  Railway  Co.'s  1st  mortgage  consolidated  six  per  cent  bonds.. 
52  Peoria,  Decatur  &  Evansville  R.  R.  Co.'s  1st  mortgage  six  per  cent  bonds 

$50,000 

52,000 
10,000 
47,000 
11,000 
26,000 
23,000 

18,000 

$237,000 

$51,633  36 

53,560  00 
9,700  00 
41,662  50 
11,361  25 
27,797  50 
20,888  75 

18,382  50 

$234,985  86 

10  St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco  Railway  Co.'s  general  mortgage  six  per  cent  bonds 
47  New  York,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  R.  R.  Co.'s  1st  mortgage  four  per  cent  bonds. 

11  St.  Joseph  &  Grand  Island  R.  R.  Co.'s  1st  mortgage  six  per  cent  bonds  

26  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railway  Co.'s  2d  mortgage  six  per  cent  bonds  

18  Western  Union  Telegraph  Co.'s  1st  mortgage  five  per  cent  collateral  trust 

Market  value  of  investments  on  Nov.  30,  1895   $236,795 


Returned  Loan  Account  from  November  25,  1891,  to  November  30,  1895. 


$25,481  38 

$16,250  55 

2,092  70 

11,323  53 

$27,574  08 

$27,574  08 

JOSEPH  S.  STOUT,  Treasurer. 


*  Of  this  amount  $445.50  was  received  during  the  quadrennium  in  payment  of  notes  originally  held  by  local 
Conference  educational  societies  and  transferred  by  these  societies  to  the  Board.  A  separate  account  of  these  pay- 
ments has  been  published  in  the  Annual  Reports,  in  connection  with  the  Returned  Loan  account  j  but  inasmuch  as 
this  money  was  not  loaned  by  the  Board  nor  charged  among  its  disbursements  it  is  here  included  as  a  part  of  the 
receipts  of  the  General  Fund. 


740 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Institutional  and  Geographical  Distribution  of  Loans  Made 
by  the  Board  of  Education.  , 

The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  aid  from  the  Board's  in- 
auguration to  the  close  of  the  last  school  year,  July,  1895.  Some  of  the 
institutions  named  are  not  now  existing  ;  others  have  passed  from  our 
control  : 

IVew  England  States. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Boston  School  of  Theology  

Boston  College  of  Liberal  Arts  

Boston  School  of  Medicine  

East  Greenwich  Academy  

East  Maine  Conference  Seminary  

Lasell  Seminary  

Maine  Wesleyan  Seminary  

New  Hampshire  Conference  Academy. 
New  Eugland  Conservatory  of  Music. . . 

Troy  Conference  Academy  

Vermont  Methodist  Seminary  

Wesleyan  Academy  

Wesleyan  University  

Special  professional  students  

Early  special  students  


Total. 


LOCATION. 


Boston,  Mass  

Boston,  Mass  

Boston,  Mass  

East  Greenwich,  R.  I. 

Bucksport,  Me   

Auburndaie,  Mass .... 

Kent's  Hill,  Me  

Tilton,  N.  H  

Boston,  Mass  

Poultney,  Vt  

Montpelier,  Vt  

Wilbraham,  Mass  

Middletown,  Conn... 


No.  of 
Students. 


225 
84 

2 
43 
33 

1 

18 
25 
4 
31 
45 
53 
169 
4 
3 


Middle  States. 


Allegheny  College  

Amenia  Seminary  

Claverack  College  

Centenary  Collegiate  Institute  

Cazenovia  Seminary  

Chamberlain  Institute  

Dickinson  College  

Drew  Theological  Seminary  

Drew  Female  Seminary  

Folts  Mission  Institute  

Fort  Edward  Collegiate  Institute. . . 

Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary  

Ives  Seminary  

Lucy  Webb  Hayes  Training  School. 

Morgan  College  

Pennington  Seminary  

Syracuse  University  

Wilmington  Conference  Seminary. 

Wyoming  Seminary  

Williamsport  Dickinson  Seminary.. 

Woman's  College  of  Baltimore  

Special  professional  students  

Early  special  students  


Total. 


Meadville,  Pa  

Amenia,  N.  Y  

Claverack,  N. Y  

Hackettstown,  N.  J. 
Cazenovia,  N.  Y — 
Randolph,  N.  Y.... 

Carlisle,  Pa  

Madison,  N.  J  

Carmel,  N.  Y  

Herkimer,  N.  Y  

Fort  Edward,  N.  Y. 

Lima,  N.  Y  

Antwerp,  N.  Y  

Washington,  D.  C. . 

Baltimore,  Md  

Pennington,  N.  J . . . 

Syracuse,  N.  Y  

Dover,  Del  

Kingston,  Pa  

Williamsport,  Pa. . . 
Baltimore,  Md  


Western  States. 


197 

$17,622 

163 

13,010 

45 

4,307 

10 

865 

2 

100 

8 

808 

37 

2,763 

77 

3,588 

102 

11,412 

15 

875 

1 

100 

261 

19,344 

368 

31,191 

7 

169 

1 

50 

3 

100 

20 

1,126 

4 

190 

120 

12,758 

Albion  College  

Baker  University  

Baldwin  University  

Black  Hills  College  

Blue  Mountain  University. 

Carleton  Institute  

Chaddock  College  

Chicago  Training  School . . 

Cornell  College  

Dakota  University  

De  Pauw  College  

De  Pauw  University  

Garrett  Biblical  Institute.. 
George  R.  Smith  College. . 

German  College  

German  English  College. . . 
German  Wallace  College. . . 
Grand  Prnirie  Seminary. . . 
Hamline  University  


.  Albion,  Mich  

.  Baldwin,  Kan  

.  Berea,  O  

.  Hot  Springs,  S.  Dak. 

.  La  Grande,  Ore  

.  Farmington,  Mo  

.  Quincy,  111  

.  Chicago  111  

.  Mount  Vernon,  la. . . 

.  Mitchell,  S.  Dak  

.  New  Albany,  lnd... 
.  Greencastle,  lnd — 

.  Evanston,  111  

.  Sedalia,  Mo  

.  I  Mount  Pleasant,  la. 
.  I  Galena,  111  

Berea,  O  

.  Onarga,  111  

I  Hamline,  Minn  


1S96.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


741 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Hedding  College  

Hillsboro  Female  College  , 

Illinois  Female  College  

Illinois  Wesleyan  University  

Iowa  Weslevan  University  

Japanese  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission. 

Jennings  Seminary  

Kansas  Wesleyan  University  

Lawrence  University  

Lewis  College  

Lewiston  Collegiate  Institute  

Mallalieu  College  

McKendree  College  

Marionville  Collegiate  Institute  

Missouri  Wesleyan  Institute  

Montana  University  

Morris  Hill  College  

Morningside  University  

Mount  Union  College  

Napa  College  

Nebraska  Central  College   

Nebraska  Wesleyan  University  

York  College  

North  western  University  

Norwegian  Danish  Theological  School . 

Ohio  University  

Ohio  Wesleyan  University  

Ogden  Academy  

Orleans  College  

Portland  University  

Puget  Sound  University  

Red  River  Valley  University  

Scio  College  

Simpson  College  

Southwest  Kansas  College  

Spokane  College  

Saint  Paul  College  

Salt  Lake  Seminary  

Swedish  Theological  Seminary  

Taylor  University  

University  of  Denver  

University  of  Southern  California  

University  of  the  Pacific  

Upper  Iowa  University  

Willamette  University  

Western  Reserve  Seminary  

Special  professional  students  

Early  special  students  


Total . 


LOCATION. 


Abingdon,  111  

Hillsboro,  0  

Jacksonville,  111  

Bloomington,  111. 
Mount  Pleasant,  la  . . . 
San  Francisco,  Cai. . 

Aurora,  111  

Salina,  Kan  

Appleton,  Wis  

Glasgow,  Mo  

Lewiston,  Ida  

Bartley,  Neb  

Lebanon,  111  

Marion ville,  Mo  

Cameron,  Mo  

Helena,  Mont  

Morris  Hill,  Ind  

Sioux  City,  la  

Alliance,  0  

Napa,  Cal  

Central  City,  Neb.. .. 

Lincoln,  Neb  

York,  Neb.  

Evanston,  111  

Evanston,  111  

Athens,  O  

Delaware,  O  

Ogden,  Utah  

Orleans,  Neb  

Portland,  Ore  

Tacoma,  Wash  

Wahpeton,  N.  Dak... 

Scio,  O  

Indianola,  la  

Winfleld,  Kan  

Spokane  Falls,  Wash. 
St.  Paul  Park,  Minn. . 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

Evanston,  111  

Fort  Wayne,  Ind  

Denver,  Colo  

Los  Angeles,  Cal  

College  Park,  Cal.... 
Fayette,  la. 

Salem,  Ore  

West  Farmington,  O . 


No.  of 

StudentH. 

Amount. 

46 

3,981 

4 

17 1 

1 

100 

84 

8,048 

35 

3,016 

3 

75 

14 

1 ,055 

34 

2,247 

70 

7,281 

11 

895 

3 

165 

2 

200 

40 

3,829 

16 

834 

20 

933 

4 

325 

23 

2,012 

15 

1,137 

52 

4,914 

7 

560 

4 

150 

75 

4,963 

1 

75 

225 

23,108 

is 

9&5 

6 

975 

262 

22,619 

8 

100 

3 

125 

29 

1,750 

6 

310 

10 

588 

27 

2,123 

37 

4,168 

48 

2,654 

5 

346 

6 

355 

6 

150 

41 

1,880 

11 

1,300 

16 

1,225 

40 

3,76C 

40 

4  805 

27 

3^383 

30 

2,245 

12 

759 

22 

3,050 

5 

790 

$251,447 

Southern  States. 


Aaron  Seminary  

Albuquerque  College  

Andrews  Institute  

Augusta  Collegiate  Institute  

Bennett  Seminary  

P.linn  Memorial  College  

Bloomington  College  

Bremen  College  

Claflin  University  

Clark  University  

Central  Alabama  Academy  , 

Central  Tennessee  College  

Cookraan  Institute  

Demorest  Seminary  

Ellijay  Seminary  

Du  Pont  Seminary  

Fort  Worth  University  

Gammon  Theological  Seminary . 

Graham  Academy  

Gilbert  Academy  

Greenville  Collegiate  Institute . 

Haven  Normal  Institute  

High  Point  Seminary  

Holston  Seminary  

Houston  Seminary  

KIngsley  Seminary  

La  Grange  Academy  

Leicester  Academy  

Little  Rock  University  


Montezuma,  N.  C  

Albuquerque,  N.  Mex. 
De  Kalb  County,  Ala.. 

Augusta,  Ky  

Greensboro,  N.  C  

Brenham,  Tex  

Bloomington,  Tenn... 

Bremen,  Ky  

Orangeburg,  S.  C  

Atlanta,  Ga  

Huntsville,  Ala  

Nashville,  Tenn  

Jacksonville,  Fla  

Demorest,  Ga  

Ellijay,  Ga  

Du  Pont,  Ga  

Fort  Worth,  Tex  

Atlanta,  Ga  

Marshallberg,  N.  C... 

Baldwin,  La  

Greenville,  Tenn  

Wavnesboro,  Ga  

High  Point,  N.  C  

New  Market,  Tenn  

Houston,  Tex  

Bloomingdale,  Tenn.. 

La  Grange,  Ga  

Leicester,  N.  C  

Little  Rock,  Ark  


$78 

1 

75 

5 

590 

4 

200 

37 

1,969 

*8 

270 

3 

395 
240 

166 

7,073 

43 

1,617 

14 

808 

157 

9,968 

21 

1,685 

2 

75 

21 

968 

1 

15 

5 

600 

110 

13,777 

9 

535 

4 

143 

4 

155 

4 

103 

1 

204 

13 

572 

2 

63 

1 

78 

1 

20 

4 

155 

16 

1,390 

742 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Mallalieu  Seminary  

Meridian  Academy  

McLemoresville  Collegiate  Institute. 

Morristown  Seminary  

Mount  Union  Seminary  

Mount  Zion  Seminary  

New  Orleans  University  

Parrottsville  Seminary  

Philander  Smith  College  

Powell's  Valley  Seminary  

Roanoke  Seminary  

Rust  University  

Simpson  Institute   

Summertown  Seminary  

Tullahoma  College  

U.  S.  Grant  University  

Union  College  

Warren  College  

West  Texas  Conference  Seminary. . . 
West  Virginia  Conference  Seminary. 

Wiley  University  

Woodland  Academy  

Special  professional  students  

Early  special  students  


Total. 


LOCATION. 


Kinsley,  Ala  

Meridian,  Miss  

McLemoresville,  Tenn  

Morristown,  Tenn  

Mount  Union,  Ala  

Mount  Zion,  Ga  

New  Orleans,  La  

Parrottsville,  Tenn  

Little  Rock,  Ark  

Wellspring,  Tenn  

Roanoke,  Va  

Holly  Springs,  Miss  

Logan,  Ala  

Summertown,  Tenn  

Tullahoma,  Ala    

Athens  and  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Barbourville,  Ky  

Chuckey  City,  Tenn  

Austin,  Tex    

Buckhannon,  W.  Va  

Marshall,  Tex  

Clarkson,  Miss  


No.  of 
Students. 


29 
18 

2 
64 
11 

3 

3 
259 

6 
17 

6 
21 
135 

4 

2 
12 


Foreign  Countries. 


Anglo-Japanese  College  

Bareilly  Theological  Seminary 
Denmark  Mission  Institute — 

Finland  School  

Italian  Theological  School  — 

Lucknow  Christian  College  

Martin  Mission  Institute  

Mexican  Theological  School.. 

Monrovia  Seminary —  

Norway  Theological  School . . . 

Roberts  College  

Sweden  Theological  School  

Special  professional  students 
Peking  University 


Total 


Tokio.  Japan  

Bareilly,  India  

Copenhagen,  Denmark  

Helsiugfors,  Finland  

Rome,  Italy  

Lucknow,  India  

Frankfort-on-Main,  Germany. 

Puebla,  Mexico  

Monrovia,  Liberia  

Christiania,  Norway  

,  Turkey  


Upsala.  Sweden. 


Recapitulation. 


New  England  States  

Middle  States  

Western  States  

Southern  States  

Foreign  countries  ! 

Special  and  professional  students. 

Grand  total  


$84,940 
139,218 
251,447 
96,587 
19,415 
11,975 

$603,579 


Loans  Made  the  Last  Year  and  Amounts  Disbursed. 

Disbursed  directly  from  the  office  for  the  school  year 

ending  July,  1895   $69,946  72 

Retained  collections  charged  to  foreign  schools  in 

school  year  ending  July,  1895   650  20 


Total   $70,596  92 

Number  of  schools  in  •which  students  were  aided   134 

Number  of  persons  receiving  aid   1,540 

Number  of  remittances  to  schools   341 

Number  of  notes  given     3,101 

Average  amount  loaned  to  each  student   $45  36 

STUDENTS  AIDED  THE  LAST  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

Total  number   1,540 

Of  this  number  we  had  formerly  aided   877 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education.  743 

Aided  first  time  this  year   663 

Male  students   1,295 

Female  students   245 

Nationalities  and  races  : 

Afro- American   234 

Armenian   1 

Bohemian   4 

Bulgarian   7 

Canadian   33 

Chinese   1  • 

Danish   7 

English   95 

French   1 

German  ,   23 

Hebrew   3 

Irish   9 

Italian   9 

s    Japanese  -   21 

Nova  Scotian   1 

Norwegian   10 

Scotch   11 

Spanish   1 

Swedish   23 

Swiss   3 

Syrian   1 

Turkish   1 

Welsh   6 

United  States   1,035 


Total   1,54a 

Geographical  distribution  of  beneficiaries  by  schools  : 

New  England  States   183 

Middle  States   295 

Western  States   732 

Southern  States   306 

Foreign  Missions   30 

Total   1,540 

Intended  calling  : 

Ministry   923 

Missionary   145 

Ministry  and  Missionary   53 

Teaching   278 

Other  callings   141 


Total   1,540 


744  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

Per  cent  intending  to  enter  the  ministry  in  this  country 

or  in  foreign  fields   63 

Per  cent  intending  ministry  or  missionary  work,  one  or 

both   73 


Departments  of  study  : 


Preparatory  students,  675,  to  the  amount  of . . 

.  .  $21,933 

86 

Collegiate  students,  532,  to  the  amount  of  

28,891 

11 

Theological  students,  284,  to  the  amount  of  

.     .  15,734 

79 

Professional  students,  49,  to  the  amount  of  

3,405 

00 

Unreported  from  foreign  schools  

733 

17 

The  total  number  of  students  aided  from  the  beginning,  in  1873,  up  to 
July,  1895,  is  6,593.  Total  amount  loaned  to  July,  1895,  $603,579.59. 
Average  total  amount  loaned  to  each  beneficiary,  $91.54. 


RETURNED  LOANS. 

There  is  perhaps  no  work  committed  to  the  Board  of  greater  difficulty 
and  delicacy  than  that  of  collecting  its  loans.  The  whole  transaction  is 
of  a  character  which  makes  it  somewhat  unique,  and  separates  it  from  the 
merely  ordinary  business  loan.  It  is,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  involved  in 
complications,  which  cannot  always  be  made  apparent  at  a  glance  to  those 
who  ask  the  question,  What  proportion  of  the  loans  has  been  paid  ?  The 
question  seems  simple,  but  to  give  an  answer  that  will  not  be  misleading 
and  will  be  perfectly  fair  and  just  to  all  parties  interested  requires  careful 
study  of  several  facts  involved.    It  should  be  remembered, 

First,  that  in  the  early  years  of  the  Board's  history  the  policy  of  grant- 
ing all  aid  in  the  form  of  a  loan  was  not  as  distinctly  stated  and  emphasized 
.as  it  now  is,  and  the  impression  was  quite  prevalent — an  impression  some- 
what strengthened  by  the  early  documents  used — that  while  the  money  was 
granted  in  the  form  of  a  loan  the  loan  would  be  canceled  for  so  many  differ- 
ent causes  as  to  make  it  in  many  instances,  if  not,  indeed,  in  most,  practically 
a  gift.  Undoubtedly  this  impression  widely  prevailed,  and  it  was  also 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  nearly  or  quite  all  of  the  local  Conference 
societies,  of  which  there  were  a  large  number,  had  adopted  the  policy  of 
canceling  the  loans  when  a  beneficiary  entered  an  Annual  Conference. 
This  practice  has,  indeed,  prevailed  up  to  the  present  time,  and  has  always 
militated,  and  wherever  it  still  exists  continues  to  militate,  against  the 
work  of  the  Board.  It  should  further  be  stated,  also,  that  during  the  early 
years  of  the  Board  some  grants  were  made  as  well  as  loans,  and  money  was 
sent  direct  to  Conferences  and  institutions  for  distribution;  a  policy  which 
has  since  been  abandoned. 

Secondly.  Up  to  1880,  after  a  brief  period,  there  was  no  one  to  give 
constant  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  Board,  as  the  Secretary  had  accepted 
the  presidency  of  a  university,  and  the  loans  were  not  made  and  looked 
after  with  as  much  business  care  as  they  afterward  were.   This  also  tended 


1896.J 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


745 


to  strengthen  the  impression  among  officers  of  the  schools  and  beneficiaries 
that  the  collection  of  the  loans  would  not  be  pressed. 

Thirdly.  Up  to  1880  no  notes  were  required.  The  students  received 
their  money  from  the  officers  of  the  schools,  and,  giving  no  note,  felt  no 
strong  sense  of  obligation  to  pay  it  back. 

Fourthly.  During  all  this  time  and  up  to  a  few  years  ago  the  impression 
was  widespread  that  whenever  one  simply  entered  the  missionary  service 
his  notes  were  immediately  canceled  without  any  further  action  on  his 
part;  an  erroneous  impression  which  the  Board  is  now  doing  everything 
it  can  do  to  counteract. 

Fifthly.  A  great  majority  of  those  receiving  loans  have  gone  into  fields 
of  labor  in  which  they  have  received  the  merest  pittance  for  support. 
With  small  pay  and  expenses  increasing  with  the  increase  of  their  families, 
they  have  found  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  lay  aside  anything  for  paying 
their  debts,  and  many  of  them  had  other  debts  than  their  obligations  to 
the  Board  of  Education. 

Sixthly.  A  considerable  number  of  accounts  have  been  canceled  by 
death,  ill  health,  misfortune,  and  missionary  service. 

Seventhty.  A  very  large  proportion  of  all  the  money  loaned  by  the 
Board  has  been  loaned  during  the  last  few  years.  Of  the  whole  amount 
loaned  in  the  twenty-two  years  since  the  first  loans  were  made  up  to  the 
close  of  the  scholastic  year,  1894-95,  about  86  per  cent  was  loaned  dur- 
ing the  last  tioelve  years,  68  per  cent  during  the  last  eight  years,  and  44 
per  cent  during  the  last  four  years.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  a  suffi- 
cient time  has  not  yet  elapsed  for  the  Board  to  cherish  a  reasonable  expec- 
tation that  a  very  large  proportion  of  its  loans  should  now  be  paid. 

Two  other  facts  may  well  be  added  to  the  above,  namely,  that  re- 
turned loans  now  being  made  to  the  Board  are  very  largely  payments  of 
loans  made  in  recent  years;  and  secondly,  that  the  amount  of  returned 
loans  during  the  last  fiscal  year  was  nearly  four  times  the  amount  paid 
eight  years  ago.  Bearing  all  the  above  facts  in  mind,  we  shall  doubtless 
study  with  interest  the  following  exhibits,  the  first  showing  the  condition 
of  loans  made  prior  to  1890,  with  amounts  repaid  for  that  period,  and  the 
second  showing  the  condition  of  all  accounts  as  a  whole  to  the  close  of  the 
last  school  year: 

Table  I. 

STATEMENT  OF  LOANS  FROM  THE  BEGINNING,  IN  1873,  TO  JANUARY  1,  1890, 
WITH  ALL  PAYMENTS  ON  THE  SAME  UP  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  FISCAL 
YEAR,  NOVEMBER  30,  1895. 

1.  Total  number  of  accounts  to  January  1,  1890   2,918 

2.  Total  number  of  these  accounts  that  are  now  closed  685 

3.  Total  number  of  these  accounts  that  are  closed  by 

payment   455 

4.  Total  number  of  these  accounts  closed  by  cancella- 

tion for  cause   230 

4 


746 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


5.  Per  cent  of  these  accounts  that  are  closed  

*  6.  Number  of  unclosed  accounts  on  which  partial 


payments  have  been  made  ,   94 

7.  Total  amount  of  the  2,918  accounts  $245,073  67 

8.  Total  amount  of  payments  on  the  same,  including 

Children's  Day  collections  personally  credited..  $46,984  46 

9.  Per  cent  of  amount  paid  on  total   19^ 


Table  II. 

STATEMENT  OF  LOANS  FROM  THE  BEGINNING,  IN  1873,  TO  SEPTEMBER  1,  1895, 
WITH  ALL  PAYMENTS  ON  THE  SAME  UP  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  FISCAL 


YEAR,  NOVEMBER  30,  1895. 

1.  Total  number  of  accounts   6,593 

2.  Number  of  these  that  are  closed   1,007 

3.  Per  cent  of  the  accounts  that  are  closed   15^- 

4.  Number  that  are  closed  by  cash  payments   573 

5.  Number  that  are  canceled  for  special  causes.  . ..  434 

6.  Number  of  unclosed  accounts  on  which  partial 

payments  have  been  made   387 

7.  Total  amount  loaned   $603,579  59 

8.  Total  amount  credited  on  the  above   $62, 760  20 

9.  Per  cent  of  credits  on  the  whole  amount   lOf 

10.  Total  amount  of  cash  payments. . .    $50,774  16 

11.  Per  cent  of  cash  payments  on  the  total  amount 

loaned   8f 

12.  Total  amount  of  Children's  Day  collections  cred- 

ited on  personal  accounts   $11,986  04 

13.  Per  cent  of  Children's  Day  collections  credited 

on  total  amount  loaned   2 

14.  Of  the  total  amount  credited  the  per  cent  by 

Children's  Day  collections  is.    19^ 

15.  Total  amount  of  unpaid  loans   $540,819  39 


It  may  be  observed  that  within  the  last  few  years  the  policy  of  the 
General  Conference  carried  out  by  the  Board  has  been  clearly  defined  ; 
all  the  documents  used  have  been  revised  from  time  to  time  as  experience 
indicated,  so  that  they  are  now  very  definite,  every  one  of  them  having 
been  revised  within  the  last  two  years,  and  all  the  transactions  of  the 
Board  put  upon  a  thoroughly  business  basis.  The  books  are  carefully 
kept,  every  effort  is  made  to  remind  the  borrowers  of  their  indebtedness 
to  the  Board,  and  statements  of  accounts  are  constantly  being  sent  out  to 
the  schools  and  to  the  borrowers  as  far  as  their  addresses  can  be  ascer- 
tained. There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  under  the  existing  rtyime,  after 
the  Board  has  exercised  the  authority  granted  it  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence "  to  cancel  loans  in  whole  or  in  part  for  protracted  ill  health  or  for 
five  years'  actual  missionary  service  "  (see  Discipline,  Paragraph  321,  Sec- 
tion 7),  the  Board  will  collect  a  reasonable  amount  of  loans  that  have 
been  made  during  the  last  few  years.    The  following  tables  will  give  a  good 


1896.]  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education.  717 

general  view  of  the  Board's  work  and  furnish  information  of  general 
interest  to  the  Church: 

COMPARATIVE  RECEIPTS  FROM  ALL  SOURCES  EXCEPT  INTEREST  OX  INVEST- 
MENTS FOR  THE  LAST  THREE  QU ADRENNIU MS. 


For  the  last  quadrennium,  1892-95: 

Fiscal  year  ending  November,  1892   $68,423  57 

"    .    "       "          "          1893  %   74,730  57 

"   *  44       "          44          1894  ! .  73,391  51 

»'       "       44          "           1895   76,529  40 

Total  income  exclusive  of  investments   $293,075  05 

Ad  d  interest  on  investments  for  the  quadrennium     48, 644  93 

Grand  total  of  receipts  from  all  sources  $341,719  98 

Increase  for  the  quadrennium  1892-95  above  the  pre- 
vious quadrennium,  $86,723.17  (exclusive  of  int.)  41  per  cent 

Increase  for  the  quadrenuium  1892-95  above  the  quad- 
rennium 1884-87,  $135,338.39   71  per  cent 


COMPARATIVE    RECEIPTS    FROM    RETURNED     LOANS    FOR    THE    LAST  TWO 

QUADRENNIUMS. 

For  the  quadrennium  ending  November  30,  1895.. . .  $25,481  38 
"    "  "  44  44         24,  1891....    14,734  10 

Increase  in  the  quadrennium  1892-95  above  the  pre- 


vious quadrennium   $10,747  28 

Per  cent  of  increase  in  the  quadrennium  of  1892-95 

above  the  previous  quadrennium  73  per  cent 

COMPARATIVE  DISBURSEMENTS  FOR  THE  LAST  THREE  QUADRENNIUMS. 

For  the  last  quadrennium,  1891-95:* 

School  year  1891-92   $60,044  40 

44       44    1892-93    66,614  35 

44       44    1893-94   70,039  34 

44       44    1894-95   70,596  92 

Grand  total   $267,295  01 

For  the  previous  quadrennium,  1887-91: 

School  year  1887-88   $27,811  07 

44       44    1888-89   36,082  88 

44       44    1889-90   42,173  96 

44       44    1890-91    49,036  95 

Grand  total   $155,104  86 


*  For  convenience  in  keeping  accounts  with  the  institutions  of  learning  the  disbursements  are  reck- 
oned by  school  years. 


748  Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 

Total  increase  of  disbursements  for  the  last  quad- 

rennium  $112,190  15 

Increase  of  disbursements  for  the  last  quadrennium. .  72  per  cent 

For  the  quadrennium  1883-87: 

School  year  1883-84   $16,510  45 

«   1884-85   20,840  66 

"   1885-86   32,411  13 

"       "   1886-87.   28,395  67 

Grand  total   $98,157  91 

Total  increase  of  disbursements  for  the  last  quad- 
rennium, 1892-95,  above  the  quadrennium  1884-87  $169,137  10 

Per  cent  of  increase  in  disbursements  for  the  last 
quadrennium,  1892-95,  above  the  quadrennium 
1884-87   172  per  cent 

ANNUAL  RECEIPTS   OF  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  EXCLUSIVE  OF  INTEREST 

ON  INVESTMENTS. 

Sources  of  income  are  Church  and  Sunday  school  collections,  lega- 
cies, special  donations,  repayment  of  loans,  sale  of  medals  (in  1884  only). 
They  are  here  given  by  fiscal  years: 

1873   $1,490  68 

1874   4,620  90 

1875  (net)   2,141  28 

1876   887  26 

1877....   1,994  57 

1878   565  30 

1879   2,491  59 

1880   2,079  24 

1881   9,256  86 

1882     18,026  56 

1883   32,718  42 

1884   56,181  65 

1885   38,852  70 

1886   37,926  47 

1887   38,403  77 

1888   33,640  99 

1889   45,762  83 

1890   *  64, 914  53 

1891     62,809  55 

1892   68,423  57 

1893   74,730  57 

1894   73,391  51 

1895   76,529  40 

Total   $747,840  10 


*  $8,000  of  tbis  sum  was  from  mortgage  on  bond  donated  to  tbe  Board. 


96.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


749 


ANNUAL  DISBURSEMENTS  IN  LOANS  TO  STUDENTS. 

By  calendar  years  until  1889  : 

1873   $300  00 

1874   4,477  00 

1875   10,095  00 

1876   8,554  56 

1877   7,626  50 

1878   7,786  14 

1879   8,217  00 

1880   8,000  00 

1881     8,000  00 

1882   11,037  00 

1883   12,844  00 

1884   16,531  62 

1885   31,684  00 

1886   31,000  00 

1887   27,137  00 

1888   31,150  00 

1889*   20,633  85 

1890  f..   42,173  96 

1891   49,036  95 

1892   60,044  40 

1893   66,614  35 

1894   70,039  34 

1895   70,596  92 


Total   $603,579  59 


LOANS  REPAID  BY  YEARS. 

For  fiscal  year  ending  November  6,  1878   $300  00 

12,  1879  

"            "        9,  1880   255  00 

"            "        9,  1881   193  00 

14,  1882...   1,381  50 

"            "       21,  1883   1,939  23 

12,  1884   1,447  32 

11,  1885   1,620  20 

10,  1886   1,237  02 

"            "       16,  1887   2,185  41 

"            "       21,  1888   2,336  09 

"            "       14,  1889   2,887  94 

"            "       15,  1890   4,312  76 

"       24,  1891   5,197  31 

30,  1892   5,533  76 

"            "       29,  1893   4,169  53 

"            "       30,  1894   7,865  82 

M            <<       30,  1895   7,912  27 


Total   $50,774  16 

•From  January  1  to  end  of  school  year,  July.  +  School  year  ending  July. 


750 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


The  New  Departure  in  Our  Educational  Work. 

As  indicated  elsewhere  in  this  Report,  the  new  departure  made  at  the 
last  General  Conference  in  the  educational  work  of  the  Church  is  being 
carried  forward  successfully,  and  promises  to  be  of  great  value  to  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  Methodism.  So  little  has  been  said  in  the  public  press 
about  this  work,  that  even  the  Methodist  public  may  not  be  thoroughly  in- 
formed in  relation  to  it.  The  General  Conference  of  1892  adopted  an  en- 
tirely new  chapter  on  Education.  In  its  action  was  incorporated  a  plan 
for  the  unification  of  the  colleges  of  Methodism,  by  which  they  were 
placed  in  federate  relations  to  each  other,  and  in  respect  to  their  scholastic 
work  all  were  brought  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  Church.  As  an 
important  part  of  this  unification  plan  the  General  Conference  authorized 
the  Bishops  to  appoint  a  University  Senate  to  formulate  a  standard  of 
requirements  for  graduation  to  the  Baccalaureate  degree  in  our  Methodist 
colleges. 

The  Senate  held  its  first  meeting  in  November,  1893,  and  reported  its 
work  to  the  Board  of  Education.  Since  that  time  the  Board  has  been 
diligently  engaged  in  applying  the  standard  formulated  by  the  University 
Senate  to  all  the  colleges  of  Methodism,  and  gratefully  informs  the  Church 
at  large  that  the  colleges  have,  with  entire  unanimity,  cheerfully  and 
thankfully  accepted  the  prescribed  requirements,  and  nearly  all  of  them  have 
already  shaped  their  courses  in  accordance  with  the  new  standard.  This 
required  changes,  nearly  all  of  which  were  in  the  direction  of  an  advance, 
in  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  colleges  of  the  Church.  The  heartiness 
with  which  the  colleges  have  entered  into  this  new  project  is  very  gratify- 
ing, and  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  to  the  whole  Church.  It  is  also 
gratifying  to  know  that  this  principle  of  unification  and  connectional 
supervision  already  adopted  by  Methodism  is  now  receiving  considerable 
attention  from  distinguished  educators  outside  of  the  Methodist  Church. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  New  York,  in  an  address  delivered  in 
Washington,  November,  1895,  urged  that  "  an  earnest  effort  ought  to  be 
made  to  induce  Congress  to  authorize  the  Commissioner  of  Education  to 
institute  inquiries  into  the  colleges  and  universities  of  the  State,  and  to 
class  them  according,  to  what  was  found  to  be  their  actual  condition  in  all 
relations,  and  not  their  reported  condition."  In  brief,  he  advocated  for 
the  United  States  substantially  what  Methodism  has  already  accomplished. 
Notices  of  this  address  were  widely  published  by  the  secular  press  under 
the  title  of  "  A  New  Educational  Movement,"  and  it  was  most  highly 
commended.  Since  that  day  the  Episcopalians  have  moved  in  the  same 
direction,  and  have  held  meetings  and  taken  action  looking  toward  the 
same  end.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  Methodist  Church  has  taken 
the  lead  in  a  very  important  educational  movement  destined  to  receive 
consideration  from  educators  throughout  the  land.  It  thus  maintains  its 
reputation  as  a  pioneer  Church  in  educational  as  well  as  evangelistic  work. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


751 


BENEFICIAL  RESULTS. 

Some  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  the  introduction  of  this  new 
feature,  including  the  University  Senate,  into  the  educational  work  of  the 
3Iethodist  Episcopal  Church,  are  as  follows: 

1.  It  carries  with  it  a  clear  recognition  of  the  principle  of  connectional  super- 
vision in  the  educational  work  of  Methodism.  That  is  a  decided  gain  to  every 
denominational  educational  interest.  The  principle  of  complete  independence,  or, 
at  best,  of  Conference  supervision  of  colleges  and  universities  that  ask  and  expect 
connectional  patronage  and  support,  entails  weakness  and  frequent  defeat. 

2.  It  helps  to  give  greater  prominence  to  the  whole  work  of  education  in  the 
Church.  Almost  every  other  interest  has  heretofore  taken  the  precedence  of  edu- 
cation in  the  thought  and  effort  of  the  Church.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  state  of 
things  will  not  continue. 

3.  It  is  beyond  question  helping  to  elevate  the  standard  of  scholarship  in  the 
institutions  of  the  Church. 

4.  It  helps  to  give  a  better  relative  standing  to  these  institutions  before  the 
world.  When  our  colleges  are  asked,  as  some  of  them  have  recently  been  asked, 
to  affiliate  with  State  institutions  in  order  to  give  them  greater  respectability  and 
influence,  they  can  well  reply,  as  the  president  of  one  of  our  colleges  has  recently 
replied,  that  Methodist  colleges  already  have  the  honor  of  being  united  in  a  strong 
federation,  with  a  University  Senate,  composed  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
educators  of  the  land,  to  prescribe  their  courses. 

5.  It  has  already  had  the  effect  of  putting  some  of  our  colleges  to  the  front  in 
the  newer  fields  of  our  country.  It  has  been  found  that  some  institutions  with  im- 
mense endowments  and  large  pretensions  are  practically  working  under  scholastic 
requirements  below  the  standard  given  by  the  University  Senate,  and  our  institu- 
tions in  those  localities  are  setting  an  example  that  cannot  fail  to  add  to  their  dig- 
nity and  influence  and  to  put  Methodism  in  a  more  favorable  light. 

6.  The  University  Senate  and  the  educational  system  which  we  now  have  as  a 
Church  are  regarded  with  great  favor  by  all  classes  of  people  at  all  familiar  with 
that  system;  and  this  embraces  many  outside  as  well  as  inside  of  the  Methodist 
Church.  Not  a  few  men  in  other  denominations  have  expressed  their  admiration 
for  our  system  and  the  educational  advances  which,  as  a  denomination,  we  are 
making.  We  may  well  be  grateful  that  the  Church  has  taken  this  advanced  step, 
undoubtedly  the  greatest  movement  and  fraught  with  the  most  important  results 
of  any  legislation  relating  to  educational  interests  during  the  entire  history  of  the 
Church.  There  is  certainly  a  better  future  for  the  educational  institutions  and  in- 
terests of  our  cherished  Methodism. 

Educational  Religious  Statistics. 

We  give  on  the  two  following  pages  two  valuable  tables  of  religious 
statistics  in  connection  with  the  educational  institutions  of  the  Church.  The 
first  table  embraces  several  important  items,  which  will  be  studied  with  in- 
terest. The  difficulty  in  procuring  data  to  answer  all  the  questions  in  this 
table  has  prevented  complete  returns  from  all  the  institutions.  Such  as  are 
given,  however,  are  encouraging.  It  is  clear  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  students  in  our  Church  schools  are  professing  Christians,  and  a  large 
percentage  of  them  are  preparing  for  the  ministry  and  for  missionary 
work.  The  second  table  is  very  complete,  and  shows  that,  while  other 
denominational  colleges  are  graduating  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  can- 
didates for  the  ministry  than  formerly,  the  proportion  in  our  colleges 
keeps  up  to  an  encouragingly  high  point.  Our  colleges  graduated  in  1895 
589  young  men,  of  whom  209,  or  35J  per  cent,  were  intending  to  enter 
the  ministry.    This  very  large  proportion  is  certainly  a  matter  for  which 

the  Church  should  be  profoundly  grateful. 
48 


752 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


TABLE  I.-RELIGIOUS  STATISTICS. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Allegheny  College  

Baker  University  

Baldwin  University  

Black  Hills  College  

Boston  University..  

Central  Tennessee  College  

Central  Wesleyan  College  

Chaddock  College  

Charles  City  College..  —  

Claflin  University  

Clark  University  

Cornell  College  

De  Pauw  University  

Dickinson  College  

Fort  Worth  University  

German  Wallace  College  

Hamline  University  

Hedding  College  

Illinois  Wesleyan  University  

Iowa  Wesleyan  University  

Kansas  Wesleyan  University  

Lawrence  University  

McKendree  College   

Moore's  Hill  College  

Morgan  College  

Mount  Union  College  

Nebraska  Wesleyan  University  

New  Orleans  University  

Northwestern  University  

Ohio  Wesleyan  University  

Philander  Smith  College  

Portland  University  

Puget  Sound  University  

Red  River  Valley  University  

Rust  University  

Saint  Paul's  College  

Scio  College  

Simpson  College  

Southwest  Kansas  College  

Taylor  University  

Union  College  — ... 

University  of  Denver  

University  of  Southern  California. 

University  of  the  Pacific  

Upper  Iowa  University  

U.  S.  Grant  University  

Wesleyan  University  

Wiley  University  

Willamette  University  


Totals  

Number  of  Colleges  and  Universities 
reporting  


Albuquerque  College  

Baldwin  Academy  

Beaver  College  *  and  Musical  Institute. . 

Blinn  Memorial  College  

Bremen  College  

Carlton  College  

Cazenovia  Seminary  

Centenary  Collegiate  Institute  

Central  Alabama  Academy  

Chamberlain  Institute  

Chicago  Training  School*  

Claverack  Coll.  and  Hudson  River  Inst. 

Cookman  Institute  

Demorest  Normal  School  

Drew  Seminary  and  Female  College  

East  Greenwich  Academy  

East  Maine  Conference  Seminary  

Ellijay  Academy  

Epworth  Seminary. . .  .  


Students  this  term. 

Professing  Chris- 
tians. 

Preparing  for  niiu- 
istry. 

Graduates,  last  class, 
j  intending  ministry. 

Per  cent  male  mem- 
bers, last  class,  in- 
tending ministry. 

I  Per  cent  of  all  male 
graduates  who  have 
entered  ministry. 

Per  cent  male  grad- 
uates, last  five  years, 
intending  ministry. 

i  Total  graduates  who 
have    eutered  min- 
istry. 

Students  this  year  in- 
tending foreign  mis- 
sionary work. 

265 

200 

30 

7 

41 

21 

19 

215 

r 

380 

350 

45 

7 

40 

25 

40 

190 

131 

22 

4 

40 

22 

55 

'219 

70 

41 

5 

1 

50 

33 

33 

2 

378 

244 

20 

2 

13 

29 

28 

74 

"5 

340 

276 

15 

60 

15 

9 

249 

210 

42 

"*6 

"60 

50 

25 

220 

80 

70 

7 

1 

50 

' '  2 

75 

74 

7 

2 

50 

"50 

.... 

107 

280 

42 
175 

2 
6 

50 

30 

50 
50 

31 
50 

"*9 

424 

285 

31 

"k 

"28 

21 

22 

94 

"l2 

549 

318 

86 

27 

26 

38 

23 

588 

18 

362 

250 

75 

7 

25 

30 

25 

500 

2 

500 

8 

20 

11 

104 

"80 

38 

"-4 

"48 

1 

248 

205 

29 

4 

37 

"35 

"46 

"54 

14 

180 

148 

32 

3 

100 

45 

65 

42 

4 

331 

251 

31 

6 

50 

35 

7 

235 

5 

4 

30 

"75 

50 

"42 

""i 

2 

33 

"35 

31 

6 

"'3 

182 

161 

29 

6 

30 

29 

20 

63 

9 

133 

15 

2 

6 

6 

120 

"90 

12 

5 

83 

"33 

16 

"38 

"'4 

145 

86 

6 

2 

93 

250 

166 

40 

8 

"36 

"27 

"38 

156 

371 

325 

60 

7 

58 

50 

50 

16 

"l3 

401 

10 

66 

90 

12 

553 

368 

88 

"ii 

"33 

30 

26 

194 

"29 

847 

630 

133 

20 

34 

30 

31 

433 

21 

165 

7 

1 

100 

38 

38 

5 

295 

180 

26 

2 

33 

50 

50 

12 

13 

151 

119 

15 

50 

50 

4 

1 

123 

95 

11 

2 

134 

108 

5 

"4 

"67 

"23 

"ii 

58 

45 

8 

1 

10 

8 

5 

10 

263 

165 

20 

5 

71 

75 

85 

125 

313 

264 

30 

1 

20 

18 

18 

38 

"l2 

115 

103 

21 

2 

66 

21 

28 

3 

1 

120 

111 

33 

2 

50 

50 

50 

5 

71 

36 

7 

1 

33 

27 

3 

535 

40 

3 

10 

"io 

"8 

280 

i57 

51 

12 

10 

"6 

8 

340 

120 

25 

2 

"25 

15 

11 

265 

135 

12 

5 

26 

"26 

26 

"33 

2 

465 

372 

48 

7 

33 

33 

33 

52 

2 

298 

223 

42 

12 

26 

34 

20 

463 

8 

201 

180 

8 

2 

50 

33 

37 

8 

4 

160 

101 

6 

1 

33 

22 

5 

12,751 
49 

7,732 
43 

1,347 
48 

256 

3,888 
36 

252 

42 

41 

39 

42 

33 

35 
26 
82 

25 
4 

10 

.... 

"50 

.... 

80 

"80 

"*4 

""8 

"'8 

25 

10 

2 

"l 

"50 

50 

50 

1 

65 

45 

4 

10 

12 

!58 

100 

20 

"'5 

"25 

20 

25 

"'5 

205 

128 

5 

35 

38 

2 

110 

70 

"i 

"25 

20 

100 

65 

1 

23 

58 

58 

"ii 

118 

74 

"io 

"33 

"33 

"25 

210 

100 

3 

15 

"'5 

43 

18 

2 

"33 

"66 

40 

30 

.... 

183 
169 

128 
79 

"vz 

13 

"23 
27 

"2i 

".30 
25 

159 

96 

1 

2 

150 

'iio 

21 

7 

41 

"29 

"37 

"30 

"5 

For  women  only. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


753 


TABLE  I.— RELIGIOUS  STATISTICS-Cowfiwwed. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Fairview  Academy  

Folt's  Mission  Institute*  

Genesee  Wesleyau  Seminary  

George  R.  Smith  College  

Gilbert  Academy  

Graham  Academy  

Grand  Prairie  Seminary  

Hillsboro  College  

Japanese  Traiuing  School  

Jennings  Seminary  

Kingsley  Seminary  

Lasell  Seminary*  

Lucy  Webb  Hayes  Nat.  Training  Sch'l*. 

Maine  Wesleyan  Seminary  

Mallalieu  Academy  

Marionville  Collegiate  Institute  

McLemoresville  Collegiate  Institute  

Meridian  Academy  

Missouri  Wesleyan  College  

Montana  Wesleyan  University  

Montpelier  Seminary  

Morristown  Normal  Academy  

New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  . 

Pennington  Seminary  

Powell's  Valley  Seminary ...   

Troy  Conference  Academy  

Wesleyan  Academy  

Western  Reserve  Seminary  

West  Virginia  Conference  Seminary... . 
Williamsport  Dickinson  Seminary.:  — 

Wilmington  Conference  Academy  

Wyoming  Seminary  

Totals  

Number  of  Seminaries  and  Academies 
reporting     


a 

i . 

i 

2  a 
*  1 

"8  .2 

;his  term 

;  Chris- 

a 

,  last  ch 
ministry 

i 

£ 

class, 
tinistry. 

of  all  m 
who  h( 
inistrv. 

ill 

a s 
£&. 

jz  ft  a 

Students  1 

Professinj 
tians. 

I  Preparing 

i- 

Graduates 
intending 

Per  cent. 

bers,  last 
tending  ir 

Percent 

graduates 
entered  m 

Per  cent 
uates,  last 
intending 

£s 
1  >  £ 

r-Js.3 

Students  t 
tending  f< 
sionary  #1 

Former  st 
have  ente 
missionary 

43 

16 

Q 
O 

27 

27 

g 

"2 

100 

'  100 

5 

3 

160 

80 

120 
30 

14 
10 

4 

4 

4 
1 

100 

(; 

5 

62 

25 

A 

180 

140 

10 

8 

45 

40 

55 

34 

A 
» 

3 

io 

ii 

60 

50 

2 

•  "  '  ' 

"i 

102 

25 

Q 
O 

4/4 

141 

70 

.... 

17 

17 

160 

125 

0 

2 

12 

40 

15 

A 

] 

100 

75 

0 
0 

'22 

"'1 

"2 

105 

75 

2 

...... 

5 

2 

.... 

114 

93 

0 

19 

130 

103 

7 

.... 

70 

30 

0 
0 

175 

85 

"g 

'  30 

33 

224 

146 

18 

2 

66 

"80 

85 

"i2 

"43 

"'2 

135 

10 

1 

1 

e 

2 

205 

i75 

80 

3 

25 

"l5 

25 

1*200 

"26 

30 

186 

.... 

155 

"97 

'32 

"'6 

'  '66 

*54 

220 

170 

8 

5 
1 

25 
11 

"25 

"20 

3 

"i74 

'i35 
133 

'io 

38 

3 
7 

60 
42 

40 

40 

"'7 

"2 

'l23 

80 

24 

4 

40 

"ll 

"32 

"15 

'3 

37S 

40 

26 

35 

40 

30 

350 

"2 

7 

5,729 
49 

3,292 
45 

441 

86 

1,872 
17 

U2 

141 

41 

27 

25 

21 

23 

18 

10 

TABLE  II.-SHOWING  RELATIVE  NUMBER  OF  CANDIDATES  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  IN  COL- 
LEGES AND  UNIVERSITIES  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Albion  College  

Allegheny  College  

Baker  University  

Baldwin  University  

Black  Hills  College  

Boston  University  

Central  Tennessee  College.. . 
Central  Wesleyan  College .. . 

Chaddock  College  '.  

Charles  City  College  

Clan  in  University  

Cornell  College  

De  Pauw  University  

Dickinson  Collepe  

German  Wallace  College  

Ham  line  University  

Hedding  College  

Illinois  Wesleyan  University 
Iowa  Wesleyan  University  . . 
Kansas  Wesleyan  University 

I,awrence  University  

McKendree  College  

Moore's  Hill  College  

Morgan  College  


to 


Is3 
llll 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Mount  Pleasant  German  College  . 

Mount  Union  College  — 

Nebraska  Wesleyan  University. . . 

New  Orleans  University  

Northwestern  University  

Ohio  Wesleyan  University  

Portland  University  

Puget  Sound  University  

Rust  University  

St.  Paul's  College  

Scio  College  

Simpson  College  

Southwest  Kansas  College  

Syracuse  University  

Taylor  University  

Union  College  

University  of  Denver  

University  of  the  Pacific  

University  of  Southern  California 

Upper  Iowa  University  

U.  S.  Grant  University  

Wesleyan  University  

Wiley  University  

Willamette  University  


•5  « 
£5 

r  in- 
to en- 
istry. 

lie  G 

!6  ill 
1895. 

otic 
•°  CS 

=  1 

fcf  3 

7 

1 

22 

8. 

12 

7 

1 

35 

ii 

59 

20 

4 

2 

1 

6 

4 

2 

1 

4 

i 

3 

2 

44 

17 

4 

2 

3 

1 

1 

6 

2 

1 

19 

*5 

10 

i 

46 

12 

4 

2 

3 

1 

589~ 

209 

*  For  women  only. 


754 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Our  Educational  Statistics. 

Again  we  present  to  the  Methodist  public  a  list  of  educational  insti- 
tutions under  the  patronage  of  the  Church,  with  very  complete  statistics 
relating  to  the  same.  The  effort  which  it  has  cost  to  make  these  statistics 
as  full  as  they  are  can  hardly  be  realized.  After  sending  blank  forms  to 
all  the  schools  to  be  filled  and  returned  to  the  office  we  have  in  many  in- 
stances written  repeated  letters  to  secure  some  items  which  had  been 
omitted.  We  regret  that  in  any  instance  there  should  be  any  failure  to 
make  complete  reports.  The  value  of  these  statistics  can  hardly  be  over- 
estimated. It  is  of  immense  advantage  to  a  religious  denomination  to 
have  all  the  facts  relating  to  its  educational  and  other  works  so  fully  at 
command  as  to  present  them  to  the  general  public.  Already  the  facts 
gathered  at  so  much  labor  and  expense,  and  published  in  our  Annual  Re- 
ports, have  been  made  the  basis  of  many  important  articles  and  addresses 
bearing  upon  our  educational  work.  The  single  item  of  the  income  from 
our  schools,  which  we  regret  to  say  a  few  parties  have  been  most  reluctant 
to  furnish  the  Board,  has  been  productive  of  vast  good  in  calling  the  at- 
tention of  the  whole  Church  to  the  need  of  a  large  increase  in  the  income 
of  our  institutions  in  order  to  do  thoroughly  the  work  which  they  are  ex- 
pected to  do.  And  that  the  Church  is  accomplishing  so  much  education- 
ally with  so  limited  an  income  ought  to  excite  the  gratitude  and  stimulate 
the  generosity  of  the  entire  membership.  We  wish  thus  publicly  to  thank 
the  officers  of  the  schools  who  have  cordially  cooperated  with  the  Board 
in  making  such  a  complete  statistical  showing  possible  ;  and  we  congratu- 
late the  entire  Church  on  having  a  more  complete  representation  of  its 
educational  work  than  we  have  been  able  to  find  in  connection  with  any 
other  religious  denomination.  In  the  few  instances  where  no  recent  re- 
port could  be  obtained  we  have  used  the  latest  statistics  available,  though 
deficient  in  some  respects.  It  has  been  found  especially  difficult  to  get 
returns  from  the  foreign  mission  schools,  but  the  statistics  as  a  whole  are 
quite  complete  and  gratifying,  and  we  are  certain  that  the  ministry  and 
membership  will  study  them  with  interest  and  profit. 

The  comparative  table  giving  the  increase  in  four  years  and  in  thirty 
years  furnishes  material  for  reflection  and  for  gratitude.  The  fact  that 
there  is  no  special  increase  in  the  number  of  institutions  of  collegiate  grade 
affords  encouragement.  The  period  of  inaugurating  many  new  colleges  is 
passed.  The  Church  does  not  now  need  an  increased  number  of  such 
institutions  ;  its  greatest  present  need  is  to  have  its  existing  colleges 
strengthened  by  larger  endowments  'and  by  a  more  generous  support. 
And  this  much-needed  work  is  going  forward,  not  as  rapidly  as  is  de- 
sirable, but  with  many  encouraging  features.  Steadily  our  educational 
institutions  are  securing  confidence  and  increased  support,  and  will  soon 
occupy  a  preeminent  place  in  the  benevolence  of  the  Church. 


1S96.J 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


755 


The  table  entitled  "Statistical  Summary  of  Educational  Institutions 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  "  presents  in  most  respects  very  satis- 
factory results,  and  shows  a  healthy  growth  during  the  last  year,  notwith- 
standing the  depressed  financial  condition  of  the  country.  With  a  very 
few  exceptions  every  item  in  the  statistics  given  indicates  an  increase  for 
the  year.  There  is  a  slight  decrease  reported  in  the  total  of  endowments, 
which  arises  from  the  lower  estimate  placed  by  the  authorities  of  the  in- 
stitutions upon  the  value  of  their  securities  and  properties.  In  some  in- 
stances large  institutions  have  cut  down  the  estimated  value  of  their 
endowments  several  hundred  thousands  of  dollars;  yet  the  total  decrease 
in  the  value  of  endowments  for  all  the  schools  is  but  $262,868.  There 
has  also  been  a  very  natural  decrease  in  the  total  value  of  gifts  received 
for  the  year.  The  number  of  male  collegiate  students  is  59  less  than  the 
previous  year,  but  this  is  more  than  counterbalanced  by  an  increase  of  162 
women  in  the  collegiate  department,  and  a  total  increase  of  1,073  students 
of  all  grades.  The  value  of  property  and  endowments  has  increased 
during  the  year  $1,792,526.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  year's  progress  has 
been  very  gratifying,  viewed  simply  in  the  light  of  numbers,  but  when 
the  higher  consideration  of  the  advance  made  in  scholastic  requirements  is 
taken  into  the  account  there  is  still  greater  cause  for  encouragement. 


756 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 


[1890. 


Educational  Institutions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Official  List  or  Colleges  and  Universities. 

N,  B. — The  General  Conference  of  1892  directed  the  Board  of  Education  to  determine  the  institutions  which  meet  the  requirements  pre- 
scribed by  the  University  Senate  and  to  designate  such  institutions  as  Colleges  in  the  official  lists  of  the  Educational  Instiiutio*. 
of  the  Church.  Nearly  all  the  Colleges  and  Universities  of  the  Church  have  given  assurance  to  the  Board  that  they  have  met  the 
requirements  of  the  Senate.  Some  questions  of  interpretation  as  to  the  exact  meaning  and  application  of  the  Senate's  requirements 
having  arisen,  the  Board  leaves  the  list  of  institutions  unchanged  until  the  Senate  shall  have  held  another  meeting  to  determine  the 
questions  at  issue. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


PRESENT  CHIEF  OFFICER. 


2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
30 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 

:*9 

10 
41 

4* 
43 
14 
4> 
16 
47 
48 
49 
SO 
r>t 

52 
53 
51 


Albion  College  

Allegheny  College  

Baker  University  

Baldwin  University  

Black  Hills  College  

Boston  University 1  

Central  Tennessee  College 2  

Central  Wesleyan  College3.  

Chaddock  College4  

Charles  City  College  5  

Claflin  University  

Clark  University  

Cornell  College  

Dakota  University  

De  Pauw  University  6  

Dickinson  College 7  

Fort  Worth  University  8  

German  Wallace  College  9  

Harnline  University 10  

Hedding  College  

Illinois  Wesleyan  University  11  

Iowa  Wesleyan  University  

Kansas  Wesleyan  University  

Lawrence  University  

McKendree  College  12  

Moore's  Hill  College  

Morgan  College13  

Mount  Pleasant  German  College  14 . 

Mount  Union  College  

Nebraska  Wesleyan  University  

New  Orleans  University15  

Northwestern  University 16  

Ohio  Wesleyan  University  

Philander  Smith  College  17  

Portland  University 18  

Puget  Sound  University  

Red  River  Valley  University  

Rust  University  

Saint  Paul's  College  19  

Scio  College 20   

Simpson  College  

Southwest  Kansas  College  

Syracuse  University  21  

Tavlor  University  22  , 

Union  College  23  

University  of  Denver24  

University  of  the  Pacific*  

University  of  Southern  California  25.. 

Upper  Iowa  University  

U.  S.  Grant  University  26  

Wesleyan  University  

Wiley*  University  27  

Willamette  University  28  

Woman's  College  of  Baltimore  


Albion,  Mich  

Meadville,  Pa  

Baldwin,  Kan  

Berea,  O  

Hot  Springs,  S.  Dak. 

Boston,  Mass  

Nashville,  Tenn  

Warrenton,  Mo  

Quincy,  111  

Charles  City,  la  

Orangeburg,  S.  C  

South  Atlanta,  Ga... 
Mount  Vernon,  la... 

Mitchell,  S.  Dak  

Greencastle,  Ind  — 

Carlisle,  Pa  

Fort  Worth,  Tex .... 

Berea,  O  

Harnline,  Minn  

Abingdon,  111  

Bloomington,  111  

Mt.  Pleasant,  la  

Salina,  Kan  

Appleton,  Wis  

Lebanon,  111  

Moore's  Hill,  Ind  

Baltimore,  Md  

Mt.  Pleasant,  la  

Alliance,  O  

University  Place,  Neb, 

New  Orleans,  La  

Evanston,  111  

Delaware,  0  

Little  Rock,  Ark  

Portland,  Ore  

Tacoma,  Wash  

Wahpeton,  N.  Dak. . . . 
Holly  Springs,  Miss. . . 
St.  Paul  Park,  Minn.., 

Scio,  O  

Indianola,  la  

Winfield,  Kan  

Syracuse,  N.  Y  

Upland,  Ind  

Barbourville,  Ky  

Denver,  Colo  

San  Francisco,  Cal  

Los  Angeles,  Cal  

Fayette,  la  

Athens  AChat'ga,  Ten 
Middletown,  Conn. . . , 

Marshall,  Tex  , 

Salem,  Ore  , 

Baltimore,  Md  


Rev.  L.  R.  Fiske,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President.. . 
Rev.  Wm.  H.  Crawford,  D.D.,  President. . 
Rev.  L.  H.  Murlin,  A  M,  S.T.B.,  President. 
M.  F.  Warner,  A.M.,  B.D.,  M.D.,  President . 
Rev.  J.  W.Hancher,A.M.,S.T.D.,  President. 
Rev.  Wm.  F.  Warren,  S.T.D.,  LL.D.,  Pres. . 

Rev.  J.  Braden,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  George  B.  Addicks,  A.B.,  A.M.,  Pres.. 
Rev.  B.  W.  Baker,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  President.. 

J.  F.  Hirsch,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  L.  M.  Dunton,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. 

Rev.  D.  C.  John,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  W.  F.  King,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President. . . 
Rev.  W.  I.  Graham,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. 
Rev.  H.  A.  Gobin,  D.D.,  Acting  President.. 
Rev.  George  E.  Reed,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pres  . . . 
Rev.  Oscar  L.  Fisher,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. 

Rev.  C.  Riemenschneider,  President  

Rev.  G.  H.  Bridgman,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  J.  G.  Evans,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President.. 
Rev.  W.  H.  Wilder,  M.A.,  D.D.,  President. 
Rev.  C.  L.  Stafford,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President.. 
Rev.  Edward  W.  Mueller,  A.M.,S.T.B.,  Pres. 

Rev.  Samuel  Plantz,  D.D.,  Ph.D.,Pres  

McKendreeH.Chamberlin,A.M.,LL.B.,Pres, 
Rev.  J.  H.  Martin,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President.. , 
Rev.  F.  J.  Wagner,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President.. 

Rev.  Frederick  Munz,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  T.  P.  Marsh,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President. . 
Rev.  Isaac  Crook,  A.  M.,  D.D.,  Chancellor. . 
Rev.  L.  G.  Adkinson,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. 
Henry  Wade  Rogers,  A.M.,  LL.D., President. 
Rev.  James  W.  Bashford,  D.D.,  Ph.D.,  Pres. 
Rev.  Thos.  Mason,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. . 
Rev.  C.  C.  Stratton,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President.. 

Rev.  C.  R.  Thoburn,  A.M.,  Chancellor  

Rev.  M.  V.  B.  Knox,  D.D.,  Ph.D.,  President. 

Rev.  C.  E.  Libby,  S.T.D.,  President  

Rev.  C.  W.  Hertzler,  A.B.,  President  

Rev.  R.M.Freshwater,A.M.,D.D.,Acting  Pr. 
Rev.  Fletcher  Brown,A.M.,  B.D., President. 
Rev.  C.  A.  Place,  A.M.,  B.D.,  President. . . . 

Rev.  Jas.  R.  Day,  S.T.D.,  Chancellor  

Rev.  T.  C.  Reade,  A.M.,  B.D.,  President. . . 
Rev.  Daniel  Stevenson,  A.M.,  D.D.,  Pres.. . 
Rev.  William  F.  McDowell,  Ph.D.,  D.I).,Ch. 
Rev.  J.  N.  Beard,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President.. . 

Rev.  G.  W.  White,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  John  W.  Bissell,  A.M.,  D.D.,  Pres  

Bishop  I.  W.  Joyce,  LL.D.,  Chancellor  

Rev.  B.P.Raymond,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pres.. ... 

Rev.  I.  B.  Scott,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  Willis  C.  Hawley,  A.M.,  President. . . 
Rev.  J.  F.  Goucher,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. 


1.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  150  students  ;  medical  dept.,  170  students  :  law  dept.,  339  students  ;  agricultural  dept.,  172  students.  2.  Has 
a  theological  dept..  25  students  ;  medical  dept.,  102  students  ;  law  dept.,  6  students  ;  dental  dept.,  12  students  ;  pharmaceutical  dept.,  16 
students.  3.  Has  a  theological  dept..  42  students.  4.  Has  a  law  dept.,  4  students.  5.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  8  students.  6.  Has  a 
theological  dept.,  54  students.  7.  Has  a  law  dept.,  71  students.  8.  Has  a  medical  dept.,  61  students;  law  dept.,  8  students.  9.  Has  a 
theological  dept.,  34  students.  10.  Has  a  medical  dept.,  70  students.  11.  Has  a  law  dept.,  76  students.  12.  Has  a  law  dept.,  30  students. 
13.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  9  students.  14.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  13  students.  15.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  8  students;  medical 
dept.,  27  students.  16.  Has  theological  departments;  see  for  their  statistics  Nos.  8,  13,  16,  page  80.  These  are  governed  and  main- 
tained separately,  and  their  statistics  are  not  included  in  those  of  the  University  except  in  the  total  nuniher  of  students  ;  has  a  medical 
dept.,  269  students;  law  dept.,  191  students;  pharmaceutical  dept.,  388students;  dental  dept.,  Ill  students;  woman's  medical  dept.,  116 
students.  17.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  12  students.  18.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  9  students.  19.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  7  students. 
20.  Has  a  pharmaceutical  dept.,  41  students.  21.  Has  a  medical  dept.,  84  students;  law  dept.,  26  students  ;  College  of  Fine  Arts,  267 
students.  22.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  30  students.  23.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  6  students.  24.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  18  students; 
medical  dept.,  44  students  ;  iaw  dept.,  52  students.  25.  Has  a  theological  dept.,  3  students  ;  medical  dept.,  50  students.  26.  Has  a  the- 
ological dept.,  26  students;  medical  dept.,  115  students.  27.  Has  a  theological  dept. ,"5  students.  28.  Has  a  medical  dept.,  43  students  ; 
law  dept.,  3  students.  *  Official  location.    The  educational  work  is  now  at  College  Park  and  Napa.  Cal. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


757 


Educational  Institutions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.* 

Official  List  of  Colleger  and  I'ni v«*rsiti»-s. 


ST  II  1>K  NTS  L  A  ST  YEAR. 

1 

TOTAL  OF   ALL  8TU- 

C 

|  2 

COLLKGIATK. 

DKNTH. 

3 

1  . 

©  » 

°'f-i 

.£  m 

"/,  -3 

o  St 

<u 

*£ 

i 

9  . 

2  « 

« 

So 

a 

B 

V 

S 

'c 
a 

tn]  Income 

■ 

09 

9 

4> 

►j 

28 





152 

93 



245 



385 



331 



299 

630 

$31,000 

15 

105 

38 

14b 

137 

203 

77 

280 

15*800 

22 

75 

50 

125 

375 

300 

200 

500 

16,000 

18 

48 

24 

72 

252 

192 

132 

324 

12,421 

12 

13 

4 

17 

145 

52 

110 

162 

0,804 

123 

899 

127 

226 

353 

934 

318 

1,258 

163,911 

39 

161 

36 

17 

53 

'253 

325 

142 

467 

11,893 

12 

42 

41 

9 

50 

157 

192 

57 

249 

8,209 

13 

4 

21 

2 

23 

100 

74 

53 

127 

5,000 

8 

8 

4 

1 

5 

152 

104 

61 

165 

4,895 

20 

17 

6 

23 

547 

342 

228 

570 

30,000 

13 

4 

4 

«j26 

13C 

200 

330 

10,788 

29 

153 

iii 

264 

272 

309 

254 

563 

23,843 

12 

12 

12 

24 

171 

105 

90 

195 

6,000 

39 

54 

258 

141 

399 

254 

44C 

267 

707 

42,700 

22 

81 

178 

10 

188 

73 

33C 

12 

342 

39,833 

44 

69 

11 

10 

21 

742 

498 

334 

832 

16,181 

6 

34 

21 

4 

25 

66 

111 

14 

125 

9,100 

15 

70 

88 

62 

150 

132 

23c 

119 

352 

17,411 

20 

38 

36 

74 

290 

192 

172 

364 

7,000 

40 

517 

92 

26 

118 

990 

1,021 

604 

1,625 

31,231 

16 

73 

47 

120 

287 

25c 

154 

407 

9,047 

19 

35 

13 

48 

257 

124 

181 

305 

7,487 

21 

45 

32 

195 

142 

130 

272 

11,520 

16 

30 

25 

40 

65 

181 

135 

141 

276 

4,445 

9 

43 

24 

67 

161 

15C 

78 

228 

8,159 

9 

9 

47 

6 

53 

91 

95 

58 

153 

17,702 

3 

13 

8 

8 

36 

44 

13 

57 

3,500 

19 

120 

23 

143 

389 

298 

234 

532 

16,545 

14 

61 

45 

106 

284 

200 

190 

390 

16,693 

25 

35 

561 

266 

33. 

603 

9,440 

237 

1254 

350 

isi 

531 

628 

1,746 

667 

2,413 

254,556 

51 

292 

224 

516 

609 

646 

479 

1,125 

67-435 

14 

15 

16 

16 

281 

140 

172 

312 

1.255 

24 

9 

38 

7 

45 

217 

124 

147 

271 

7,200 

15 

10 

1 

11 

110 

126 

236 

6,293 

6 

5 

4 

9 

114 

61 

62 

123 

3,023 

10 

6 

6 

224 

108 

122 

230 

2,859 

5 

7 

7 

en 

62 

25 

87 

4,324 

17 

41 

65 

'kl 

86 

404 

316 

171 

487 

8,000 

19 

36 

27 

63 

335 

190 

208 

398 

12,425 

16 

16 

11 

2? 

182 

102 

107 

*09 

5,054 

92 

473 

184 

131 

315 

418 

493 

911 

104,048 

11 

30 

26 

8 

34 

"98 

116 

46 

162 

3,400 

5 

6 

11 

5 

16 

70 

52 

40 

92 

3,481 

90 

114 

30 

20 

50 

340 

402 

102 

504 

32,500 

34 

42 

29 

71 

301 

175 

197 

372 

51,200 

54 

'53 

31 

15 

46 

349 

244 

204 

448 

11,000 

22 

101 

64 

165 

271 

290 

146 

436 

8,565 

57 

i4i 

31 

14 

45 

428 

504 

110 

614 

9,758 
79,344 

32 

234 

54 

288 

234 

54 

288 

11 

"5 

4 

4 

'275 

127 

157 

284 

11,510 

55 
38 

46 

17 

"5 
171 

22 
171 

336 
198 

221 
.... 

183 
369 

404 

369 

9,663 
74,000 

1  1861 

2  1815 

3  1858 

4  1845 
ft  1890 

6  isn 

7  1866 
8|1864' 
9  L878 

10;1891 

1111869 

12  1869 

13  1856 

14  1885 

15  1837 

16  1783 

17  1882 
1*  1MJ4 

19  1856 

20  1855 

2 1  1850 

22  1844 

23  1886 

24  1849 

25  1828 

26  1&56 

27  1866, 

28  1873 

29  1848 
301888 
31  1873 
32;1855l 

33  1844 

34  1877; 

35  1891 

36  1890. 

37  1892 

38  L868 

39  1889 

40  1866 

41  1868 

42  1886 

43  1871 

44  1847 

45  1888 

46  1880 

47  1851 

48  1880 

49  1857 

50  1867 

51  1831 
5  2  1873 

53  IMl 

54  1888 


i  — 

8150,000 
130,000 

joo.ooo 

131,113 
54,000 
706,000 
105,000 
92,000 
75,000 
40,000 
150,000 
100,000 
215,000 
75,000 
204,692 
341,800 
125,000 
55,000 
200,0001 

100,000; 

150,000 
300,000' 

50,000: 
150,000 

60,000 

60,000i 
lO^OOO1 

20,000 
200,000 
188,000 
100,000 
1,652,551! 
557,000' 

30,000 
110,000 

30,000 

45,000! 
100,000' 

51,000; 

a5,ooo; 

100,000 

60,000 
1,091,063! 

45,000: 
9,000' 
320,000 
250,000 
150,000; 

75,000 
300,000 
668,535 

25,000 
200,000 
652,589 


$425,000 
150,000 
40,000 
21,500 
50,000 
960,565 
15,000 
71,460 
8,000 
16,000 


1.50,000 
210,000 


226,553 
386,416 


70,000 

265,000 
56,000 

170,000 
75,000 
65,000 

150,000 
59,000 
25,000 
23,000 
25,600 
75,000 

219,000 

,466,236 
501,240 


$225,000;  $50,000 
150,000 


15,000|  12,000 
21,500 


r86,823 
15,000 
67,680 


16,000 


100,000 


159,493 
322,161 


140,000 
50,000 


,16(3 


100,000 


778,901 


7,000 
865,000 

55,000 
250,000 

54,785 


65,000 
185,000 
36,000 
75,000 
55,000 

140,666 
39,000 
20,000 
23,000| 
25,600; 
50,000 
35,000 


13,000 


1,823,262 
395,792 


29166 


70,000 


778,901 


1,200 
60,686 
5,000 

57,713 


18,000 
15,000 


10,025 


1,140,124 


45,000 
354,752 


7,000: 

230,000' 
45,000 

100,000 
42,785 


20,000 
107,602 
2, 


148,000 
60,000 
15,000 


1,101,624 


40,000! 
a54,752l 


25,000 
24,000 


•These  itatislics  are  for  the  scholastic  year  ending  June,  1895. 

t  This  column  includes  all  students  except  those  in  the  lour  regular  college  classes  and  professional  and  post-graduate  students. 


758  Journal  of  t/te  General  Conference. 


Institutions  Exclusively  for  Women. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 

LOCATION. 

PRESENT  CHIEF  OFFICER. 

1 

a 

3 

5 
6 
7 

Drew  Seminary  and  Female  College.. .. 

Illinois  Female  College   

Lasell  Seminary  for  Young  Women  

Woman's  College  of  Baltimore*  

Chicago,  111  

Carmel,  N.  Y  

Fort  Edward,  N.  Y... 

Jacksonville,  111  

Auburndale,  Mass  — 
Pittsburg,  Pa  

Mrs.  Lucy  Rider  Meyer,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Prin. . 
Rev.JamesM.Yeager,  M.A.,D.D., President. 
Rev.  Jos.  E.  King,  D.D.,  Ph.D.,  President. . 
Rev.  Jos.  R.  Harker,  Ph.D.,  President  

Rev.  N.  H.  Holmes,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. 
Rev.  J.  F.  Goucher,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President. . 

*  For  fuller  statistics,  see  "Official  List  of  Colleges  and  Universities." 


Classical  Seminaries. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


PRESENT  CHIEF  OFFICER. 


1  Aaron  Seminary    

2  Albuquerque  College  

3  Baldwin  Academy  

4  Beaver  College  and  Musical  Institute. . . 

5  Bennett  College  

6  Blinn  Memorial  College  

7  Bremen  College  

8  Carleton  College  

9  Cazenovia  Seminary  

10  Centenary  Collegiate  Institute  

11  Central  Alabama  Academy  

12  Chamberlain  Institute  

13  Clave  rack  College  &  Hudson  River  Inst. . 
14Cookman  Institute  

15  Demorest  Normal  School  

16  De  Pauw  College*  

17  East  Greenwich  Academy  

18  East  Maine  Conference  Seminary  

19  Ellijay  Seminary  

20  Epworth  Seminary  

2 1  Fair  View  Academy  

22  Genesee  Weslevan  Seminary  

23  George  R.  Smith  College  

24  Gilbert  Academy  and  Industrial  Institute 

25  Graham  Academy  

26  Grand  Prairie  Seminary  

27  Haven  Normal  Academy*  

28  Havward  Collegiate  Institute*  

29  Hillsboro  College  

30  Holston  Seminary  

31  Iliff  Academy  

32  Ives  Seminary  

33  Jennings  Seminary  

34  Kingslev  Seminary  

35  Little  Rock  University*  

36  Maine  Wesleyan  Seminary  

37  Mallalieu  Seminary  

38  Marionville  Collegiate  Institute  

39  Montpelier  Seminary  

40,  Meridian  Academy  

41  Morristown  Normal  Academy 
42 
43 
44 
15 
46 
47 


Mount  Zion  Seminary. 

Missouri  Wesleyan  College  

Montana  Wesleyan  University  

McLemoresville  Collegiate  Institute  

Murphy  College  

New  Hampshire  Conf.Sem.A  Female  Coil 


Montezuma,  N.  C. 
Albuquerque,  N.  M.. . 

Baldwin,  La  

Beaver,  Pa  

Greensboro,  N.  C — 

Brenham,  Tex  

Bremen,  Ky  

Farmington,  Mo  

Cazenovia,  N.  Y  

Hackettstown,  N.  J.. . 

Huntsville,  Ala  

Randolph,  N.  Y  

Claverack,  N. Y  

Jacksonville,  Fla  

Demorest,  Ga  

New  Albany,  Ind  

East  Greenwich,  R.  I. 

Bucksport,  Me  

Ellijay,  Ga  

Epworth,  la  

Trapp  Hill,  N.  C  

Lima,  N.  Y  

Sedalia,  Mo  

Winsted,  La  

Marshallberg,  N.  C. . . 

Onarga,  111  

Waynesboro,  Ga  

Fairfield,  111  

Hillsboro,  O  

New  Market,  Tenn  . . . 

Payson,  Utah  

Antwerp,  N.  Y  

Aurora,  111  

Bloomingdale,  Tenn.. 

Little  Rock,  Ark  

Kent's  Hill,  Me  

Kinsey,  Ala  

Marionville,  Mo  

Montpelier,  Vt  

Meridian,  Miss  

Morristown,  Tenn  

Mount  Zion,  Ga  

Cameron,  Mo  

Helena,  Mont  

McLemoresville,  Tenn 

Sevierville,  Tenn  

Tilton,  N.  H  


N.  S.  Ridenour,  B.S.,  Principal  

Rev.  Thos.  Harwood,  A.M.,  D.D.,  Principal. 
Rev.  Chas.  K.  Woodson,  A.M.,  Principal. .. 

Wm.  J.  Alexander,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  J.  D.  Chavis,  A.M.,  B.D.,  President... 

Rev.  Carl  Urbantke,  President  

G.  V.  Gordon,  A.B.,  President  

E.  A.  Carleton,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  I.  N.  Clements,  A.M.,  Principal  

Rev.  W.  P.  Ferguson,  A.B.,  B.D.,  President 

Rev.  A.  W.  McKinney,  Principal  

Rev.  E.  A.  Bishop,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President.. 

Rev.  Arthur  H.  Flack,  A.M.,  President  

Miss  Lillie  M.  Whitney,  Principal  

J.  S.  Jennings,  President  

Adelaide  L.  Packer,  Principal  

Rev.  F.  D.  Blakeslee,A.M.,  D.D.,  President. 

Rev.  A.  F.  Chase,  Ph.D,,  President  

Rev.  R.  A.  Simonds,  A.B.,  President  

Rev.  W.  S.  Lewis,  A.M.,  D.D.,  Principal. . . 

M.  L.  Roark,  A.B.,  Principal  

Rev.  J.  P.  Ashley,  A.M.,  S.T.B.,  Ph.D.,  Prin. 

Rev.  E.  A.  Robertson,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  W.  D.  Godman,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  W.Q.  A.  Graham,  D.D.,  President — 
Rev.  S.  Van  Pelt,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President . . . 

Miss  Carrie  Fairchild,  A.B.,  Principal  

G.  P.  Wadsworth,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  C.  F.  Enyart,  A.M.,  President  

P.  L.  Breeding,  Chairman  Board  Trustees. 

Rev.  A.  W,  Hartshorn,  Principal  

Hon.  Willard  Ives,  President  

Rev.  A.  R.  Cronce,  D.D.,  President  

Jos.  H.  Ketron,  A.M.,  Principal  

Rev.  R.  W.  F.  Shedd,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  Chas.  W.  Gallagher,  D.D  

Rev.  Geo.  M.  Hamlin,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  M.  L.  Curl,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  E.  M.  Smith,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President.. . . 
Rev.  J.  L.  Wilson,  A.B.,  B.D.,  Principal... 

Rev.  J.  S.  Hill,  A.M.,  D.D.,  President  

R.  C.  Bramlett,  A.B.,  Principal  

Chas.  F.  Spray,  A.M.,  President  


Rev.  L.  S.  Mitchell,  A.M.,  President. 
Rev.  J.  C.  Eckles,  D.D.,  President . . . 
Rev.  J.  M.  Durrell,  D.D.,  President. . 


*  No  report  received  ;  statistics  as  given  last  year. 
N.  B.— Morningside  College,  Morningside,  Sioux  City,  la..  Rev.  G.  W.  Carr,  President,  should  be  included  in  the  list  of  institutions, 
but  was  unintentionally  omitted  because  of  failure  to  receive  a  report.    It  has  about  200  students. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Hoard  of  Education, 

Institution*  Exclusively  for  Women. 


759 


*$•-. 

40,000 
80,000 
60,000 
140,000 
85,000 


2,000 
85,666 


2,000 

io.666 


$... 

10,000 


35,000 


STUDENTS  LAST  YEAR. 


COLLKGIATK. 


171  198 


$  3,403 
12,000 

8,500 
22,500 
15,000 

9,000 


¥ 


$54,000  1 
9 
3 

1,250  4 
5 

« 

7 


*  See  statistics  in  "  Missionary  Institutes  and  Bible  Training  Schools.' 


Classical  Seminaries. 


STUDENTS  LAST  YEAR, 

« 

£  - 

d  Teach 

male. 

■_3 

1  * 
->* 

S  •£ 

Total  Vah 
Gifts  Rece 
Last  Year. 

S3 

o 
H 

H  J 

a 
~ 

50 

50 

$100 

$  

Q 

a 

40 

OO 

75 

1,375 

2 

Q 

a 

16 

9 

25 

900 

3 

101 

84 

185 

9,500 

4 

10 

97 

106 

203 

5 

5 

72 

29 

101 

5,195 

6 

6 
6 

31 

38 

22 
42 

53 
80 

850 
2,550 

7 

8 

9 

134 

101 

235 

8,815 

9 

15 

98 

92 

190 

5,000 

io 

4 

53 

77 

130 

•l,JUU 

11 

10 

96 

107 

203 

7,362 

320 

12 

13 

74 

50 

124 

10,205 

13 

9 

105 

142 

247 

2,261 

14 

5 

21 

22 

43 

330 

230 

15 

7 

39 

39 

78 

440 

134  16 

13 

107 

102 

209 

33,612 

17 

9 

130 

147 

277 

5,841 

...  .18 

3 

54 

50 

104 

610 

19 

12 

149 

103 

252 

4,350 

1,000  20 

2 

97 

35 

132 

521 

21 

13 

91 

119 

210 

12,698 

22 

10 

32 

28 

60 

650 

200  23 

19 

70 

47 

117 

779 

24 

3 

65 

56 

121 

300 

25 

IS 

200 

214 

414 

9,000 

20 

5 

79 

110 

189 

2,743 

27 

8 

111 

93 

204 

3,800 

28 

11 

*55 

*60 

*115 

300 

29 

3 

45 

58 

103 

493 

30 

4 

116 

57 

173 

1,700 

31 

6 

42 

48 

90 

2,549 

400  32 

9 

94 

90 

184 

3,500 

33 

3 

67 

35 

102 

459 

34 

6 

50 

40 

90 

2,973 

35 

15 

150 

125 

275 

11,200 

 36 

4 

54 

35 

89 

1,000 

37 

5 

94 

54 

148 

2,500 

38 

11 

103 

122 

225 

11,519 

16,041  39 

3 

67 

113 

180 

825 

40 

13 

141 

149 

290 

6,979 

1,225  41 

3 

102 

72 

174 

800 

42 

Id 

102 

98 

200 

6,900 

13 

6 

60 

40 

100 

7,993 

14 

6 

64 

61 

125 

700 

45 

7 

166 

136 

302 

1,600 

40 

12 

109 

123 

232 

23,503 

8,000  47 

$5,000 
10,000 
20,000 
50,000 
30,000 
15,000 

4,000 
25,000 
75,000 
230,000 
10,000 
72,775 
45,000 
25,000 

1,000 

2,000 
52,000 
30,000 

8,000 
40,000 

1,500 
87,000 
60,000 
40,000 

3,000 
40,000 

6,000 
15,000 
30,000 

&jBm 

3,000 
30,500 
75,000 

2,200 
65,000! 
120,000! 

5,000 

8,000 
89,227! 

2,000 
30,000 

5,000l 
20,000 
50,000! 

5,000 
15,000; 
76,200 


300 
3l'206 


6,100 
38,000 


115,824 


30,000 
20,000 


70,000 


25,000 


6,000 


5,000 
5,000 


115,000 
29,557 


1,100 


65,000 


2 1 


29,000 


1,100 
35,000 
1,500 


43,048 


30,000 
7,500 


70,000 


50,000 


10,000 


6,000 


5,000 
5,000 


100,000 
24,55 


1,100 


30,0001 


s-3 


12,000 
505 


2,000 


5,500 


254 
3,500 
1,500 


3,200 

20,666 


100 
16,000 


3,000 


7,000 
800 
1,200 
39,625 


3,800 


3,000 
45,000 


4,000 
16,150 


*  No  report  received  ;  statistics  as  given  last  year. 


760 


Journal  of  the  General  Co?tference. 

Classical  Seminaries— Continued. 


[1896. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


PRESENT  CHIEF  OFFICER. 


48  Parrottsville  Academy  

49j Pennington  Seminary  

50  Powell's  Valley  Seminary  

51  [Salt  Lake  Seminary*  

52  Summertown  Seminary  

53!  Troy  Conference  Academy  

54jWesleyan  Academy  

55  Western  Reserve  Seminaryt  

56,West  Virginia  Conference  Seminary 
57| Williamsport  Dickinson  Seminary.. 
58j  Wilmington  Conference  Academy. . 

59  Woodland  Academy*  

60| Wyoming  Seminary  :.. 


Parrottsville,  Tenn. 

Pennington,  N.  J  

Well  Spring,  Tenn. 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 
Sumtnertown,  Tenn. 

Poultney.  Vt  

Wilbraham,  Mass  

West  Farmington,  O, 
Buckhannon,  W.  Va. 
Williamsport,  Pa.... 

Dover,  Del  

Clarkson,  Miss  

Kingston,  Pa  


R.  P.  Driskil],  A.M  

Rev.  Thos.  Hanlon,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pres. 

Walter  Franklin,  A.B.,  Principal  

Rev.  T.  C.  Iliff,  D.D.,  President  

W.  S.  Renick,  Principal  

Rev.  Cbas.  H.  Dunton,  D.D.,  Principal. 
Rev.  Wm.  R.  Newhall,  M.A.,  Principal. 
Rev.  T.  H.Armstrong.A.M.,  Ph.D.,  Pres. 
Rev.B.W.  Hutchinson,  A.M.,  S.  T.  B.  ,Pres. 

Rev.  E.  J.  Gray,  D.D.,  President  

W.  L.  Gooding,  Ph.D.,  Principal  

Rev.  J.  B.  Scott,  Principal  

Rev.  L.  L.  Sprague,  D.D.,  President. . . 


Foreign  Mission  Schools. 


ljCape  Pal  mas  Seminary  

2Kroo  School*  

3 [Monrovia  Seminary  , 

4  American  Girls'  School  

5  Literarv  and  Theological  Institute* 

6  Girls'  High  School*  

7 1  Anglo-Chinese  College*  

8  Theological  Seminary*  , 

9  Boys'  High  School*  

10  Girls'  Boarding  School  , 

1 1  :Lay  Training  School*. 


Cape  Palmas,Liberia,  W.C.Africa 

Monrovia,  Liberia,  Africa  

Monrovia,  Liberia,  Africa  

Loftcha,  Bulgaria  

Sistof,  Bulgaria  

Rangoon,  Burmah  

Foo-Chow,  China  

Foo-Chow,  China  

Foo  Chow,  China 
Foo-Chow,  China 
Foo-Chow,  China 


Mrs.  D.  E.  Osborne,  Principal  

Miss  Mary  A.  Sharp  —  

Hon.  A.  D.  Williams,  M.  A.,  Principal. 
Miss  KateB.  Blackburn,  Principal  


Miss  J.  E.  Wisner,  B.A  

Rev.  George  B.  Smyth,  A.B.,  B.D... 
Rev.  J.  H.  Worley,  A.M.,  President.. 

Mrs.  G.  L.  Worley,  Principal  

I  Miss  Julia  Bonafleld  


12  Chinkiang  M.  E.  Girls'  School  Chinkiang,  China 


13  Chungking  Institute 

14  Theological  School*  

15  Boys'  Boarding  School*  '.. 

16  Kiukiang  Institute  

17  Girls'  School*  

18  Nanking  University  

19  Peking  University*  

20  Girls'  Boarding  School  

2l;Girls'  Boarding  School*  

22  Tientsin  Intermediate  School  

23  Training  School  for  Bible  Women*. . 

24  High  School*    

25  Girls'  Boarding  School*  

26  Copenhagen  Theological  School  — 

27  Martin  Mission  Institute  

28  Baldwin  High  Schools  

29  Bareilly  Orphanage  &  Boarding  Sch'l 

30  Bareilly  Theological  Seminary  

31  Girls'  Boarding  School*  

32  Calcutta  Boys'  School*  

33  Sigler  Boarding  School  for  Girls*. . . 

34  Girls'  High  School*  

35  Girls'  High  School*  

36  Girls'  Boarding  Sch'l  and  Orphanage 

37  Girls'  Boarding  Sch'l  and  Orphanage 

38  Lucknow  Woman's  College  

39  Reid  Christian  College  

40  Central  High  School  

41  Girls'  High  School*  

42  Philander  Smith  Institute  

43  Boys'  High  School*  

44  Wellesley  Girls'  High  School  

45  Pauri  Mission  Central  School  

46  Phila.  Orph.  and  Boarding  School. . . 

47  Girls'  Boarding  School*  

48  Taylor  High  School  

49  Boys'  Orphanage*  

50  Girls'  Boarding  School*  

5l!Girls'  Boarding  School*  

52jMethodist  Theological  School*  

53,  Girls'  Boarding  School  


Chungking,  China  

Hing-Hua,  China   . 

Hing-Hua,  China  

Kiukiang,  China  

Kiukiang,  China  

Nanking,  China  

Peking,  China  

Peking,  China  

Peking,  China  

Tientsin,  China  

Tientsin,  China  

Tsun-hua,  China  

Tsun-hua,  China  

Copenhagen,  Denmark  

Frankfort,  Germany  

Richm'ndt'wn,  Bangal're,  India 

Bareilly,  India  

Bareilly,  India  

Bijnour,  India  

Calcutta,  India  

Budaon,  India  

Calcutta,  India  

Cawnpore,  India  

Dwarahat,  India  

Gonda,  India  

Lucknow,  India  

Lucknow,  India  

Moradabad,  India  

Moradabad,  India  

Mussoorie,  India  

Naini  Tal,  India  

Naini  Tal,  India  

Pauri,  Garhwal,  India  

Pauri,  Garhwal,  India  

Pithoragarh,  India  

Poona,  India  

Shah jehan pore,  India  

Shahjehanpore,  India  

Sifeapur,  India  

Rome,  Italy  

Fukuoka,  Japan 


Miss  Mary  C.  Robinson,  Principal  

Rev.  W.  E.  Manley,  Superintendent. . , 
Rev.  W.  N.  Brewster,  Principal  


Ralph  O.  Irish,  A.  B.,  Principal  

Miss  Gertrude  Howe  

Rev.  J.  C.  Ferguson,  B.A.,  President. 

Rev.  H.  H.  Lowry,  M.A.,  D.D  

Mrs.  Charlotte  M.  Jewell  

Miss  Anna  E  Steere,  Principal.  ...... 

Rev.  Frederick  Brown  

Miss  Frances  O.  Wilson  

Rev.  G.  R.  Davis  

Miss  Ella  Glover  

Rev.  S.  K.  Johansen,  Superintendent. . 

Rev.  P.  G.  Junker,  Director  

T.  R.  Toussaint,  B.A.,  Principal  

Miss  F.  M.  English,  Superintendent. . 
Rev.  F.  M.  Neeld,  M.A.,  B.D.,  Pres. . . 


54lCarolina  Wright  Memorial  School. . .  lHakodate,  Japan 


Mrs.  Butterfield  and  Mrs.  Wilson  

Miss  Emma  L.  Knowles  

Miss  Ida  Lauck  

Mrs.  J.  T.  McMahon  

Miss  Frances  A.  Scott  

Miss  Isabella  Thoburn,  Principal  

Rev.W.  A.  Mansell,  M.A.,  S.T.B.,  Prin. . 
Rev.  L.  A.  Core,  B.A.,  B.D.,  Principal. 

Miss  Kemper  

Rev.  Henry  Mansell,  M.A.,  D.D.,  Prin.. 

Rev.  S.  S.  Dease,  M.D.,  Principal  I 

Miss  S.A.  Easton,  M. A. Superintendent. 
Rev.  Joseph  H.  Gill,  A.M.,  B.D.,  Prin. 

Mrs.  Joseph  H.  Gill  

Miss  Budden  

Rev.  D.  O.  Fox  

Rev.  J.  Blackstock  

Miss  L.  Heafer  j 

Mrs.  D.  C.  Monroe  ] 

Rev.  N.  Walling  Clark,  B.D.,  President. 

Miss  Leonora  Seeds  

Miss  Augusta  Dickerson,  Principal.. .  .j 


*  No  report  received;  statistics  as  given  last  year.  In  some  instances  the  Missionary  Societies  have  furnished  the  names  of  newly: 
appointed  principals,  "    f  Formerly  Farmington  College.  t  Approximate  report. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Classical  Seminaries  —Continued. 


761 


250J 


000 
000 
000 
000 
000 
000 
500 
000 
000 
000 
000 
000 
000 


5,000 


9,000 
04,000 
2,500 


30,000 


5,000 


9,000 
28,000 
2,500 


$300 


20,000 


20,000 


18,000 
25,666 
ll',566 


STUDENTS  LAST  YEAR. 


40 
150 
100 

*50 
130 
150 
23 
170 
134 
90 
42 
360 


78 


*65 
76 

120 
41 

137 

186 
65 
70 

180 


75 
228 
186 

80 
*115 
206 
270 

64 
307 
320 
155 
112 
540 


$600 
10,300 

'  '2  ,266 
=%53 
6,220 

20,130 
1,150 
3,600 

27,858 
4,500 
372 

30,181 


Foreign  Mission  Schools. 


11891 
91.... 
3  .... 
41876 
5;1880 
61882 
7,1881 
8' 1872 
9,1881 
10 1&59 
11  1886 
1211883 
13  1891 
141892 
151892 
161886 
17|1873 
16:1888 
191888 
20  1871 
211892 
221890 
231883 
21 

25  ...  . 
261888 
271869 
281880 

29  1884 

30  1872 
31.18771 

32  18771 

33  1875 

34  1878 

35  1874; 

36  1881 

37  1888 

.is  1.-0 

39  1888 
401884 
41  1868 


12 
43 
11 
IS 

to 

17 

ts 


1885 
1881 
1881 
1867 
1868 
1884 
1879 


■19,1858 
50  1887 
51 
52 
53 
',1 


$7,000! 

'  6,666 
8,000 

10,000 

15,000! 

22,0001 
3,000! 
1,000 

14,000! 

'  8,660! 

3,500j 

10,666 
10,000; 

20.000, 
20,000' 
18,000, 
8,000 
2.000 


56,000 
8,571 

15,500 

19,000; 
5,500 

75,000 
4,500 

'  7,666 
11,000' 
4,666| 

35,000 

40,000 
10,000 
5,500 
18,666 
27,000 
27,000 
1,500 
3,300 
3,000 


4,000 
3,66« 

3,000 


8,500 
11,000 


10,000 


10,000 


3,400  3,400 
1,443! 


s. 


1,714 


21,000 


1 ,666 


2 

25 

50 

"i 

30 

30 

7 

2 

48 

4 

40 

10 

2i3 

12 

135 

2 

27 

2 

25 

5 

105 

a 

'i 

39 

3 

37 

3 

27 

2 

30 

8 

70 

4 

50 

16 

95 

21 

140 

5 

125 

4 

62 

3 

50 

'4 

a 

*4 

3 

22 

13 

98 

6i 

15 

236 

78 

6 

60 

26 

621 

4 

13 

230 

4 

73 

3 

31 

7 

40 

14 

177 

21 

202 

15 

288 

12 

188 

9 

132 

9 

'90 

12 

149 

12 

200 

32 

6 

79 

150 

'8 

87 

5 

6 

82 

V 

113 

75 
25 
60 
50 
40 
213 
135 
2? 
25 
105 

40 


70 
50 
95 
140 
125 
62 
50 

55 

'4 

22 


60 
621 


73 
31 
40 
177 
202 
288 
188 
132 
90 
149 
200 


125 
150 


7 

82 
113 


$  218 

'5,606 
920 

'3,766 
■"'74 

"'645 
*  3,300 

"'384 
'  1,522 

'  7,286 

'  7,103 

"'806 
687 
708 
2,992 
2,300 
3,750 
10,494 
6,413 
3,853 
850 
2,290 


150 


*  No  report  received  ;  statistics  as  given  last  yea». 


762 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 

Foreign  Mission  Schools— Continued. 


[1896. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 
til 
62 
63 
61 
65 
66 
67 
68 
69 
70 
71 
72 
73 
74 
75 
76 


Chinzei  Seminary  

Girls1  Boarding  School  

Anglo- Japanese  College*  

Preparatory  Girls'  School  

Girls1  School*  

Anglo- Japanese  Girls'  School*. . . 
Training  Sch'l  for  Christian  Wom'n* 

Boys'  High  School  

Girls1  Boarding  School  

Anglo-Chinese  School  

Girls1  Boarding  School  

Juarez  School*  

Pachuca  Girls1  School  

Girls'  School  and  Normal  Institute*.. 

Mexican  Methodist  Institute  

Norway  Theological  School*  

South  Amer.  School  of  Theology  

Girls'  Boarding  School*..  

Girls'  Boarding  and  Day  School*. . . 
Girls'  Boarding  and  Day  Schl  No.  2.* 

Colonia  Institute*  

Sweden  Theological  School*  


Nagasaki,  Japan  

Nagasaki,  Japan  

Aoyama,  Tokio,  Japan  

Aoyama,  Tokio,  Japan  

Nagoya,  Japan  

Tokio,  Japan  

Yokohama,  Japan  

Seoul,  Korea  

Seoul,  Korea  

Singapore,  Malaysia  

City  of  Mexico,  Mexico  

City  of  Mexico,  Mexico  

Pachuca,  Mexico  

Puehla,  Mexico  

Puebla,  Mexico   

Christiania,  Norway  

Buenos  Ayres,  S.  A  

Montevideo,  S.  A  

Rosario,  Arg.  Republic,  S.  A. . . . 
Rosario,  Arg.  Republic,  S.  A  — 
Colonia  Valdence,  Urguuay,  S.  A, 
Upsala,  Sweden —  


PRESENT  CHIEF  OFFICER. 


Rev.  E.  R.  Fulkerson,  D.D.,Ph.D.,Dean. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Russell  

Rev. Y.Honda,  D.D.,  President  

Miss  Rebecca  J.  Watson,  Principal  

Miss  H.  S.  Ailing  

Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Bender,  A.M  

Mrs.  C.  W.  Van  Petten,  M.A  

Rev.H.G.Appenzeller,  A.M.,B.D  

Miss  Josephine  O.  Paine  

Rev.  C.  C.  Kelso,  B.A  

Miss  Mary  De  F.  Lloyd,  B.S  

Rev.  Edmundo  Ricoy  

Miss  Mary  Hastings  

Miss  A.  B.  Limberger  

Rev.  J.  W.  Butler,  D.D.,  Acting  Pres. . 

Rev.  E.  Halvorsen,  Principal  

Rev.  F.  D.  Tubbs,  M.A.,  President  

Miss  Eleanore  Le  Huray  

Miss  Mary  F.  Swaney,  Superintendent. 

Senorita  Consuelo  Portea,  Supt  

Rev.  B.  A.  Pous,  B.D.,  Principal  

Rev.  A.  Hallen,  Ph.D.,  S.T.B.,  Pres. . . . 


*  No  report  received;  statistics  as  given  last  year, 
appointed  principals. 


In  some  instances  the  Missionary  Societies  have  furnished  the  names  of  newly 


Missionary  Institutes  and  Bible  Training  Schools. 


1  .Chicago  Training  School  for  City, 

I   Home,  and  Foreign  Missions  

2,Folts  Mission  Institute  

3|Japanese  Training  School  

41  Lucy  Webb  Hayes  Bible  Training  Sc1] 


Chicago,  111  

Herkimer,  N.  Y. . . 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Washington,  D.  C. 


Mrs.  Lucy  Rider  Meyer,  A.M., M.D.,Prin. 

Rev.  J.  L.  Da  vies,  A.M.,  President  

Rev.  T.  Fujiwara  

Rev.  A.  H.  Ames,  M.D.,  D.D.,  President. 


Theological  Institutions. 


NAME  OF  INSTITUTION. 


Bareilly  Theological  Seminary*  

Boston  University,  School  of  Theology 

Copenhagen  Theological  Institute*  

De  Pauw  University,  School  of  Theology. . 

Drew  Theological  Seminary  

Foo-Chow  Theological  Seminary*  

Gammon  Theological  Seminary  

Garrett  Biblical  Institute  

Italy  Theological  School*  

Japanese  Training  School  

Martin  Mission  Institute*  

Norway  Theological  School*.  

Norwegian-Danish  Theological  Seminary 

Philander  Smith  Biblical  Institute  t  

South  American  School  of  Theology*  

Swedish  Theological  Seminary  

Theological  School  of  Sweden*  

Mexican  Methodist  Institute  of  Theology* 
U.  S.  Grant  University,  School  of  Theory. . . 
Univ.  of  Denver,  Iliff  School  of  Theology.. 


LOCATION. 


Bareilly,  India  

Boston,  Mass  

Copenhagen,  Denmark. 

Greencastle,  Ind  

Madison,  N.  J  

Foo-Chow,  China  

Atlanta,  Ga  

Evanston,  111  

Rome,  Italy  

San  Francisco,  Cal  

Frankfort,  Germany .... 
Christiania,  Norway  — 

Evanston,  111  —  

Aoyama,  Tokio,  Japan . . 
Buenos  Ayres,A.R.,S.A. 

Evanston,  111  

Upsala,  Sweden  

Puebla,  Mexico  

Chattanooga,  Tenn  

Universitv  Park,  Colo . . 


PRESENT  CHIEF  OFFICER. 


Rev.  F.  L.  Neeld,  M.A.,  B.D.,  Principal.. 
Rev.W.F.  Warren,D.D.,S.T.D.,LL.D.,Pres. 
Rev.  Svend  K.  Johansen,  Superintendent. 

Rev.  H.  A.  Gobin,  A.M.,  D.D.,  Dean  

Rev.  H.  A.  Buttz,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Worley,  A.M.,  President  

Rev!  W.  P.  Thirkield,  A.M.,  D.D.,  Pres.. . 

Rev.  C.  J.  Little,  D.D.,  President  

Rev.  N.  Walling  Clark,  B.D.,  President. . 

Rev.  T.  Fujiwara,  President  

Rev.  P.  G.  Junker,  Director  

Rev.  E.  Halvorsen,  Principal  

Rev.  N.  E.  Simonsen,  D.D  

Rev.  H.  Mansell,  M.A.,  D.D  

Rev.  F.  D.  Tubbs,  M.A.,  President  

Rev.  Albert  Ericson,  M.A,  President  — 
Rev.  A.  Hallen,  Ph.D.,  S.T.B.,  President. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Butler,  D.D.,  Acting  Pres  

Bishop  I.  W.  Joyce,  LL  D..  Chancellor  . . . 
Rev.  W.  F.  McDowell,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Chan. 


*  Statistics  given  in  Foreign  Mission  Schools. 

t  Philander  "Smith  Biblical  Institute,  a  part  of  Anglo-Japanese  College. 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Foreign  Mission  Schools— Continued. 


763 


« 

>• 

55 

1881 

56 

1879 

57 

1883 

■is 

1874 

59 

1888 

60 

1888 

61 

1884 

62 

1886 

63 

1886 

64 

1886 

65 

1874 

66 

1884 

67 

1874 

68 

1882 

69 

1876 

70 

1888 

71 

1889 

72 

1884 

73 

1874 

74 

1884 

75 

1884 

76 

1874 

$8,000 
22,000 
103,000 
15,000 

3,2191 
12,000! 
8,000, 

10,000; 

9,000 

20,000: 

40,000j 

'  n,666' 

27,000 
35,000 


25,000 


10,000 


4,642 


5,010 


2,000 


4,242 


5,010 


S  I  t;  HUNTS  LAST  VKAR. 


137 


16 


144 

67 
58 
28 

"42 

179 


214 


78 
187 
127 
144 

67 

58 

28 
169 

42 
828 
179 
137 
387 
214 

40 
9 

13 

"ioi 

94 
42 
16 


$2,500 

2,666 

1,585 
441 


250 
2,712 
397 


375 
168 
2,000 


25,000 


450 


55 
56 
57 
58 
50 
60 
61 
62 
63 
64 
65 
66 
67 
68 
69 
70 
71 
72 
73 
74 
75 
76 


Missionary  Institutes  and  Bible  Training  Schools. 


1  1885 

$115,000 
57,000 

%  

$  

$2,500 

30 

58 

58 

$3,400 

$54,000 

1 

2  1893 

20,000 

20,000 

8 

"is 

31 

46 

2 

3!  1891 

20,000 

5 

140 

140 

150 

3 

4  1890 

30,000 

12 

"23 

23 

4 

Theological  Institutions. 


c 

J  ~ 

g* 
o.= 
k  c 

S8. 
>o 

Value  of 
Grounds  a 
Buildings. 

Total  En- 

11 

Amount  o 
Debts. 

1 

No.  Profe 
ors  and 
Teachers. 

1  Students 
Last  Year 

Total  In- 
come Last 
Year. 

1 

1  Total  Val 
Gifts  Re- 

Year. 

1 

1872 

$  

$  

$.... 

7 

78 

!  

$.... 

1 

2 

1847 

* 

*  

9 

150 

*  

a 

3 

1888 

3 

4 

384 

3 

1 

1837 

t 

+  

+ 

+;■.!'. 

3 

54 

+  

i'.'.'.'. 

4 

5 

1867 

460,000 

360,000 

360,000 

7 

130 

33,200 

5 

« 

1872 

3,000 

2 

27 

6 

7 

1883 

100,000 
100,000 

600,000 

200^666 

15,666 

4 

84 

8,400 

7 

* 

1856 

600,000 

600,000 

9 

153 

33.000 

3',566 

8 

9 

1888 

5 

7 

9 

lO 

1891 

*  

*  

t  

2 

5 

*  

lO 

11 

1858 

56,000 

3 

22 

11 

12 

1888 

4,642 

4,242 

2 

9 

397 

'266 

12 

13 

1885 

14,000 

5,000 

5,000 

1 

22 

1,500 

13 

1  1 

1885 

5 

3 

14 

15 

1889 

25,000 

5 

13 

25,666 

15 

16 

1870 

8,000 

24,000 

20,000 

3 

24 

2,000 
622 

2,400  16 

17 

1874 

1,636 

5,010 

5,010 

3 

16 

450  17 

1  8 

1876 

1 

6 

IH 

19 

1867 

I  .... 

§  

§.. 

§!.'.'! 

3 

26 

§. 

i'.'.y. 

19 

20 

1892 

70,000 

100,000 

100,000 

5 

25 

8,000 

3,800  20 

*  Included  In  statistics  of  Boston  University, 
t  Included  in  statistics  of  De  Pauw  University. 

1  Included  in  statistics  of  Japanese  Training  School,  under  Missionary  Institutes  and  Bible  Training  Schools. 
|  Included  in  statistics  of  U.  S.  Grant  University. 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


}s\ii  paAiaoa^  sy;o  an^A  l»Jox 


©CO©  ©CO 

883  igg 


co  — i  o  co  o* 

©      0-1  ©  iO 

t-'io'co""  ©"ic 

cogoc^  j>ao 
^coco 


t-H  © 


I  CO  l-H  I 
CO    I  ©i-  I 

a  i  coo 


•©CO 


(MCO 

s© 


>CO© 

!Sco 


Icf 


ill 


©  ■ 

8  : 


•sinspn^s  J^noissajOij 


:  I 


in  in 


©co 
i-iin 


©  © 
8  S3 


•s?qaQ  jo  aAlsnpxa 
s^naoiMopna  pus  Xiiadojjj  jo  an^i^ 


I  5 

I  CO 


co' 


•s}qaa  JO  innouuy  I  2- 

I  ml 


•^naniAiopag  aAipnpoi<j 


■  cio  ©o*  ©. 
IcSc^    8©  ©" 

;gfs  as*  of 


•s^uaraAkopng  i«i°X 


CO  00  © 

,-r© 


;©■  8 

>co  S 


©  1-1 

col  8 

05  co' 


•sSuipjmg  pas  spanoif)  jo  anju^ 


siooq^s  jo  aaqinn^I 


3  OJ 


3 


:3* 

OS  2 

ill! 
Illiisll 


25-  25 


$ 


IS 96. J  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education.  765 


Increase  in  Four  Years  and  in  Thirty  Years. 


Increase. 

In  1865. 

In  1891. 

In  1895. 

From  1891 

From  1865 

to  1895. 

to  1895. 

2 

17 

20 

3 

18 

23 

54 

54 

31 

Classical  Seminaries,  Female  Colleges, 

and  Mission  Schools  

136 

147 

11 

70 

102 

195 

203 

8 

101 

714 

2,343 

2,800 

457 

2,086 

23,106 

40,026 

43,322 

3,296 

20,216 

Value  of  Buildings  and  Endowments* . . 

$3,055,000 

$26,022,392 

$28,182,679 

$2,160,287 

$25,127,679 

The  difference  between  the  increase  in  the  whole  number  of  institutions  and  the  sum  of  the  increase  in  the 
different  classes  of  the  same  arises  from  duplications  in  the  theological  list. 


Observations  on  the  Educational  Work  of  the  Church. 

In  view  of  the  extraordinary  financial  depression  which  has  prevailed 
throughout  the  entire  country  during  the  greater  part  of  the  last  quadren- 
nium  the  above  exhibits  of  the  institutions  of  learning  of  the  Church  fur- 
nish grounds  for  encouragement  as  well  as  material  for  study  and  reflec- 
tion. The  amount  of  $28,182,679,  exclusive  of  debts,  in  property  and 
endowments  shows  a  gain  of  $2,160,287  during  the  last  four  years,  and  of 
$26,127,679  in  the  last  thirty  years,  including  the  centenary  gifts  of  1866. 
We  have  here  the  remarkable  fact  that  during  the  period  of  thirty  years  the 
Church  has  laid  upon  her  educational  altars  an  average  of  more  than 
$800,000  a  year.  The  gain  in  teachers  in  four  years  is  457,  the  increase 
in  institutions  is  8.  But  the  gain  or  loss  in  the  number  of  institutions 
reported  for  any  period  of  time  is  no  special  criterion  of  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  educational  work  of  the  Church.  Institutions  are 
constantly  disappearing  and  new  ones  appearing.  It  may  be  taken  as  one 
of  the  most  favorable  indications  of  the  last  quadrennium  that  there  has 
been  no  increase  in  the  number  of  colleges  and  universities,  while,  by 
general  acknowledgment,  there  has  been  a  decided  advance  in  the  scho- 
lastic standing  of  colleges  and  an  advance  also  in  every  other  department 
of  educational  work. 

The  total  number  of  students  now  reported  is  43,322;  a  gain  of  3,296 
for  the  quadrennium,  and  of  1,073  for  the  last  year.  That  the  schools  of 
the  Church  have  been  able  to  make  any  advance  at  all  in  the  number  of 
students  secured  furnishes  occasion  for  encouragement  to  those  who  have 
carefully  studied  our  educational  work.  The  great  advance  made  in  the 
public  school  system  for  several  decades  past,  and  more  recently  the  com- 
ing to  the  front  of  State  colleges  and  universities,  have  made  a  heavy  draft 
upon  denominational  schools.  For  many  years  the  Church  seemed  unable 
to  overcome  these  difficulties,  and  if  the  statistics  furnished  can  be  relied 

*  Exclusive  of  debts. 


766 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[189G. 


upon  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  in  1887  1,549  fewer  students 
in  this  country,  exclusive  of  the  South,  than  it  had  in  1865,  before  its 
educational  work  in  the  South  began.  But  for  the  last  twelve  years 
there  has  been  a  steady  increase  in  the  number  of  students  in  our  Church 
schools,  and  it  is  evident  that  if  the  Church  rightly  appreciates  its  respon- 
sibility and  wisely  conducts  its  educational  work,  giving  to  it  the  super- 
vision, the  support,  and  the  prominence  which  it  merits,  it  will  continue  to 
prosper. 

The  classical  seminaries  of  the  Church  still  have  an  unequal  contest  in 
competing  with  the  well-equipped  high  schools,  and  their  10,083  students 
enrolled  last  year  show  a  slight  decrease  of  441  as  compared  with  four 
years  ago.  But  notwithstanding  the  State  colleges,  supplied  with  abun- 
dant means,  are  multiplying,  the  number  of  students  in  our  denominational 
colleges  shows  an  increase  of  2,256,  while  the  foreign  mission  schools 
report  an  increase  of  2,119. 

The  total  income  for  the  last  school  year  reported  is  $1,958,169,  which 
is  the  largest  annual  income  ever  reported  by  the  schools  of  the  Church. 
This  fact  inspires  hope  that  the  Church  is  beginning  to  realize  more  fully 
than  heretofore  the  importance  of  furnishing  its  institutions  of  learning 
with  a  more  generous  support.  The  day  ought  not  to  be  distant  when  the 
members  and  adherents  of  Methodism  will  make  annual  contributions  of 
millions  of  dollars  to  its  educational  work,  which  is  so  vital  and  so  neces- 
sary to  the  success  of  the  Church  in  fulfilling  its  high  mission  of  evangel- 
izing the  world. 


1896.] 


Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 


767 


In  Memoriam. 

We  have  to  record  with  profound  sorrow  the  death  during  the  year 
1895  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  B.  Ridgaway,  a  member  of  this  Hoard.  Dr. 
Ridgaway  was  elected  in  1888,  and  from  that  time  took  an  active  interest 
in  all  the  work  of  the  Board.  At  its  last  annual  meeting  the  Board 
took  appropriate  action  expressing  its  appreciation  of  Dr.  Ridgaway  as  a 
Christian  gentleman  of  the  highest  type,  a  pastor  of  eminent  success,  and 
an  author  and  educator  of  marked  ability. 

During  the  quadrennium  also  Mr.  Francis  H.  Root,  for  many  years 
a  member  of  the  Board,  rendering  the  Church  efficient  service  in  this  posi- 
tion as  well  as  in  many  other  important  positions,  passed  to  his  reward. 

Recommendations  of  the  Board  to  the  General  Conference. 

At  the  last  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  it  was  unanimously  voted  to 
recommend  the  following  action  to  be  taken  by  the  General  Conference: 

1.  To  emphasize  the  present  law  of  the  Church  so  as  to  prevent  the  use 
of  Children's  Day  for  merely  local  purposes,  such  as  the  taking  of  collec- 
tions for  other  than  the  Sunday  School  Children's  Fund,  and  also  to  prevent 
the  dividing  of  that  collection  and  devoting  a  part  of  it  to  other  objects. 

2.  That  the  General  Conference  discourage  the  use  of  extravagant 
decorations  on  Children's  Day,  and  the  taking  of  a  part  of  the  Children's 
Day  collection  to  pay  for  such  decorations. 

3.  To  take  action  to  the  effect  that  the  projectors  of  any  new  insti- 
tution of  learning,  of  intended  college  grade,  after  July,  1896,  shall  secure 
the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  the  proposed  institution  before 
it  is  established  as  a  condition  of  official  recognition,  or  of  receiving  aid 
from  connectional  funds. 

4.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  there  is  some  discussion  in  the  Church 
concerning  the  consolidation  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Edu- 
cation Society  and  the  Board  of  Education,  and  that  the  question  may  be 
brought  before  the  next  General  Conference,  it  is  the  judgment  of  the 
Board  of  Education  that  its  work  is  so  totally  unlike  that  done  by  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society,  that  the  two  societies  can- 
not consolidate  in  any  way  so  as  to  do  the  work  of  both  more  efficiently 
and  more  economically  than  it  is  now  done  by  the  separate  organizations. 

5.  That  the  General  Conference  require  the  pastors  to  report,  and  the 
Annual  Conferences  to  insert  in  the  Annual  Minutes,  the  names  and  post 
office  addresses  of  the  Sunday  school  superintendents  of  each  charge. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  Appendix  which  contains  the  Charter  and 
Constitution  of  the  Board,  and  samples  of  documents  used. 
Five  Trustees  are  to  be  appointed  to  fill  vacancies. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

E.  G.  Andrews,  President, 

C.  II.  Payne,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
49 


768 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Report  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 

The  report  of  the  Trustees  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary  to 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at 
Cleveland,  O. : 

Since  our  report  of  four  years  ago  much  that  is  of  interest  to 
the  Church  in  relation  to  this  institution  has  transpired.  The 
close  relation  of  the  seminary  to  the  Church,  inasmuch  as  its 
trustees  are  appointed  by  the  General  Conference  and  its  faculty 
nominated  by  the  Board  of  Bishops,  constitutes  a  reason  for  a 
detailed  explanation  of  what  has  been  accomplished.  First,  the 
attendance  upon  the  institution  has  largely  increased  in  numbers 
and  in  the  educational  qualifications  of  those  who  have  been 
admitted  to  its  course  of  study.  The  classes  which  have  been 
graduated  during  the  last  two  years  are  the  largest  in  the  history 
of  the  school.  Also  the  requirements  for  admission  have  been 
raised  and  the  course  of  study  enlarged,  so  that  it  is  now  abreast 
of  the  foremost  theological  institutions  of  the  country  both  in 
requirements  for  entrance  and  in  the  breadth  of  the  work  accom- 
plished. 

One  year  ago  a  new  Professorship  of  Biblical  Literature  and 
of  the  Exegesis  of  the  English  Bible  was  established.  The  out- 
look, therefore,  in  this  regard  is  most  encouraging. 

Second.  During  the  quadrennium  the  seminary  has  been  called 
to  mourn  the  loss  of  two  honored  and  beloved  members  of  the 
faculty.  On  August  7,  1894,  Professor  James  Strong,  S.T.D., 
LL.D.,  Professor  of  Exegetical  Theology,  was  removed  by  death. 
He  had  been  connected  with  the  institution  almost  from  its  be- 
ginning, and  was  widely  known  as  a  professor,  scholar,  and  author. 
He  has  been  greatly  missed  and  mourned  by  the  faculty  and 
alumni  of  the  institution  as  well  as  by  the  many  who  were  fa- 
miliar with  his  writings.  The  professorship  thus  made  vacant 
was  filled  by  the  election  of  Professor  Robert  W.  Rogers,  Ph.D., 
D.D. 

On  the  11th  of  December  last  the  distinguished  theologian, 
Rev.  John  Miley,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  the  Professor  of  Systematic  The- 
ology, was  called  from  labor  to  reward.  He  had  been  connected 
with  the  seminary  about  twenty-two  years,  having  succeeded 
Bishop  Randolph  S.  Foster  in  that  department.  His  life  and 
labors  have  been  a  benediction  to  the  school  and  his  theological 
writings  constitute  an  enduring  monument  of  his  abilities,  his 
scholarship,  his  intellectual  acumen,  and  his  industry.  The 
Bishops,  in  accordance  with  the  charter  of  the  institution,  will 
soon  be  called  upon  to  nominate  his  successor,  and  we  have  no 
doubt  that  within  a  short  time  a  professor  will  be  chosen  who 
will  fitly  succeed  the  eminent  theologian  whom  we  shall  long 
miss  and  mourn. 

The  faculty  as  at  present  constituted  consists  of  Rev.  H.  A. 
Buttz,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  and  Professor  of  New  Testament 
Exegesis;  Rev.  George  R.  Crooks,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of 


1896.] 


Report  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 


769 


Historical  Theology;  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Upham,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Practical  Theology;  Rev.  Robert  W.  Rogers,  Ph.D., 
D.D.,  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Old  Testament  Exegesis;  Rev. 
Charles  F.  Sitterly,  B.D.,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature 
and  the  Exegesis  of  the  English  Bible;  Professor  H.  W.  Smith, 
M.A.,  Instructor  in  Elocution.  The  names  of  these  gentlemen 
are  a  pledge  alike  of  their  fidelity  to  the  Church  and  of  the  care- 
ful training  which  the  young  men  intrusted  to  their  care  will 
receive.  As  already  indicated,  a  Professor  of  Systematic  The- 
ology is  soon  to  be  elected. 

Third.  The  quadrennium  just  closed  has  been  fruitful  in  re- 
sults, especially  in  the  external  conditions  of  the  institution. 
Since  our  last  report  about  $100,000  has  been  added  to  the  en- 
dowment. Mr.  William  Hoyt  and  Mr.  S.  W.  Bowne,  trustees  of 
the  seminary,  have  erected  what  is  known  as  Hoyt-Bowne  Hall, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $110,000,  as  a  dormitory  for  the  students  of 
the  institution.  It  contains  parlor,  sitting  room,  lavatories,  and 
rooms  adapted  to  give  comfort  and  even  luxury  to  the  students. 
The  building  is  lighted  by  electricity  and  heated  by  a  steam 
plant  which  was  also  provided  through  the  generosity  of  Mr. 
Hoyt  and  Mr.  Bowne.  This  noble  building  will  provide  for  the 
comfort  of  the  students  for  generations  to  come,  and  will  constitute 
a  monument  to  the  generosity  and  wisdom  of  its  donors.  The 
Cornell  Library  building,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  of 
its  kind  in  the  country  and  completely  fireproof,  has  been  im- 
proved by  an  entirely  new  copper  roof,  provided  by  the  gener- 
osity of  Mr.  J.  M.  Cornell.  The  cottage  on  the  grounds  has  also 
been  fitted  up  tastefully  and  has  made  a  comfortable  residence 
for  a  member  of  the  faculty,  and  is  now  occupied  as  such. 

Fourth.  A  statement  of  the  progress  of  the  institution  would 
not  be  complete  without  a  statement  of  the  development  of  its 
library,  one  of  the  choicest  theological  libraries  in  the  country. 
Without  attempting  to  enumerate  the  library  facilities  at  length, 
we  shall  not  omit  to  mention  its  choice  manuscripts  affording  the 
rarest  opportunity  for  such  students  as  choose  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  textual  criticism  of  the  New  Testament.  This  de- 
partment is  regarded  by  experts  as  the  most  complete  of  its 
character  in  our  country,  and  has  been  provided  through  the 
liberality  of  Mr.  William  White.  The  number  of  books  and 
pamphlets  is  large  and  its  collection  of  books  on  Methodism  un- 
surpassed. Rev.  S.  F.  Upham,  D.D.,  is  librarian,  and  Rev.  S.  G. 
Ayres,  B.D.,  assistant  librarian. 

The  grounds  have  been  carefully  cared  for  and  the  institution 
in  its  material  aspect  was  never  more  prosperous  than  at  the 
present  time. 

The  officers  of  the  Trustees  are  William  Hoyt,  President; 
Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews,  Vice  President;  William  White,  Secre- 
tary; and  John  S.  McLean,  Treasurer. 

The  purpose  of  the  seminary  remains  unchanged,  namely,  to 
raise  up  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  a  ministry  at  once 


770 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


pious  and  learned,  who  shall  conserve  alike  the  traditions  of  the 
Church  and  its  advancement,  and  shall  be  found  abreast  of  the 
age  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  promotion  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
About  one  thousand  ministers  have  been  educated  within  its  halls, 
and  this  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  work  which  it  is  destined  to 
accomplish  for  the  Church. 

Respectfully  submitted,  on  behalf  of  the  Trustees, 

William  White,  Secretary. 


Chapter  II.    Boundaries  of  Conferences. 

1  438.  §  1.  Alabama  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among  the  white 
people  in  the  State  of  Alabama,  and  that  part  of  the  State  of  Florida  west  of  Ap- 
palachicola  River,  and  also  the  work  among  the  white  people  within  the  territory 
of  the  Upper  Mississippi  Conference. 

§  2.  Arkansas  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among  the  white  people  in 
the  State  of  Arkansas. 

§  3.  Atlanta  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Georgia  lying 
north  of  a  line  running  east  and  west  on  the  line  of  the  northern  boundaries  of 
Richmond,  McDuffie,  Warren,  Hancock,  Putnam,  Jasper,  and  Butts  Counties, 
that  part  of  Spalding  County  embracing  Liberty  Hill  Circuit,  that  part  of  Meri- 
wether County  embracing  Greenville,  and  that  part  of  Troup  County  containing 
La  Grange  Station  and  La  Grange  Circuit. 

§  4.  Austin  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Texas  except  El  Paso 
County. 

§  5.  Baltimore  Conference  shall  include  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  West- 
ern Shore  of  Maryland,  except  that  part  of  Garrett  County  lying  west  of  the 
dividing  ridge  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  ;  so  much  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
as  lies  within  the  Hancock,  Flintstone,  Union  Grove,  and  Hyndman  Circuits ; 
the  county  of  Frederick  in  the  State  of  Virginia ;  and  the  counties  of  Jefferson, 
Berkley,  Morgan,  Hampshire,  Mineral,  and  Grant,  in  the  State  of  West  Virginia. 

§  6.  Bengal-Burmah  Conference  shall  consist  of  Bengal,  Bekar,  and  Burmah. 

§  7.  Blue  Ridge  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among  the  white  people 
in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  and  in  the  twelve  counties  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina,  as  follows :  Oconee,  Pickens,  Greenville,  Spartanburg,  York,  Chester, 
Union,  Anderson,  Laurens,  Abbeville,  Newberry,  and  Fairfield  ;  it  shall  also  in- 
clude the  work  among  the  Croatan  Indians. 

§  8.  Bombay  Conference  shall  consist  of  the  Bombay  Presidency,  the  Cen- 
tral Provinces,  Berars,  that  portion  of  the  Nizam's  Dominions  north  of  the  Goda- 
very  River,  and  all  of  Central  India  south  of  the  twenty-fifth  parallel  of  latitude. 

§  9.  California  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  California 
lying  west  of  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  and  north  of  a  line 
commencing  at  Carmel  Bay,  Monterey  County,  and  running  thence  on  a  straight 
line  to  the  intersection  of  Merced  and  Fresno  Counties,  thence  along  the  western 
and  northern  line  of  Merced  County  and  the  northern  line  of  Mariposa  County  to 
the  summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  leaving  Salinas  City  in  the  Califor- 
nia Conference ;  it  shall  also  include  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  all  the  Swedish 
work  in  the  States  of  California,  Nevada,  and  Arizona,  which  shall  constitute  a 
Swedish  Presiding  Elder's  district. 

§  10  California  German  Conference  shall  include  the  German  work  within 
the  State  of  California. 

§  11.  Central  Alabama  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Alabama  and 
that  part  of  the  State  of  Florida  west  of  the  Appalachicola  River. 

§  12.  Central  German  Conference  shall  comprise  the  German  work  within 
the  States  of  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  Michigan,  and  Indiana,  except  those  appoint- 
ments belonging  at  present  to  the  Chicago  German  Conference  ;  also  the  German 
work  in  Western  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  Southern  States  not  included  in  the 
East  German,  St.  Louis  German,  and  Southern  German  Conferences. 

§  13.  Central  Illinois  Conference  shall  embrace  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  north  of  the  Illinois  Conference  and  south  of  the  following  line,  namely : 
Beginning  on  the  Mississippi  River  at  the  Meredosia,  thence  down  the  Meredosia 
to  its  mouth  ;  thence  easterly  to  Center  School  House  so  as  to  include  Center  So- 
ciety ;  thence  to  the  mouth  of  Mud  Creek  ;  thence  up  Green  River  to  Coal  Creek  ;. 


1896.] 


Boundaries  of  Annual  Conferences. 


771 


thence  up  said  creek  to  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island,  and  Pacific  Railroad  :  thence 
along  said  railroad  to  Bureau  Junction  ;  thence  to  the  Illinois  River  ;  thence  up  ' 
said  river  to  the  mouth-of  the  Kankakee  River,  leaving  Ottawa  in  the  Rock  River 
Conference  and  Bureau  Junction  in  the  Central  Illinois  Conference;  thence  up 
the  Kankakee  River  to  a  point  directly  west  of  the  extreme  north  line  of  Kanka- 
kee County  ;  thence  directly  east  to  the  Indiana  line. 

^  14.  Central  Missouri  Conference  shall  include  the  States  of  Missouri, 
Kansas,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  and  that  part  of  the  State  of  Illinois  lying  west  of  the 
following  line  :  Beginning  at  the  city  of  Cairo,  and  running  north  along  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  to  the  city  of  Mendota,  and  including  all  of  the  towns  on 
said  line  of  railroad  ;  thence  north  to  the  Wisconsin  State  line,  and  thence  west 
along  said  State  line  to  the  Mississippi  River. 

§15.  Central  New  York  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
west  lines  of  the  towns  of  Williamson,  Marion,  and  Palmyra  in  Wayne  County, 
and  of  the  towns  of  Farmington  and  Canandaigua  in  Ontario  County,  and  of 
Yates  and  Schuyler  Counties,  and  of  the  towns  of  Hornby  and  Caton  in  Steuben 
County,  and  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  by  the  railroad  running  from  Lawrence- 
ville  to  Blossburg,  including  Mansfield  and  Blossburg  Charges ;  on  the  south  by 
Central  Pennsylvania  Conference  ;  on  the  east  by  Wyoming  and  Northern  New 
York  Conferences ;  on  the  north  by  Northern  New  York  Conference  and  Lake 
Ontario. 

§  16.  Central  Ohio  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  north 
line  of  the  State  of  Ohio  ;  on  the  east  by  the  North  Ohio  Conference,  excluding 
Asbury  Church,  in  Delaware  ;  on  the  south  by  the  Springfield  branch  of  the  Clever- 
land,  Columbus,  Cincinnati,  and  Indianapolis  Railroad  to  the  west  line  of  the 
Ohio  Conference,  yet  so  as  to  exclude  St.  Paul's  Charge,  in  Delaware,  and  Mil- 
ford,  and  to  include  Marysville  :  thence  to  the  west  line  of  the  State  of  Ohio  by 
the  north  line  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference  ;  and  on  the  west  by  the  west  line  of 
the  State  of  Ohio. 

^  17.  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference  shall  be  bounded  as  follows  :  On 
the  south  by  the  State  line  from  the  Susquehanna  River  to  the  west  boundary  of 
Bedford  County,  excepting  so  much  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  as  is  included 
in  the  Baltimore  Conference  ;  on  the  west  by  the  west  line  of  Bedford,  Blair,  and 
Clearfield  Counties,  including  New  Washington  Circuit  and  excluding  so  much  of 
Clearfield  County  as  is  embraced  in  the  Erie  Conference,  and  a  line  from  the 
north  of  Clearfield  County  to  St.  Mary's  ;  on  the  north  by  a  line  extending  from 
St.  Mary's  eastward  to  Emporium,  including  Sizerville  and  Gardeau,  of  the  Em- 
porium Circuit  ;  thence  by  the  southern  boundary  of  Potter  and  Tioga  Comities, 
including  Austin,  Costello,  Wharton,  Leidy,  Hoytsville,  and  Liberty  Valley  Cir- 
cuits ;  thence  through  Sullivan  County  north  of  Laporte  to  the  west  line  of 
Wyoming  County ;  thence  on  the  east  by  the  present  limits  of  the  Wyoming  Con- 
ference, being  the  east  line  of  Sullivan  County,  to  the  north  line  of  Columbia 
County  ;  thence  a  line  southeasterly  through  Luzerne  County  to  the  north  line  of 
the  Philadelphia  Conference,  near  White  Haven ;  thence  on  the  south  by  the 
northern  line  of  Carbon,  Schuylkill,  and  Dauphin  Counties  to  the  Susquehanna 
River,  including  Hickory  Run,  Weatherly,  Beaver  Meadow,  and  Ashland,  and 
thence  by  the  Susquehanna  River  to  the  place  of  beginning,  including  Harrisburg, 
and  the  Curtin  Heights  and  Epworth  Charges. 

S  18.  Central  Swedish  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  Swedish  work 
within  the  States  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio,  the  city  of  Racine  in  the  State  of 
Wisconsin,  and  also  the  Swedish  work  in  the  State  of  New  York  west  of  the  Gen- 
esee River,  and  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  west  of  the  Susquehanna  River. 

*  lit.  Central  Tennessee  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among  the  white 
people  in  all  that  part  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  west  of  and  excluding  the  coun- 
ties of  Marion,  Grundy,  Van  Buren,  Cumberland,  and  Fentress. 

%  20.  Chicago  German  Conference  shall  include  the  German  work  in  the  State 
of  Wisconsin,  except  those  appointments  along  the  Mississippi  River  and  in  that 
j>art  of  the  State  of  Illinois  north  of  an  east  and  west  line  passing  along  the  north 
line  of  the  city  of  Bloomington,  excepting  the  territory  now  in  the  St.  Louis  Ger- 
man Conference,  and  east  of  a  north  and  south  line  passing  through  the  city  of 
Freeport,  and  in  that  part  of  the  State  of  Indiana  west  of  the  line  between  the 
counties  of  St.  Joseph  and  Elkhart,  and  north  of  the  line  between  Stark  and  Pu- 
laski Counties.  It  shall  also  include  Danville,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  the 
upper  peninsula  of  Michigan. 

§  21.  Cincinnati  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  line  com- 
meneing  at  Union  City,  on  the  Indiana  State  line,  running  thence  along  the  Day- 
ton and  Union  Railroad  to  Greenville,  Darke  County,  Ohio,  including  the  railroad 
stations  on  the  line  of  said  railroad,  and  Greenville  also ;  thence  along  the  Pan 
Handle  Railroad  to  Milford  Center,  excluding  Gettysburg,  Bradford,  Lockington, 


772 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


and  St.  Paris  Charges,  and  including  the  cities  of  Piqua  and  Urbana,  and  the 
'  Treraont  City  and  King's  Creek  Charges  ;  on  the  east  by  the  Ohio  Conference  ;  on 
the  south  by  the  Ohio  River,  and  on  the  west  by  the  State  of  Indiana,  but  exclud- 
ing Elizabeth,  Hamilton  County,  Ohio,  to  the  Indiana  Conference. 

§  22.  Colorado  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Colorado. 

§  23.  Columbia  River  Conference  shall  include  the  counties  of  Wasco,  Uma- 
tilla, Crook,  Morrow,  Gilliam,  Grant,  Union,  and  Wallowa,  in  the  State  of  Ore- 
gon ;  all  of  the  State  of  Washington  east  of  the  summit  of  the  Cascade  Mountains, 
and,  in  the  State  of  Idaho,  the  counties  of  Shoshone,  Kootenai,  Latah,  Nez  Perces, 
and  all  of  Idaho  County  lying  north  of  a  line  running  parallel  with  the  Salmon 
River  ten  miles  south  of  said  river. 

§  24.  Dakota  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  South  Dakota 
lying  east  of  the  meridian  101  degrees  west  longitude. 

'  §  25.  Delaware  Conference  shall  include  the  colored  work  in  the  States  of 
Delaware,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  excepting,  however,  St.  Mark's  Church,  in 
the  city  of  New  York  ;  New  Haven,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut ;  all  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Virginia,  and  all  the  States  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  not  included 
in  the  Washington  Conference. 

§  26.  Des  Moines  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Iowa 
west  and  south  of  the  following  lines :  Beginning  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Wayne  County,  thence  north  to  the  south  line  of  Marshall  County,  leaving  Knox- 
ville  in  the  Iowa  Conference  and  the  Monroe  Charge  in  the  Des  Moines  Confer- 
ence ;  thence  west  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Story  County ;  thence  north  to  the 
northeast  corner  of  Story  County  ;  thence  west  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Craw- 
ford County ;  thence  south  to  the  north  line  of  township  eighty-three ;  thence 
west  to  the  east  line  of  Monona  County  ;  thence  south  and  west  on  the  line  of  Mo- 
nona County  to  the  Missouri  River. 

§  27.  Detroit  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Michigan  in 
the  lower  peninsula  east  of  the  principal  meridian  as  far  north  as  the  southern 
boundary  of  Roscommon  County  ;  thence  west  to  the  southwest  corner  of  said 
county ;  thence  north  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Charlevoix  County  ;  thence 
east  to  the  southeast  corner  of  said  county  of  Charlevoix  ;  thence  north  to  the 
straits  of  Mackinaw  ;  and  it  shall  also  include  the  upper  peninsula. 

§  28  East  German  Conference  shall  embrace  the  German  work  east  of  the 
Allegheny  Mountains. 

§  29  East  Maine  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  Sate  of  Maine  not 
included  in  the  Maine  Conference. 

§  30.  East  Ohio  Conference  shall  be  bounded  by  a  line  beginning  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  River,  running  easterly  to  the  Pennsylvania  State  line  ; 
thence  along  said  line  to  the  Ohio  River,  including  Orangeville  Church,  and  leav- 
ing the  Petersburg  Society  in  the  Erie  Conference  ;  thence  down  said  river  to  the 
Muskingum  River ;  thence  up  the  Muskingum  River  to  Dresden,  excluding  Mari- 
etta and  Zanesville ;  from  Dresden  northward  along  the  Muskingum  River  and 
the  Tuscarawras  River  to  its  intersection  with  the  Ohio  Canal  near  Zoar ;  from 
this  point  along  said  canal  to  Lake  Erie,  excluding  Navarre  and  Clinton,  and  in- 
cluding Bolivar  and  Akron  and  all  the  city  of  Cleveland  lying  east  of  the  Cuya- 
hoga River. 

§  31.  East  Tennessee  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  State  of  Tennessee 
not  in  the  Tennessee  Conference  ;  that  part  of  the  State  of  Virginia  west  of  and 
including  the  counties  of  Carroll,  Floyd,  Montgomery,  and  Giles  in  said  State ; 
and  the  counties  of  Mercer,  Wyoming,  and  McDowell  in  the  State  of  West 
Virginia. 

§  32  Erie  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  by  Lake  Erie,  on  the 
east  by  a  line  commencing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cattaraugus  Creek,  thence  up  said 
creek  to  Gowanda,  leaving  said  town  in  the  Genesee  Conference  ;  thence  to  the 
Allegheny  River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tunungwant  Creek ;  thence  up  said  creek 
southward,  excluding  the  city  of  Bradford  on  said  creek,  to  the  ridge  dividing 
between  the  waters  of  Clarion  and  Sinnemahoning  Creeks  ;  thence  southward  to 
the  Mahoning  Creek  ;  thence  down  said  creek  to  the  Allegheny  River,  excluding 
the  Milton  Society,  but  including  the  Horatio  Society  in  the  Walston  Circuit,  and 
the  Perrysville  Society  in  the  Ringgold  Circuit,  and  Putneyville  Society  in  the 
Putney  ville  Circuit ;  then  across  the  said  river  in  a  northwesterly  direction  to  the 
southwest  corner  of  Lawrence  County,  including  Wampum  and  Petersburg ; 
thence  along  the  Ohio  State  line  to  the  place  of  beginning,  excluding  the  Orange- 
ville Church, 

§  33.  Florida  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Florida,  except  that  por- 
tion lying  west  of  the  Appalachicola  River. 

§  34.  Foo-Chow  Conference  shall  include  the  Fo-Kien  Province  in  China, 
excepting  so  much  as  is  included  within  the  Hinghua  Mission  Conference. 


1896.] 


Boundaries  of  Annual  Conferences. 


773 


§  35.  Genesee  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  New  York 
lying  west  of  the  Central  New  York  Conference,  excepting  that  part  of  Chautau- 
qua and  Cattaraugus  Counties  now  included  in  the  Erie  Conference.  It  shall 
also  include  Gowanda  and  Corning,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  so  much  of 
Tioga  Count}*,  including  Tioga  Charge,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  as  is  not 
embraced  in  the  Central  New  York  Conference  ;  also  so  much  of  Potter  County, 
in  the  said  State  of  Pennsylvania,  as  is  not  included  in  Central  Pennsylvania 
Conference  ;  also,  including  so  much  of  McKean  County,  in  said  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, as  is  embraced  in  the  Olean  District,  including  the  city  of  Bradford. 

§  36.  Georgia  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among  the  white  people  in 
the  State  of  Georgia. 

§  37.  Holston  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among  the  white  people  in 
all  of  that  part  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  not  included  in  the  Central  Tennessee 
Conference. 

%  38.  Idaho  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  State  of  Idaho  not  included  in 
the  Columbia  River  Conference,  and  the  counties  of  Baker  and  Malheur  in  the 
State  of  Oregon. 

£  39.  Illinois  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
not  within  the  Southern  Illinois  Conference  south  of  the  following  line,  namely  : 
Beginning  at  Warsaw,  on  the  Mississippi  River  ;  thence  to  Vermont ;  thence  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Spoon  River  ;  thence  up  the  Illinois  River  to  the  northwest 
corner  of  Mason  County  ;  thence  to  the  junction  of  the  Central  and  the  Alton 
and  Chicago  Railroads';  thence  to  the  southwest  corner  of  Iroquois  County; 
thence  east  to  the  State  of  Indiana,  leaving  Bentley, Vermont,  Manito,  Mackinaw 
Circuit,  and  Normal  in  the  Central  Illinois  and  Warsaw  and  Bloomington  in 
the  Illinois  Conference. 

?  40.  Indiana  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  and  east  by  a  line 
beginning  where  the  National  Road  intersects  the  west  line  of  the  State  of  In- 
diana ;  thence  along  said  road  to  Terre  Haute  ;  thence  along  the  Vandalia  Rail- 
road to  Belmont  Street,  West  Indianapolis,  including  Locust  Street  Charge  in 
Greencastle  ;  thence  north  to  Michigan  Street ;  thence  east  to  the  Belt  Railroad  ; 
thence  north  and  east  along  said  railroad  to  a  point  due  west  of  Ninth  Street ; 
thence  east  to  the  Lafayette  and  Indianapolis  Railroad  ;  thence  north  on  said 
railroad  to  the  Michigan  Road  ;  thence  on  said  road  to  the  north  line  of  Marion 
County  ;  thence  east  on  said  county  line  to  the  northeast  corner  of  said  county  ; 
thence  south  on  the  east  line  of  said  county  to  the  National  Road  ;  thence  east 
on  said  road  to  the  State  line  ;  on  the  east  by  Ohio,  including  Elizabeth,  Hamil- 
ton County,  Ohio  ;  on  the  south'/by  the  Ohio  River,  and  on  the  west  by  the  State 
of  Illinois. 

?  41.  Iowa  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Mississippi  River, 
on  the  south  by  the  Missouri  State  line,  on  the  west  and  north  by  a  line  commen- 
cing at  the  southwest  corner  of  Appanoose  County ;  thence  north  to  Marshall 
County,  leaving  Knoxville  in  the  Iowa  Conference  and  Monroe  in  the  Des 
Moines  Conference ;  thence  on  the  south  line  of  Marshall  County  due  east  to 
Iowa  River  ;  thence  down  said  river  to  Iowa  City  ;  thence  on  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island,  and  Pacific  Railroad  to  Davenport,  leaving  Davenport  and  Iowa  City 
in  the  Upper  Iowa  Conference,  and  all  intermediate  towns  in  the  Iowa  Conference. 

\  42.  Italy  Conference  shall  include  the  Kingdom  of  Italy,  and  those  parts  of 
contiguous  countries  where  the  Italian  language  is  spoken. 

§  43.  Japan  Conference  shall  include  the  Empire  of  Japan. 

§  44.  Kansas  Conference  shall  embrace  that  portion  of  the  State  of  Kansas 
lying  east  of  the  sixth  principal  meridian,  and  north  of  the  south  line  of  town- 
ship sixteen,  including  the  town  of  Pomona,  lying  south  of  said  line,  but  exclud- 
ing Louisburg,  Ottawa,  and  Baldwin,  lying  north  of  said  line,  and  Solomon 
City  Circuit,  lying  east  of  the  sixth  meridian. 

§  45.  Kentucky  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Kentucky. 

§  46.  Lexington  Conference  shall  include  the  States  of  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois,  excepting  so  much  of  the  State  of  Illinois  as  is  included 
in  the  Central  Missouri  Conference. 

$  47.  Liberia  Conference  shall  embrace  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  north  of 
the  equator.  - 

§  48.  Little  Rock  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

§  49.  Louisiana  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Louisiana. 

§  50.  Maine  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Maine  west  of 
the  Kennebec  River,  from  its  mouth  to  the  great  bend  below  Skowhegan,  and  of 
aline  running  thence  north  to  the  State  line,  including  Skowhegan  and  Augusta, 
and  that  part  of  the  town  of  Winslow  north  of  Sebasticook  River,  and  also  that 
part  of  New  Hampshire  east  of  the  White  Hills  and  north  of  the  waters  of  Ossipee 
Lake  and  the  town  of  Gorham. 


774 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference.  [1896. 


§  51.  Mexico  Conference  shall  include  the  Republic  of  Mexico  except  the 
States  of  Chihuahua  and  Sonora  and  the  Territory  of  Lower  California ;  it  shall 
also  include  Central  America. 

§  52.  Michigan  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Michigan  in  the  lower 
peninsula  west  of  the  principal  meridian  as  far  north  as  the  southern  boundary  of 
Roscommon  County  ;  thence  west  to  the  southwest  corner  of  said  county  ;  thence 
north  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Charlevoix  County  ;  thence  east  to  the  south- 
east corner  of  said  county  ;  thence  north  to  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  including 
Mackinaw  City. 

§  53.  Minnesota  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Minnesota 
lying  south  of  the  following  line  :  Beginning  at  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State 
at  the  northeast  corner  of  Washington  County,  thence  running  west  to  the  north- 
west corner  of  said  county,  thence  south  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Ramsey 
County,  thence  following  the  line  of  Ramsey  County  to  where  it  strikes  the  east 
line  of  Hennepin  County,  thence  following  the  east  and  south  lines  of  Hennepin 
County  to  the  point  where  the  Hastings  and  Dakota  Railroad  crosses  the  line  of 
said  county,  thence  following  the  said  Hastings  and  Dakota  Railroad  to  Granite 
Falls,  thence  west  on  a  town  line  to  the  western  boundary  of  the  State ;  all  towns 
on  the  Hastings  and  Dakota  Railroad  to  be  in  the  Northern  Minnesota  Confer- 
ence. 

§  54.  Mississippi  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  State  of  Mississippi  south 
of  a  line  beginning  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Kemper  County,  and  running  along 
the  northern  border  of  said  county,  and  of  the  counties  of  Neshoba,  Leake, 
Madison,  Yazoo,  Sharkey,  and  Issaquena  to  the  Mississippi  River. 

§  55.  Missouri  Conference  shall  include  so  much  of  the  State  of  Missouri  as 
lies  north  of  the  Missouri  River. 

§  56.  Montana  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  State  of  Montana  not  in- 
cluded in  the  North  Montana  Mission,  and  also  the  National  Park. 

§  57.  Nebraska  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Nebraska  lying  south  of  the  Platte  River  and  east  of  the  west  line  of  range 
twelve,  west  of  the  sixth  principal  meridian. 

§  58.  Newark  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
not  included  in  the  New  Jersey  Conference,  with  Staten  Island  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  such  portions  of  Rockland,  Orange,  and  Sullivan  Counties  in  the 
State  of  New  York  as  lie  south  and  west  of  a  line  extending  from  Tompkins 
Cove  on  the  Hudson  River,  intersecting  the  New  Jersey  State  line  at  a  point 
south  of  Sloatsburg ;  thence  along  said  State  line  to  the  Wallkill  River;  thence 
due  north  intersecting  the  Erie  Railroad  at  a  point  west  of  Middletown;  thence 
in  a  northwesterly  direction  to  a  point  where  the  Port  Jervis  and  Monticello 
Railroad  crosses  the  northern  line  of  Forestburg  Township  in  Sullivan  County  ; 
thence  southwest  to  a  point  on  the  Delaware  River  below  Lackawaxen,  in  Penn- 
sylvania ;  also,  such  portions  of  Pike  and  Monroe  Counties  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  as  lie  north  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference  and  east  of  the  Wyo- 
ming Conference,  the  same  being  now  included  in  the  Matamoras,  Milford,  Ding- 
man's,  and  Coolbaugh  Charges. 

§  59.  New  England  Conference  shall  include  all  the  State  of  Massachusetts 
east  of  the  Green  Mountains  not  included  in  the  New  Hampshire  and  the  New 
England  Southern  Conferences. 

§  60.  New  England  Southern  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut  lying  east  of  the  Connecticut  River,  the  State  of  Rhode 
Island,  with  the  town  of  Blackstone  in  Massachusetts,  and  that  part  of  the  State 
of  Massachusetts  south  of  the  towns  of  Wrentham,  Walpole,  Dedham,  Milton, 
and  Quincy. 

§  61.  New  Hampshire  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  New  Hampshire, 
except  that  part  within  the  Maine  Conference ;  also  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Massachusetts  northeast  of  the  Merrimac  River. 

§  62.  New  Jersey  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey  lying  south  of  the  following  line,  namely  :  Commencing  at  Raritan  Bay  ; 
thence  up  said  bay  and  river  to  New  Brunswick  ;  thence  along  the  turnpike  road 
to  Lambertville  on  the  Delaware,  including  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  and 
Lambertville  Station. 

§  63.  New  York  Conference  shall  consist  of  the  territory  now  in  the  New 
York,  Poughkeepsie  (including  Gaylordsville),  Newburg,  and  Kingston  Districts. 

§  64.  New  York  East  Conference  shall  include  Long  Island,  those  charges 
in  New  York  City  east  of  South  Ferry,  Whitehall  Street,  Broadway,  Park  Row, 
Chatham  Street,  Bowery,  and  Third  Avenue  to  the  city  limits ;  thence  between 
the  Harlem  aud  New  Haven  Railroads,  including  Round  Hill,  Pound  Ridge, 
Hunting  Ridge,  High  Ridge,  New  Canaan,  Ridgefield,  Danbury,  all  stations  on 
the  Housatonic  Railroad  south  of  Canaan  Township,  excluding  Gaylordsville, 


1869.] 


Boundaries  of  Annual  Conferences. 


775 


but  including  Ellsworth,  thence  east  to  Winchester,  north  to  State  line,  east  to 
Connecticut  River,  and  south  to  Long  Island  Sound. 

§  65.  North  Carolina  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  North  Carolina, 
and  all  that  part  of  the  State  of  Virginia  lying  south  of  a  line  beginning  at  (  ape 
Henry  and  running  to  Hampton  Roads  ;  thence  with  Hampton  Roads  to  the 
James  River ;  thence  with  the  southern  bank  of  the  James  River  to  Chesterfield 
County  ;  thence  with  the  northern  boundary  of  the  following  counties :  Prince 
George,  Dinwiddie,  Nottaway,  Prince  Edward,  Charlotte,  Halifax,  to  the  north- 
east corner  of  Pittsylvania  ;  thence  in  a  southwesterly  direction  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  Henry ;  thence  with  the  county  lines  of  Pittsylvania,  Franklin,  and 
Bedford  to  the  corner  of  Bedford  and  Roanoke ;  thence  with  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains  to  the  North  Carolina  line. 

§  66.  North  China  Conference  shall  include  that  portion  of  the  Chinese 
Empire  including  and  north  of  the  Provinces  of  Shantung  and  Honan. 

§  67.  North  Dakota  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  North  Dakota. 

§  68.  Northern  German  Conference  shall  include  the  German  work  in  the 
States  of  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota,  and  the  appointments  in  the  State  of 
Wisconsin  along  the  Mississippi  River  not  included  in  the  Chicago  German  Con- 
ference. 

§  69.  Northern  Minnesota  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  State  of  Min- 
nesota not  included  in  the  Minnesota  Conference. 

j  70.  Northern  New  York  Conference  shall  include  so  much  of  the  county 
of  Franklin  as  is  not  within  the  Troy  Conference,  and  all  of  the  counties  of  St. 
Lawrence,  Jefferson,  Lewis,  Oneida,  and  Herkimer,  and  all  of  Oswego  County 
except  Phoenix,  and  so  much  of  the  county  of  Madison  as  lies  on  and  east  of  the 
New  York  and  Midland  Railroad,  together  with  Cherry  Valley,  Springfield,  and 
Richfield  Springs  in  Otsego  County,  and  St.  Johnsville  in  Montgomery  County. 

§  71.  North  Germany  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  Germany  north 
of  a  line  running  from  the  northwest  to  the  southeast  between  the  Rhine  Provin- 
ces and  Westphalia,  and  from  the  southern  point  of  Westphalia  to  the  northern 
point  of  Bavaria ;  thence  by  the  north  and  northeast  boundary  of  Bavaria,  be- 
tween Bavaria  on  the  one  side  and  Turingian  States  and  the  Kingdom  of  Saxony 
on  the  other,  so  as  to  include  the  present  Berlin  and  Bremen  Districts ;  also 
including  the  circuits  of  Kassell  and  Warburg. 

S  72.  North  India  Conference  shall  consist  of  the  Northwest  Provinces  east 
of  the  Ganges,  and  the  Province  of  Oudh. 

§  7'4.  North  Indiana  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  State 
of  Michigan  ;  on  the  east  by  the  State  of  Ohio,  including  Union  City ;  on  the 
south  by  the  National  Road  from  the  State  line  west  to  Marion  County  ;  thence 
north  to  the  northeast  corner  of  said  county  ;  thence  west  to  the  Michigan  Road; 
on  the  west  by  said  Michigan  Road  to  South  Bend,  and  thence  by  the  St.  Joseph 
River  to  the  "Michigan  State  line,  including  Logansport  and  all  towns  on  the 
National  Road  east  of  Indianapolis. 

§  74.  North  Nebraska  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Nebraska  lying  north  of  the  Platte  River  and  east  of  the  west  line  of  range  twelve 
west  of  the  sixth  principal  meridian. 

g  75.  North  Ohio  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Ohio  State 
line,  on  the  east  by  the  Ohio  Canal  to  its  intersection  with  the  Tuscarawas  River, 
thence  by  that  river  and  the  Muskingum  River  to  Dresden ;  on  the  south  by 
Ohio  Conference,  excluding  Dresden,  and  including  Utica,  Homer,  and  Galena 
Circuits,  and  excluding  Stratford  ;  on  the  west  by  the  main  road  passing  through 
Delaware  and  Marion  to  Upper  Sandusky,  and  the  Sandusky  River  to  its  mouth  ; 
thence  due  north  to  the  State  line,  including  the  towns  of  Tiffin,  Port  Clinton, 
and  Lakeside,  and  excluding  so  much  of  the  town  of  Delaware  as  lies  west  of 
Sandusky  Street,  yet  including  Asbury  Church  in  the  City  of  Delaware  ;  also  ex- 
cluding the  towns  of  Marion,  Fremont,  and  Upper  Sandusky. 

\  70.  Northwest  German  Conference  shall  include  the  German  work  in  the 
State  of  South  Dakota  and  that  part  of  the  State  of  Iowa  north  of  an  east  and 
west  line  passing  along  the  south  line  of  the  city  of  Clinton  and  that  part  of  the 
State  of  Illinois  lying  west  of  the  Chicago  German  Conference. 

77.  Northwest  India  Conference  shall  consist  of  that  portion  of  the 
Northwest  Provinces  which  lies  south  and  west  of  the  Ganges,  the  Punjab,  and 
such  parts  of  Rajputana  and  Central  India  as  lie  north  of  the  twenty-fifth  par- 
allel of  latitude. 

:  78.  Northwest  Indiana  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Lake  Michigan  and  the  State  line,  on  the  east  by  St.  Joseph  River  and  the  Michi- 
gan Road,  on  the  south  by  the  Indiana  Conference,  and  on  the  west  by  Illinois, 
including  all  the  towns  on  the  Michigan  Road,  except  Logansport,  and  all  the 
towns  on  the  southern  boundary,  excluding  Locust  Street  Charge,  in  Greencastle. 


776 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


§  79.  Northwest  Iowa  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Iowa  west  of  the  Upper  Iowa  and  north  of  the  Des  Moines  Conferences. 

§  <S0.  Northwest  Kansas  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  west  and 
north  by  the  Kansas  State  line  ;  on  the  east  by  the  sixth  principal  meridian,  but 
shall  include  the  Solomon  City  Circuit ;  and  on  the  south  line  of  township  seven- 
teen as  far  west  as  to  the  east  line  of  Lane  County,  thence  north  to  the  north  line 
of  said  Lane  County,  thence  west  to  the  State  line. 

§  81.  Northwest  Nebraska  Conference  shall  include  all  that  portion  of  the 
State  of  Nebraska  lying  west  of  the  west  line  of  range  twelve  west  of  the  sixth 
principal  meridian  and  north  of  the  sixth  standard  parallel  north,  and  including 
such  portions  of  Sheridan,  Box  Butte,  and  Sioux  Counties  as  are  south  of  said 
line. 

§  82.  Norway  Conference  shall  embrace  Norway. 

§  83.  Norwegian  and  Danish  Conference  shall  include  all  the  work  among 
the  Norwegians  and  Danes  between  the  Allegheny  and  Rocky  Mountains. 

§  84.  Ohio  Conference  shall  be  bounded  as  follows :  Commencing  on  the 
Muskingum  River,  north  of  Dresden  ;  thence  down  said  river  to  the  Ohio  River, 
including  Zanesville  and  Marietta  ;  thence  down  the  Ohio  River  to  the  mouth  of 
Ohio  Brush  Creek ;  thence  north  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Fayette  County ; 
thence  northwest  to  the  west  line  of  Fayette  County ;  thence  north  on  the  west 
line  of  Fayette  and  Madison  Counties  to  the  Springfield  branch  of  the  Cleveland, 
Columbus,  Cincinnati,  and  Indianapolis  Railroad,  leaving  Vienna,  Dunbarton, 
and  Sinking  Spring  Circuits  west  of  said  line ;  thence  east  on  the  southern  bound- 
aries of  Central  Ohio  and  North  Ohio  Conferences  to  the  place  of  beginning,  in- 
cluding Milford  and  Stratford,  and  St.  Paul's  Charge,  in  Delaware. 

§  85.  Oklahoma  Conference  shall  include  the  Indian  Territory  and  all  of 
Oklahoma  Territory,  except  Beaver  County. 

§  86.  Oregon  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State  of  Oregon 
not  included  in  the  Columbia  River  and  Idaho  Conferences. 

§  87.  Philadelphia  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Dela- 
ware River ;  on  the  south  by  the  Pennsylvania  State  line ;  on  the  west  by  the 
Susquehanna  River,  excluding  Harrisburg  and  Curtin  Heights  and  Epworth 
Charges ;  on  the  north  by  the  north  line  of  Dauphin,  Schuylkill,  Carbon,  and 
Monroe  Counties,  excepting  Ashland  and  Beaver  Meadows  Circuit. 

§  88.  Pittsburg  Conference  shall  be  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Erie  Con- 
ference ;  on  the  east  by  the  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference ;  on  the  south  by 
the  West  Virginia  Conference  ;  on  the  west  by  the  East  Ohio  Conference. 

§  89.  Puget  Sound  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Washington  lying  west  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  north  of  the  Columbia 
River. 

§  90.  Rock  River  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
north  of  the  Central  Illinois  Conference  ;  this  Conference  shall  include  the  work 
among  the  Welsh  people  in  the  States  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin. 

§  91.  St.  John's  River  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among  the  white 
people  in  the  State  of  Florida,  except  that  portion  lying  west  of  the  Appalachicola 
River. 

§  92.  St.  Louis  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Missouri 
lying  south  of  Missouri  River. 

*  §  93.  St.  Louis  German  Conference  shall  include  the  German  work  in  that 
part  of  the  State  of  Illinois  south  of  the  Chicago  German  Conference,  and  in  the 
State  of  Iowa  south  of  the  Northwest  German  Conference,  and  all  of  the  German 
work  in  the  State  of  Missouri  not  within  the  West  German  Conference. 

§  94.  Savannah  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Georgia 
not  included  in  the  Atlanta  Conference. 

§  95.  South  America  Conference  shall  include  the  continent  of  South 
America. 

£  96.  South  Carolina  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  South  Caro- 
lina. 

§  97.  Southern  California  Conference  shall  embrace  that  portion  of  the 
State  of  California  lying  south  of  the  California  Conference ;  also  that  portion  of 
the  State  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  and  south  of  Inyo  County. 

§  98.  Southern  German  Conference  shall  include  the  German  work  in  the 
States  of  Texas  and  Louisiana. 

§  99.  Southern  Illinois  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  south  of  the  following  line,  namely  :  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illi- 
nois River;  thence  up  said  river  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Jersey  County, 
including  Kane  and  Woodbury  ;  thence  to  Honey  Point ;  thence  to  Hillsborough, 
leaving  it  in  the  Illinois  Conference ;  thence  east  to  the  north  and  along  the  line 
of  Fayette  and  Effingham  Counties,  leaving  Holliday  in  the  Southern  Illinois 


1896.] 


Boundaries  of  Annual  Conferences. 


Conference ;  thence  east  to  the  north  line  of  Jasper  and  Crawford  Counties  to 
the  Wabash  River. 

§  100.  South  Germany  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  Empire  of  Germany 
not  included  in  the  North  Germany  Conference.  • 

§  101.  South  India  Conference  shall  consist  of  the  Madras  Presidency  and  all 
the  territory  south  of  the  Godavery  River  not  included  in  the  Bombay  Confer- 
ence. 

§  102.  South  Kansas  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of  Kansas 
lying  east  of  the  west  line  of  Chautauqua,  Elk,  Greenwood,  and  Chase  Counties, 
and  south  of  the  line  of  township  sixteen,  including  Louisburg,  Ottawa,  and 
Baldwin,  lying  north  of  that  line,  and  excluding  Pomona,  lying  south  of  that  line. 

§  103.  Southwest  Kansas  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State 
of  Kansas  not  included  in  the  Kansas,  Northwest  Kansas,  and  South  Kansas 
Conferences,  and  also  Beaver  County,  in  the  Territory  of  Oklahoma. 

§  104.  Sweden  Conference  shall  include  all  of  our  work  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Sweden. 

§  105.  Switzerland  Conference  shall  include  the  work  in  Switzerland  and 
those  portions  of  France  where  the  German  language  is  spoken. 

§  106.  Tennessee  Conference  shall  include  that  portion  of  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee west  of  and  including  the  counties  of  Franklin,  Coffee,  Warren,  White, 
Putnam,  Overton,  and  Pickett  in  said  State. 

§  107.  Texas  Conference  shall  include  so  much  of  the  State  of  Texas  as  lies 
east  of  a  line  beginning  at  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  east  line  of  Matagorda 
County,  and  running  along  said  line  and  the  east  line  of  Wharton  and  Colorado 
Counties  to  the  north  point  of  Colorado  County  ;  thence  north  until  it  strikes  the 
Central  Railroad  at  Calvert ;  thence  along  the  line  of  said  railroad  to  the  northern 
boundary  of  Texas,  excluding  Calvert  and  all  the  towns  on  the  line  of  said  road. 

§  108.  Troy  Conference  shall  include  that  portion  of  the  State  of  New  York 
embraced  in  the  counties  of  Rensselaer,  Washington,  Clinton,  Essex,  Warren, 
Saratoga,  Schenectady,  Montgomery  (except  St.  Johnsville),  Fulton  (except  the 
towns  of  Oppenheim  and  Stratford),  Albany  (except  Coeymans,  Coeymans  Hollow, 
and  South  Bethlehem),  Schoharie  (except  Blenheim,  Charlotteville,  Eminence,  Gil- 
boa,  Livingstonville,  and  Summit);  in  Columbia  County,  the  towns  of  Stuyvesant, 
Kinderhook,  New  Lebanon,  and  Chatham  (except  Chatham  Village  and  East 
Chatham);  in  Franklin  County,  the  towns  of  Standish,  Saranac  Lake,  and  the 
appointments  connected  with  Bloomingdale  Circuit ;  in  Hamilton  County,  the 
towns  of  Benson,  Hope,  Wells,  Indian  Lake,  and  Blue  Mountain  Lake  ;  and  in 
Otsego  County,  Center  Valley ;  also  that  portion  of  the  State  of  Vermont  em- 
braced in  the  counties  of  Addison,  Bennington,  and  Rutland  (except  Cuttings- 
ville,  Mount  Holly,  East  Wallingford,  Summit,  and  Healdsville) ;  and  in  Chit- 
tenden County  the  towns  of  Charlotte,  Hinesburg,  Huntington,  Williston, 
Shelburne,  Burlington,  and  Winooski ;  also  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts  all 
that  part  of  Berkshire  County  lying  upon  the  line  of  the  Boston  and  Albany 
Railroad,  and  north  of  said  line. 

§  109.  Upper  Iowa  Conference  shall  be  bounded  as  follows,  namely :  Begin- 
ning at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  State  of  Iowa  ;  thence  down  the  Mississippi 
to  Davenport ;  thence  west  on  the  north  line  of  the  Iowa  Conference  to  the  south- 
east corner  of  Story  County ;  thence  north  to  the  State  line  so  as  to  include 
Iowa  Falls  ;  thence  east  on  said  line  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

^  110.  Upper  Mississippi  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  State  of  Missis- 
sippi not  included  in  the  Mississippi  Conference,  except  the  work  among  the  white 
people. 

*  111.  Vermont  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Vermont,  save  that 
section  lying  south  of  the  Winooski  River  and  west  of  the  Green  Mountain 
divide ;  said  boundary  to  leave  Winooski  Charge  in  the  Troy  Conference,  and 
Mechanicsville  and  Cuttingsville  in  the  Vermont  Conference. 

§  112.  Virginia  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
not  embraced  in  the  Baltimore  and  Wilmington  Conferences,  and  also  the  coun- 
ties of  Pocahontas,  Greenbrier,  Monroe,  Pendleton,  and  Hardy,  in  the  State  of 
West  Virginia. 

:  1 13.  Washington  Conference  shall  include  Western  Maryland,  the  District 
of  Columbia,  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  except  the  counties  of  Mercer,  Wyo- 
ming, and  McDowell ;  so  much  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  as  lies  west  of  the 
Susquehanna  River,  including  the  towns  on  said  river  ;  and  so  much  of  the  State 
of  Virginia  as  is  not  included  in  the  East  Tennessee,  Delaware,  and  North  Caro- 
lina Conferences. 

§  114.  Western  Norwegian-Danish  Conference  shall  include  the  Norwegian 
and  Danish  work  in  the  States  of  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  Montana,  Cali- 
fornia, and  Utah. 


778 


Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


§  115.  Western  Swedish  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  Swedish  work  in 
the  States  of  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska. 

§  116.  West  German  Conference  shall  include  the  States  of  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
and  Colorado,  the  Territory  of  Oklahoma  ;  and  so  much  of  the  State  of  Missouri 
as  lies  west  of  a  line  commencing  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  State  of  Kansas  ; 
thence  direct  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Morgan  County,  Missouri ;  thence 
north  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Charlton  County,  Missouri ;  thence  to  the 
northeast  corner  of  Worth  County,  Missouri. 

§  117.  West  Nebraska  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Nebraska  lying  west  of  the  west  line  of  range  twelve  west  of  the  sixth  principal 
meridian  and  south  of  the  sixth  standard  parallel  north,  except  such  portions 
of  Sheridan,  Box  Butte,  and  Sioux  Counties  as  are  south  of  said  line. 

§  118.  West  Texas  Conference  shall  embrace  so  much  of  the  State  of  Texas 
as  is  not  included  in  the  Texas  Conference. 

§  119.  West  Virginia  Conference  shall  be  bounded  as  follows  :  Beginning  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania ;  thence  along  the  west  line  of 
Pennsylvania  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Ohio  County,  West  Virginia,  so  as  to 
include  Dallas  Circuit  and  Triadelphia  Circuit ;  thence  by  the  most  direct  way 
to  Short  Creek,  so  as  to  include  Short  Creek  and  Liberty  Circuit ;  thence  down 
Short  Creek  to  the  Ohio  River  ;  thence  down  said  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Sandy  River  ;  on  the  west  by  the  State  line  ;  on  the  south  and  east  by  the  Vir- 
ginia and  Baltimore  Conferences  to  the  Pennsylvania  State  line  ;  thence  west- 
ward along  said  line  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

§  120.  West  Wisconsin  Conference  shall  include  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Wisconsin  not  embraced  in  the  Wisconsin  Conference. 

§  121.  Wilmington  Conference  shall  include  the  State  of  Delaware  and  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  and  of  Virginia. 

§  122.  Wisconsin  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State  of  Wis- 
consin lying  east  and  north  of  a  line  beginning  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Greene 
County,  on  the  south  line  of  the  State ;  thence  north  on  the  range  line  between 
ranges  nine  and  ten  east  to  the  north  line  of  town  twenty;  thence  west  on  the 
said  line  to  the  east  line  of  range  three  ;  thence  north  on  said  line  to  the  Michigan 
State  line. 

§  123.  Wyoming  Conference  shall  include  the  southern  part  of  the  State  of 
New  York  not  included  in  the  New  York,  New  York  East,  Newark,  Central  New 
York,  and  Genesee  Conferences,  and  that  part  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
bounded  on  the  west  by  Central  New  York  Conference,  including  the  territory 
east  of  the  Susquehanna  River  ;  and  on  the  south  by  the  Central  Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia,  and  Newark  Conferences,  including  Narrowsburg  ;  and  on  the  east 
by  the  Newark  and  New  York  Conferences. 


Chapter  III.    Boundaries  op  Missions. 

If  439.  In  the  United  States  and  Territories  : 

55  1.  Arizona  Mission  shall  include  the  State  of  Arizona. 

§  2.  Black  Hills  Mission  Conference  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  State 
of  South  Dakota  west  of  the  meridian  101  degrees  west  longitude  ;  and  that  part 
of  the  State  of  North  Dakota  south  of  the  forty-sixth  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
and  west  of  the  meridian  101  degrees ;  it  shall  also  include  Crook  County,  Wyom- 
ing. 

*  3.  Gulf  Mission  Conference  shall  include  our  white  work  in  the  State  of 
Louisiana  south  of  Red  River  and  west  of  the  Atchafalaya  River,  and  that  por- 
tion of  the  State  of  Texas  south  of  the  Texas  Pacific  Railroad  and  east  of  the 
International  and  Great  Northern  Railroad,  leaving  Houston,  Harrisburg,  and 
Galveston  in  the  Austin  Conference. 

§  4.  Navajo  Indian  Mission  shall  include  the  Navajo  Indian  Reservation  lying 
in  Northeastern  Arizona  and  Northwestern  New  Mexico  ;  also  the  Moqui  Reser- 
vation adjoining. 

*  5.  Nevada  Mission  shall  include  the  State  of  Nevada,  and  as  much  of  the 
State  of  California  as  lies  east  of  the  west  summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Moun- 
tains. 

p  6.  New  Mexico  English  Mission  shall  include  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico 
and  the  county  of  El  Paso,  Texas. 

%  7.  New  Mexico  Spanish  Mission  Conference  shall  include  the  work  among 
the  Spanish-speaking  people  in  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  the  States  of  Arizona 
and  Colorado,  El  Paso,  Texas,  and  the  States  of  Chihuahua  and  Sonora. 

§  8.  North  Montana  Mission  shall  include  that  part  of  Montana  as  herein 


1896.] 


Boundaries  of  Missions. 


779 


described  :  Start  at  Buford,  thence  up  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Musselshell,  next 
to  Copperopolis,  including  the  same;  thence  along  the  main  divide  of  the  Belt 
Mountains  to  a  point  opposite  Rock  Creek  ;  thence  up  said  creek  to  Dearborn 
River  ;  thence  along  said  river  to  the  main  divide  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  thence 
northward  to  the  British  possessions  ;  thence  east  to  Dakota  ;  and  south  to  point 
of  departure. 

|  9.  North  Pacific  German  Mission  Conference  shall  include  the  German 
work  in  the  States  of  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  and  Montana. 

§  10.  Northern  Swedish  Mission  Conference  shall  include  all  of  the  Swedish 
work  in  Minnesota,  Northern  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin,  except  Racine. 

§  11.  Utah  Mission  shall  include  the  State  of  Utah. 

§  12.  Wyoming  Mission  shall  include  the  State  of  Wyoming,  except  National 
Park  and  Crook  County. 

1  440.  In  foreign  countries  : 

§.1.  Bulgaria.  Bulgaria  Mission  Conference  shall  include  the  principality  of 
Bulgaria  north  of  the  Balkan  Mountains,  with  its  central  station  at  the  city  of 
Rustchuk,  on  the  Danube  River. 

§  2.  China.  Central  China  Mission  shall  include  Central  China,  with  its  central 
station  at  the  city  of  Nanking,  on  the  Yang-tse  River. 

§  3.  China.  Hinghua  Mission,  Conference  shall  consist  of  the  Hinghua  Prefect- 
ure, and  of  such  adjoining  territory  as  may  be  set  off  with  it  by  a  vote  of  the 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  Foochow  Conference  present  and  voting  at  the 
ensuing  session. 

§  4.  China.  West  China  Mission  shall  include  West  China,  with  its  central 
station  at  Chung-King,  in  the  Province  of  Sze-Chuen. 

?  5.  Congo.  Congo  3Iission  Conference  shall  include  the  whole  of  Africa  south 
of  the  equator. 

§  6.  Denmark.  Denmark  Mission  shall  include  the  Kingdom  of  Denmark,  with 
its  central  station  at  the  city  of  Copenhagen. 

§  7.  Korea.  Korea  Mission  shall  include  the  Kingdom  of  Korea,  with  its  cen- 
tral station  at  Seoul,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom. 

£  8.  Malaysia.  Malaysia  Mission  Conference  shall  include  the  Malay  Peninsula 
and  all  the  adjacent  islands  inhabited  by  the  Malay  race. 

£  9.  Russia.  Finland  and  St.  Petersburg  Mission  shall  include  our  work  in  the 
Russian  empire. 


INDEX. 


Absence,  Leave  of, 

272,  275,  281,  282,  290,  295,  302. 
Acknowledgments, 

Committee  on,  100,  378. 
Africa, 

Bishop  for,  277  ;  J.  E.  Hartzell  elected, 
280 ;  provisions  for  the  work  in,  400, 
401. 
Agenda, 

publication,  91. 
Aid  Societies, 

memorial  relating  to,  107. 
Alabama  Conference, 
boundaries,  770  ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  158,  166, 
235. 

American  Bible  Society, 

Committee  on,  96,  100,  377  ;  report  of 
committee,  233,  253,  429. 
American  Flag, 

to  be  displayed,  146. 
American  University, 
Bishops  refer  to,  54 ;  trustees  of,  279, 
438. 

Amusements, 

reference  of  Bishops,  51  ;  action  con- 
cerning, 140,  190,  240,  392 ;  memori- 
als relating  to,  107,  143,  147,  169, 
171,  191,  202,  220,  221,  231;  cards 
and  card  parties,  265 ;  no  change  in 
1  240,  392. 
Andrews,  Bishop  E.  G., 

presides,  96,  271. 
Annual  Conferences, 

(See  Conferences.) 
Antisaloon  League, 

approval  of,  159,  204,  248. 
Appeals, 
of  S.  S.  Benedict,  117, 424;  D.  H.  Laney. 
170.  227,  425;  A.  C.  Bowdish,  172, 381; 
J.  Pullman,  424 ;  C.  W.  Price,  173, 
423  ;  J.  D.  Knox,  253,  423  ;  court  of, 
for  laymen,  204,  240;  none  to  be 
presented  after  May  21,  267 ;  triers 
of,  127. 
Arbitration, 
Committee  on,  158,  378  ;  Report  No.  I, 
273,  431 ;  No.  II,  292,  432 ;  petition 
to  Congress,  91 ;  memorial,  134, 189, 
191,  257  ;  Bishops  refer  to,  58. 
Arizona  Mission, 

boundaries,  778. 
Arkansas  Conference, 
boundaries,  770;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials and  resolutions  105, 182. 


Armenians, 

persecution  of,  156,  207. 
Arnett,  Bishop  B.  W., 

introduced,  280. 
Articles  of  Religion, 

memorial  relating  to,  201. 
Atlanta  Conference, 

boundaries,  770. 
Austin  Conference, 

boundaries,  770;  memorials,  166. 
Ayes  and  Noes, 

on  eligibility,  122 ;  present  at  close  of 
Conference,  306. 

Ballots, 

for  various  offices,  439  to  444;  secretary 
to  destroy,  246 ;  names  on  to  be 
omitted,  246  ;  defective,  243. 
Baltimore  Conference, 
boundaries,   770  ;  journal,  385  ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  106,  128, 
141,  167,  188,  201,  249,  256. 
Baneret, 

memorials,  167. 
Baptism, 
of  children,  115 ;  ritual  of,  143 ;  re- 
baptism  (footnote  to  If  47),  386. 
Barton,  Clara,  Miss, 

sympathy  extended,  155. 
Benedict,  S.  S., 

appeal  of,  117,  424. 
Benevolent  Collections, 
basis  of  apportionments,  162 ;  change 
of  H  352,  169 ;  aggregate  to  be  re- 
ported, 382  ;  raising,  161 ;  reporting, 
176  ;  model  system  of,  250. 
Benevolent  Societies, 

management  of,  182. 
Bengal-Burmah  Conference, 
boundaries,  770  ;  memorial,  128. 
Berry,  J.  F., 
elected  Editor  of  Epworth  Herald,  276, 
444. 

Bignell,  Rev.  W.  P., 

invited  to  the  platform,  276. 
Bishops, 

address  of,  37,  82,  89,  90  ;  additional, 
98,  103 ;  districting,  110,  168,  192, 
201, 241;  effectiveness  of,  379;  coordi- 
nate power  with  presiding  elders, 
110,  128 ;  with  missionary,  196,  381 ; 
duties  of,  143, 168,  202 ;  attend  com- 
mittee meetings,  157 ;  members  of 
Conferences,  128 ;  support  of,  148, 
256,  393 ;  deficit  in  collections  for, 


782 


Index. 


[1896. 


393;  relief  of,  145;  colored,  150, 
164,  177,  226,  380  ;  decisions  of,  169, 
189;  three  on  Committee  on  Constitu- 
tion, 102  ;  work  of,  39,  108  ;  term  of 
office,  150,  156,  157,  161,  178;  law 
suggestions  of,  99, 158,  245  ;  retiring 
of,  163,  379;  general  superintend- 
ency,  170;  article  of  Bishop  Walden, 
184 ;  election  of,  226,  229 ;  to  post- 
pone visitation  of,  305 ;  to  be  noti- 
fied of  complaints,  254;  consecration 
of,  286 ;  character  approved,  381 ; 
residences  of,  109,  110,  111,  113, 
115,  129,  130,  139,  143,  144,  157,  166, 
172,  174,  202,  228,  232,  380,  381 ;  no 
discrimination  on  account  of  color, 
380;  right  of  appeal,  419.  (See 
Report  on  Judiciary,  pages  419  to 
422.) 

Bishops,  Missionary, 

amenability  of,  382 ;  reports  of,  124, 
133,  311,  319  ;  character  passed,  381 ; 
election  of,  116, 160,  238,  280 ;  papers 
on,  126,  128 ;  designation  of,  113, 
158,  219  ;  coordinate  authority,  196, 
218,  278,  381;  additional,  196,  381; 
for  South  America,  251 ;  for  Africa, 
280,  381,  440:  may  appoint  a  super- 
intendent, 382. 
Black  Hills  Mission  Conference, 

boundaries,  778 ;  to  be  formed  into  a 
Conference,  355 ;  enabling  act,  355. 

Blue  Ridge  Conference, 

boundaries,  770 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials, 128,  141,  219,  260;  empow- 
ered to  form  a  Mission  Conference, 
355. 

Bombay  Conference, 

boundaries,  770  ;  memorial,  141. 
Book  Committee, 

arrange  for  next  General  Conference, 
433 ;  members  of,  437 ;  report  of, 
563  ;  commendation  of,  176  ;  duties 
of,  176,  395 ;  General  Conference  to 
select,  395  ;  report  on  entertainment 
of  General  Conference,  1896,  604. 
Book  Concern, 

to  publish  ritual,  etc.,  200  ;  business  of, 
211 ;  establish  paper  in  Denver,  183 ; 
doctrinal  teaching  of  books  pub- 
lished by,  191 ;  reports  of,  1872, 194 ; 
reports^  complaints  against,  249 ; 
report  of  New  York  Agents,  576; 
profits  of,  148 ;  report  of  Western, 
115. 

Book  Concern,  Committee  on, 

organization,  95,  97,  367  ;  Report  No.  I, 
213,  393 ;  No.  II,  213,  393 ;  No.  Ill, 
213,  214,  394  ;  No.  IV,  233,  263,  394 ; 
No.  V,  233,  264  ;  No.  VI,  233,  285, 
394;  No.  VII,  264,  303,  396;  No. 
VIII,  273 ;  No.  IX,  273 ;  No.  X,  273; 
No.  XI,  273,  299. 
Book  Depositories  and  Publishing 
Houses, 

donations  of,  106 ;  at  Indianapolis, 
260 ;  Detroit,  190  ;  Cleveland,  109  ; 


Omaha,  175 ;   New  Orleans,  216 ; 
Saint  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  217, 
318 ;  San  Francisco,  239  ;  transfer 
of,  394. 
Book  Editor, 

election  of,  161,  395. 
Boston  School  of  Correspondence, 

recognition  of,  228. 
Boston  University, 

report  of,  112 ;  memorial  from,  191. 
Boundaries, 
definition  of,  109,  113,  114,  115,  128, 
129 ;  mode  of  determining,  146,  354 ; 
changes  in,  107,  110,  111,  137,  141, 
146,  148,  149,  150,  168,  169, 172,  174, 
192,214,  222,  266,  275;  "No  Man's 
Land,"  140;  General  Conference 
Committee  to  adjust,  354. 

Boundaries,  Committee  on, 

organization,  95,  97,  361 ;  Report  No. 
I,  269, 278,  354 ;  No.  II,  302  ;  No.  Ill, 
302,  355. 
Bowdish,  A.  C, 

appeal,  172,  381. 
Bowman,  Bishop  Thomas, 

presides,  71,  95,  257,  286  ;  retired,  379. 
Buckley,  J.  M., 
elected  Editor  of  The  Christian  Advo- 
cate, 273,  443. 

Bulgaria  Mission  Conference, 

boundaries,  169,  191,  779;  journal,  385. 

Bulletin  Boards, 

to  be  provided,  179,  180. 
Bureau  of  Transportation, 

to  form  a,  266. 
Bushnell,  Gov.  Asa, 

introduced,  267. 

California  Christian  Advocate, 

editor  elected,  274  ;  publishing  com- 
mittee, 438  ;  subsidy,  396. 

California  Conference, 

boundaries,  770 ;  journal,  384 ;  me' 
morial  and  resolutions,  106,  214, 
239  ;  division  of,  355. 

California  German  Conference, 

boundaries,  770 ;  journal,  385. 
Catechism, 
Change  in  No.  I,  115  ;  text  of,  238. 

Central  Alabama  Conference, 

boundaries,  770 ;  journal,  385  ;  me- 
morials, 240. 

Central  China  Mission, 

boundaries,  779 ;  memorial,  189,  251. 

Central  Christian  Advocate, 

editor  elected,  274 ;  consolidation  of, 
118. 

Central  Conference  of  India  and 
Malaysia, 

journal  of,  385. 
Central  Council, 

in  Europe,  110. 


1896. 


Index. 


783 


Central  German  Conference, 

boundaries,  770;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials, 201. 
Central  Illinois  Conference, 
boundaries,  770;  journal,  384;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  103,  106, 
158,  167,  188,  201,  220. 
Central  Mission  Conference, 

establishing,  129,  130. 
Central  Missouri  Conference, 

boundaries,  771 ;  division,  142. 
Central  New  York  Conference, 
boundaries,  771 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  107,  128, 
142,  167,  220,  240, 249,  256,  275. 
Central  Ohio  Conference, 
boundaries,  771 ;  journal,  384 ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  107,  142,  182, 
188,  199,  201,  256. 
Central  Pennsylvania  Conference, 
boundaries,  771 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  127,  142, 
167,  189,  199,  201,  240. 
Central  Swedish  Conference, 
"boundaries,  771 ;  memorials,  107,  167, 
189. 

Central  Tennessee  Conference, 

boundaries,  771 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials, 202,  220. 
Chamberlain,  H.  M., 

invited  to  the  platform,  231. 
Chartered  Fund, 
report,  154  ;  trustees,  154  ;  collections, 
100. 

Chautauqua  Work,  240. 
Chicago  German  Conference, 

boundaries,  771. 
Children, 

reception  into  the  Church,  168  ;  regis- 
tration of,  187,  388 ;  Children's  Day 
fund,  218. 
Children's  Day, 
decorations,  403 ;  collections,  218,  403. 

Children's  Homes  and  Hospitals, 

organization  of,  155,  271. 
Christian  Advocate, 

editor  elected,  273  ;  daily,  165,  393. 
Christian  Apologist, 

editor  elected,  276. 
Christian  Citizenship, 
reference  by  the  Bishops,  57  ;  capital 
and  labor,  58. 
Church  and  Churches, 
reunion  of,  108;   reference  of  the 
Bishops,  40,  48,  55,  60 ;  judicial  sys- 
tem, 167 ;  debts  of,  115  ;  for  worship 
only,  199 ;  baptisteries  in,  255  ;  gifts 
of,  270.    (See  Fraternity.) 
Church  Boards, 
Bishops,  etc. ,  to  nomi  nate,  274;  elected, 
301,  436  to  438. 
Church  Extension,  Board  of, 
in  foreign  lands,  173, 190,  260,  406 ;  for- 
eign Conferences  may  organize,  406  ; 
50 


loans  by,  407 ;  presiding  elders  to 
present  claims  to  Quarterly  Confer- 
ences, 407  ;  insurance,  407 ;  man- 
agers, 435 ;  General  Committee,  437; 
report  of  General  Committee,  621 ; 
report  of  the  Board,  630 ;  gifts  to, 
250. 

Church  Extension,  Committee  on, 

organization,  95,  97,  372  ;  Report  No. 

I,  214,  225,  406  ;  No.  II,  214,  225,  407; 

No.  Ill,  264  ;  No.  IV,  264  ;  No.  V, 

264 ;  No.  VI,  273,  292,  407. 
Church  Paper, 
memorial,  114. 

Cincinnati  Conference, 

boundaries,  771 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  108.  142, 
146,  159,  167,  182,  202,  240,  247,  249, 
260,  265. 
Circuits, 
city  evangelization  memorials,  180; 
changing  appointments,  135. 
Classmate,  The, 

to  be  published  weekly,  185. 
Class  Meetings, 

testimonies,  143,  204. 
Colleges  and  Schools, 

work  in,  147. 
Colorado  Conference, 
boundaries,  772 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  108,  142, 
183. 

Columbia  River  Conference, 

boundaries,  772;  journal,  385. 

Complimentary  Resolutions, 

Committee  on,  284,  305,  378. 
Conferences,  Annual, 

admission  into,  383  ;  membership  in, 
127,  167,  384  ;  none  on  Easter,  166 ; 
composition  of,  215,  425 ;  located 
members,  383 ;  laity  in,  206 ;  organ- 
ization of,  184,  222;  withdrawals, 
384  ;  members  ceasing  to  do  work, 
384;  journals  of,  384;  reports  of, 
167  ;  Semi-annual  Conferences,  159 ; 
examinations,  402 ;  certificates  to 
students,  402  ;  making  appoint- 
ments at,  147  ;  Conference  steward, 
171. 

Conference  Claimants, 

Board  of,  220;  connectional  funds, 
144,  164, 389  ;  collections,  170,  270. 
Conference,  District, 
reference  of  Bishops,  49 ;  change  in 
questions,  249;  members  of,  124; 
time  of,  142  ;  questions,  249 ;  bind- 
ing, 163  ;  recognize  orders,  158. 
Conference  Examinations, 
memorials  relating  to,  146,  149 ;  de- 
cision relating  to,  251.  (See  Course 
of  Study.) 
Conference,  Judicial, 

memorial  relating  to,  i  254, 116. 
Conference  Missionary  Society, 
relating  to,  146. 


784 


Index. 


[1896. 


Conference,  Quarterly, 

reference  of  Bishops,  48 ;  changes  in 
questions,  205,  241,  386 ;  member- 
ship, 127 ;  memorials,  107,  115  ;  or- 
ganization, 149  ;  financial  report  to, 
169 ;  composition,  386 ;  time,  142  ; 
members  to  vote  in,  175  :  Bishops  to 
assign  to,  217  ;  powers  of,  248  ;  ques- 
tions, 211. 
Conference  Studies, 
reference  of  Bishops,  50 ;  plan  of  ex- 
aminations reported  by,  296  ;  text- 
books, 105  ;  memorials,' 100, 114, 117, 
144,  145,  147,  170,  172,  173,  228,  250, 
251;  University  Senate,  215,  404; 
theological  students,  222. 
Conference  Treasurer, 

election  of,  106. 
Congo  Mission  Conference, 

boundaries,  779. 
Consecration  Services, 

of  Bishops,  267,  286. 
Consolidation  of  Benevolences, 
Committee  on,  88,  102, 126,  376  ;  to  re^ 
port,  90  ;  Report  No.  I,  227,  297;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  110, 140, 142, 
174,  255  ;  of  Education  Societies,  105. 
Consolidation  of  Methodism, 
in  Germany,  130,  398. 

Constitution    and  Constitutional 
Amendments, 

report  of  commission,  335  ;  minority, 
344 ;  changes,  155 ;  revision,  145  ; 
conference,  98  ;  amendments,  126  ; 
commission,  195  ;  absentees  not  to 
vote,  274 ;   memorial,  141 ;  Com- 
mittee on,  87, 126,  376  ;  report  of,  154, 
263,  284  ;  amendments  submitted  in 
1894, 1895,  and  1896,  348,  351  to  353  ; 
final  action,  291. 
Course  of  Study, 
memorials,  100,  114,  117,  144,  145,  147, 
170,  172,  173,  228,  251 ;  assist  theo- 
logical students,  222 ;  Annual  Con- 
ferences to  act,  404. 
Courts  of  Trial, 

memorial  concerning,  142. 
Cranston,  Earl, 
elected  Bishop,  258 ;   presides,  305 ; 
time,  304. 
Crary,  B.  F., 

memoir  of,  552. 
Credentials, 

Committee  on,  84,  90,  168. 
Creed, 

to   change   word  "  catholic, "  160; 
change  in,  189. 
Cuban  Liberty, 

resolution  relating  to,  134. 
Curts,  Lewis, 
elected  Publishing  Agent,  262,  441; 
Assistant  Treasurer,  276. 

Daily  Christian  Advocate, 

distribution  of,  85. 


Daily  Paper, 

publication,  165,  393. 
Dakota  Conference, 

boundaries,  772. 
Deaconesses, 
introduction,  213, 258  ;  memorials,  118, 
149 ;  form  for  setting  apart,  233, 
304  ;  how  constituted,  426. 
Deaconess  Work, 
reference  of  Bishops,  42 ;  memorials, 
118, 145, 149, 168, 169,  189,  242  ;  Lucy 
Webb  Home,  188;  Baltimore  Home, 
188  ;  Committee  on,  119,  134,  377 ; 
report  of,  198,  298,  426. 
Deacons, 

duties  of,  112,  143. 
Deering,  William, 
invited  to  platform,  243. 

Delaware  Conference, 

boundaries,  772 ;  journal,  385 ;  en- 
abling act,  108,  355 ;  memorials, 
108,  168. 
Den  Christilege  Talsmand, 

subsidy  to,  397. 
Denmark  Mission, 

boundaries,  779. 
Des  Moines  Conference, 
boundaries,  772 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  109,  159, 

168,  202,  240. 

Detroit  and  Cleveland  Navigation 
Company, 
thanks  tendered,  279. 
Detroit  Conference, 
boundaries,  772 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  109,  135, 
142,  183,  189,  202,  220. 
Discipline, 
reference  of  Bishops,  53 ;  changes  in, 
108,  113,  147,  174,  203,  205  ;  sugges- 
tions of  Bishops,  382,  385  ;  change  in 
If 27,  166  ;  1  30, 265  ;  1  35,  271 ;  1  47, 

202  ;  H  49, 169, 171;  H  54,  98, 204  ;  If  56, 
169  ;  H  70, 169 ;  If  72,  169  :  1  74,  169  ; 
f  84, 169 ; .  1  88, 113  ;  1 95,  203  ;  1  97, 

169,  221 ;  H98,  202,  206  ;  If  103,  251 ; 
If  157, 169;  1 168,  193  ;  1  170, 114, 135  ; 
1 172, 169 ;  1T 185, 257 ;  If 186,  241,  275  ; 
If  189, 241 ;  If  193, 169, 193,  201 ;  1  217, 
202;  1[2:30,  175;  If  240,  147;  1241, 
138  ;  1  243  to  H  245,  169,  202  ;  If  254 
to  If  261, 116 ;  1  265,  169  ;  If  269, 205  ; 
1  270,  169  ;  If  283,  215,  270  ;  1  285, 

203  ;  f  293,  169,  173  :  11  328,  169  ; 
If  329,  171;  11332,  171:  If  344,  173; 
If 352,  169  ;  1  543  to  If  545,  150,  160, 
221 ;  index  to,  149, 194, 301;  Question 
Thirteen  to  be  omitted,  256 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions  relative  to, 
118,  142,  144,  146,  147,  149,  161,  169, 
174,  203 ;  to  revise,  158,  214 ;  report 
of  committee  of  1892,  346 ;  to  edit, 
194,  196,  301.  (For  other  changes 
see  Reports  of  Committees,  382.; 

Divorce, 

respecting,  149. 


1896.] 


Index. 


785 


Dorchester,  Daniel, 

invited  to  platform,  243. 
Drew  Theological  Seminary, 

trustees,  438  ;  report,  768. 
Drury,  Dr.  R.  M., 

invited  to  platform,  225. 

East  German  Conference, 

boundaries,  772 ;  memorials,  128,  168. 
East  Maine  Conference, 
boundaries,  772 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials, 109,  260. 
East  Ohio  Conference, 
boundaries,  772;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  103,  109, 
143,  168,  202,  220,  240. 
East  Tennessee  Conference, 
boundaries,  ~72 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morial and  resolutions,  129, 137,  159, 
247. 

Eaton,  Homer, 

elected  Publishing  Agent,  259,  441 ; 
Treasurer,  276. 
Ecclesiastical  Court, 

memorial,  173. 
Education  and  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, 

reference  of  Bishops,  54 ;  movement 
for,  135 ;  work  iu  India,  192 ;  col- 
lection, 200,  202;  Secretary  of 
Board,  404  ;  University  Senate,  404  ; 
work  commended,  404 ;  report  of 
Board,  727  ;  enlarged  plans,  173,  190. 
Education,  Committee  on, 
organization,  95,  97,  370;  Report 
No.  I,  214,  225,  275,  402;  No.  II, 
233,  289,  402  ;  No.  Ill,  278,  289,  403 ; 
No.  IV,  273,  289,  403  :  No.  V,  278, 
289,  403  ;  No.  VI,  289,  403  ;  No.  VII, 
297  ;  No.  VIII,  297 ;  Board  of  Edu- 
cation commended,  404 ;  graduates 
excused,  402 ;  college  grades,  403  ; 
ChildreD's  Fund,  403 ;  assist  mis- 
sions, etc.,  404  ;  Conference  studies, 
404 ;  vacancy  in  Secretary's  office, 
404  ;  University  Senate,  404  ;  report 
to  Conference,  404  ;  managers,  301, 
436. 

Edwards,  Arthur, 

elected  editor,  273,  443. 
Elections, 

order  of,  125;  Rule  No.  7  stricken  out, 
242;   nominations,  259,  261,  264; 
time  of,  99. 
Eligibility, 

challenge,  83 ;  Dr.  Kynett's  paper, 
84 ;  women  withdraw,  94 ;  Com- 
mittee on,  83,  89,  376;  report,  92, 
97 ;  report  recommitted,  101 ;  re- 
port adopted,  119,  122,  126;  Dr. 
Warren's  substitute,  120;  vote  on 
submission,  122 ;  report  as  adopted, 
417. 

Enabling  Acts, 

memorials  and  resolutions,  108,  111, 
142,  170,  193 ;  authorized,  355. 


Episcopacy,  Committee  on, 

organization,  95,  97,  359  ;  Report  No. 

I,  276.  379 ;  No.  II,  225,  380  ;  No. 
Ill,  226  272,  380 ;  No.  IV,  272,  381 ; 
No.  V,  276,  381 ;  No.  VII,  264 ;  No. 
IX,  276,  277,  381 ;  No.  X,  299,  381. 

Episcopal  Districts. 

(See  Bishops.) 
Episcopal  Fund, 

report  of  Treasurer,  607.  (See  Bish- 
ops.) 

Episcopal  Residences. 

(See  Bishops.) 
Epworth  Herald, 

editor  elected,  276.   (See  Publishing 
Agents'  Report.) 
Epworth  League, 

Bishops  on,  45  ;  international,  256  ; 
Junior,  118,  201,  243,  and  institu- 
tions of  learning,  165  237;  inter- 
mediate, 203,  256;  management, 
165 ;  to  amend  constitution,  251 ; 
Assistant  Secretary,  168,  172,  416; 
suspend  office  of  Secretary,  176, 
193  ;  Secretary  to  be  elected  by  Gen- 
eral Conference,  198  ;  union  of  Ep- 
worth League  and  Christian  En- 
deavor Society,  223,  256,  416  ;  Board 
of  Control,  191,  194,  287,  416,436; 
Quarterly  Conference  Committee, 
167;  Missionary  Vice  President,  114  ; 
reports  of,  186  ;  expunging  names, 
194;  Missionary  Department,  106; 
statistics,  108,  i91 ;  report,  687 ;  re- 
port of  German  Assistant  Secretarv, 
705. 

Epworth  League,  Committee  on, 

organization,  86,  87,  375  ;  Report  No. 

II,  295,  415 ;  No.  Ill,  258 ;  No.  IV, 
280,  416 ;  No.  V,  295,  416 ;  No.  VI, 
278 ;  No.  VII,  278 ;  No.  VIII,  286 ; 
No.  IX,  286. 

Erie  Conference, 
boundaries,  772 ;  memorials  and  res- 
olutions, 109,  135,  143,  168,  189,  202, 
220. 
Evangelists, 
appointment  of,  391  ;  memorials  and 
resolutions,  103, 107,109, 116, 219, 224, 
257. 
Exhorters, 
reports  of,  237  ;  change  word,  387. 


Federation, 

with   Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,   101,   108,  160;  any  other 
Church,  201,  398 ;  communication 
from,  153 ;   memorial,   220 ;  com- 
mission on,  157,  178,  184. 
Finland  and  St.  Petersburg  Mis- 
sion, 
boundaries,  779. 
Fiske,Dr.  F., 

invited  to  platform,  287. 
FitzGerald,  Bishop  J.  N., 
presides,  229,  298. 


786 


Index. 


[1896. 


Florida  Conference, 

boundaries,  772 ;  journal,  385;  change 
in  boundaries,  236. 

Florida  School  Laws, 

relating  to,  156. 

Foo-Chow  Conference, 

boundaries,  772 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morial, 129. 
Forward  Movement, 

resolution,  135. 
Foss,  Bishop  C.  D., 

presides,  118,  278. 
Foster,  Bishop  R.  S., 

presides,  86,  181,  261 ;  retired,  225,  379. 
Fowler,  Bishop  C.  H., 

presides,  194,  290. 
Fraternity    and    Fraternal  Ad- 
dresses, 

Committee  on,  88,  95,  377 ;  Bishops  to 
appoint  delegates,  287. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
Rev.  J.  A.  Johnson  introduced, 
254  ;  address,  517 ;  report  of  del- 
egate to,  294,  516. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion 
Church,  greetings,  262  ;  reply,  285 ; 
Rev.  J.  T.  Gaskill  introduced,  290  ; 
address,  530. 

British  Wesley  an  Conference,  Rev.  W. 
L.  Watkinson  introduced,  90 ;  ad- 
dress of  Conference,  447  ;  address 
of,  181,  450 ;  takes  leave,  253. 

Canada  Methodist  Church,  Dr.  J.  Lath- 
ern  introduced,  124 ;  address,  255, 
475  ;  takes  leave,  258  ;  report  of  del- 
egates to,  283,  475. 

Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
Rev.  C.  H.  Phillips  introduced,  198  ; 
address,  283,  511. 

Irish  Methodist  Conference,  address  of  the 
Conference,  460;  Rev.  R.  C.  Johnson 
introduced,  90;  address  of,  181,  261, 
461. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  C.  Morris's  address,  96,  487  ; 
resolutions  relating  to  Dr.  Morris, 
101,  154,  252,  268  ;  takes  leave,  268 ; 
address  of  E.  B.  Perkins,  Esq.,  255, 
501;  report  of  delegates  to,  155,  487. 

Methodist  Protestant  Church,  greetings 
sent,  229  ;  response,  276. 

Presbyterian  General  Assembly,  greet- 
ings sent,  267. 

Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  Rev.  B.  T. 
Noakes  introduced,  97  ;  address  of, 
283,  527. 

Wesley  an  Methodist  Church  of  New  Zea- 
land, 283 ;  Rev.  John  J.  Lewis 
introduced,  91 ;  address  of,  283, 
522. 

Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Ed- 
ucation Society, 

duty  of  pastors  to,  144 ;  administra- 
tion of,  193;  name,  108,  116,  409; 
extension  of  territory,  190 ;  collec- 
tions, 256 ;  number  of  Secretaries, 
178,  184 ;  tuition  in  schools,  236 ; 


location  of  schools,  409 ;  Secretaries 
elected,  269,  282  ;  work  commended, 
411;  managers,  436;  reportof,411,712; 
Report  No.  I,  178, 409  ;  No.  II,  295, 
409  ;  No.  Ill,  295,  411. 

Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Ed- 
ucation Society, Committee  on, 

organization,  95,  97,  373. 

Freshwater,  Dr.  R.  M., 

death  of  daughter,  252. 


General  Conference, 

committees,  standing,  177  ;  for  1900, 
244;  gavels  presented,  86;  table 
presented,  86  ;  elections  by,  99,  110, 
112,  167,  179,  205,  392 ;  order  in,  86, 
officers,  69 ;  eligibility  of  officers, 
142,  202;  to  exclude,  148;  opening 
services,  151,  212  ;  a  judicial  body, 
131 ;  expenses,  147 ;  pastors  intro- 
duced. 151,  181 ;  change  of  time, 
160,  168,  197,  220  ;  place  of  meeting, 
176,  191,  220,  247,  271 ;  amendment 
adopted,  207 ;  seating,  179,  193,  204, 
231,  433 ;  final  adjournment,  231, 
308  ;  a  sextennial,  209 ;  mode  of  en- 
tertainment, 176  ;  expenses  of,  244 ; 
location  of  next,  145, 159, 171  ;  Com- 
mittee to  Fix  Location  of  Next,  179, 
295,  377,  433 ;  report  of,  292,  295, 
433;  salaries  of  officers,  104,  179; 
no  change  in  mode  of  election,  392; 
powers  of,  211 ;  select  reports,  277. 

General  Conference  Delegates, 

alphabetical  list,  14 ;  reserves,  26 ;  by 
Conferences,  3  ;  election  of,  172, 203, 
224, 274 ;  residence  of,  202 ;  expenses 
of  reserves,  271,  391;  lay  delegates  to 
be  given  certificates,  265 ;  leaving, 
230 ;  reserves  seated,  82,  124,  133, 
194,  197,  206,  261,  272,  274,  278,  293 ; 
roll  called,  306 ;  chairman  of,  180  ; 
roll  changed,  119 ;  name  on  final  roll 
call,  306 ;  mode  of  seating  in  1900, 
392. 

General  Conference  Districts, 

memorial  relating  to,  172;  division 
of  Fourteenth,  223 ;  Committee  on, 
91, 126,  377  ;  Report  No.  1, 274,  276, 
427;  grouping  Conferences  into,  382. 

General    Conference  Entertain- 
ment, 

Report  No.  I,  292. 

General  Conference  Journal, 

copies  to  be  furnished  schools,  152 ; 
fraternal  delegates,  119;  Secretary 
to  edit,  99  ;  to  make  verbal  changes, 
298. 

General  Conference  Secretary, 

D.  S.  Monroe  elected,  83;  assistants 
appointed,  84,  134,  277 ;  to  destroy 
papers,  275 ;  to  edit  Journal,  99, 
298 ;  custodian  of  papers,  176,  298; 
to  send  out  blanks,  262  ;  to  publish 
Directory,  102 ;  duty  of,  103,176. 


1896.] 


Index. 


7b7 


Genesee  Conference, 

boundaries,  773  ;  journal,  385  ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  109,  144,  184, 
256. 

Georgia  Conference, 

boundaries,  773  ;  journal.  385  ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  144,  349. 
Goodsell,  Bishop  D.  A., 
presides,  254,  264;  granted  leave  of 
absence,  273. 
Grant,  F.  D.,  Colonel, 

introduced,  280. 
Grant  University, 

location  of,  185. 
Gulf  Mission  Conference, 
boundaries,  778  ;  growth  of,  189  ;  may 
be  a  Mission  Conference,  399. 

Hamilton,  J.  W., 

elected  Secretary  of  Freedmen's  Aid 
and  Southern  Education  Society, 
269,  442. 
Hammond,  E.  W.  S., 

salary  continued,  276. 
Haney,  Dr.  Richard, 

invited  to  the  platform,  207. 
Hartzell,  Bishop  J.  C, 
elected  Secretary  of  Freedmen's  Aid 
and  Southern  Education  Society, 
269,  442  ;  Bishop  of  Africa,  280,  440. 
Haus  und  Herd, 

editor  elected,  276. 
Helena, 

transfer,  130. 
Herbert,  Hon.  H.  A., 

introduced,  85. 
Hinghua  Mission  Conference, 
boundaries,  779  ;  organization  of,  129, 
304. 

Historical  Statement, 

change  in,  104. 
Hitchcock,  Dr.  Luke, 

invited  to  platform,  177. 
Holston  Conference, 
boundaries,  773  ;  journal,  385  ;  memo- 
rial, 190. 
Hospitals, 

to  organize,  155. 
Hoyt,  Dr.  F.  S., 

invited  to  the  platform,  242. 
Hunt,  Dr.  A.  S., 

invited  to  the  platform,  206, 
Hunt,  Sandford, 

memoir,  546. 
Hurlbut,  J.  L., 
elected  Secretary  of  Sunday  School 
Union  and  Tract  Society,  272,  442. 
Hurst,  Bishop  J.  F., 

presides,  131,  281. 
Hymnal, 
cheaper  edition,  110,  174,  220,  279; 
Norwegian,  228,  406 ;  to  contain  Ar- 
ticles of  Religion,  105;  memorial, 
203. 


Idaho  Conference, 

boundaries,  773 ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rial, 109. 
Illinois  Conference, 

boundaries,  773  ;  memorials  and  res- 
olutions, 144,  159,  168,  184,  190,  200, 

202,  221,  250. 
Indiana  Conference, 

boundaries,  773 ;  journal,  385 :  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  110,  168,  190, 

203,  215,  221,  260. 

Institutions  of  Learning, 

establishment  of,  404 ;  condition  to  be 
reported,  404  ;  dedication  of,  263. 
Insurance,  Church, 

memorials  and  resolutions,  106,  108, 
188,  192,  193,  237,  238,  240,  270  ;  re- 
port of  commission  of  1892,  179 ;  to 
organize  society,  407;  Board  of,  437. 
Intoxicants, 

druggists  handling,  143;  members 
dealing  in,  143 ;  good  citizenship, 
143. 

Iowa  Conference, 

boundaries,  773 ;  journal,  385  ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  103,  110,  137, 
190,  203,  221,  240,  270. 
Italy  Conference, 

boundaries,  773  ;  journal,  385  ;  memo- 
rials, 110,  169,  227. 
Itinerancy,  Committee  on, 

organization,  95,  97,  360 ;  Report  No. 
I,  213,  243,  246  ;  No.  II,  233,  247,  300; 
No.  Ill,  258 ;  No.  IV,  269 ;  No.  V, 
384,  269  ;  No.  VI,  285 ;  No.  VII,  293, 
305. 

Itinerants'  School, 

memorial,  109. 

Japan  Conference, 

boundaries,  773 ;  memorials,  110,  111, 
129  ;  enabling  act,  355. 
Jennings,  H.  C, 

elected  Publishing  Agent,  263,  441. 
Jerusalem, 

meeting  of  the  world  at,  189. 
John  Street  Church, 
Committee  on,  133,   158,  378 ;  early 
preaching  in,  385  ;  report,  299,  697 ; 
trustees,  438. 
Joyce,  Bishop  I.  W., 
presides,  242,  245,  301. 
Judiciary,  Committee  on, 
organization,  87,  153,  377  ;  Report  No, 
I,  269,  297,  418:  No.  II,  273,  297, 
419  ;  No.  Ill,  273  ;  No.  IV,  273 ;  No 
V,  283,  423 ;  No.  VI,  283,  423 ;  No 
VII,  283,  424;  No.  VIII,  284,  293 
424 ;  No.  IX,  284,  425 ;  No.  X,  282 
425. 

Kansas  Conference, 

boundaries,  773  ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  144,  169,  203, 
214,  247. 


788 


Index. 


[1896. 


Kelley,  W.  V., 

elected  Editor  of  Methodist  Review,  273, 
443. 

Kentucky  Conference, 

boundaries,  773 ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  104,  159,  169, 
184,  200,  214,  240. 
King,  Dr.  J.  £., 

invited  to  the  platform,  245. 
Knox,  J.  D., 

appeal,  203,  426. 
Korea  Mission, 
boundaries,  779. 
Krestansky  Posel, 

subsidy  to,  397. 
Kynett,  A.  J., 
elected  Secretary  of  Board  of  Church 
Extension,  268,  442. 

Laymen, 

meaning  of  the  word,  212. 
Laney,  D.  II., 

appeal,  170,  425. 
Lay  Representation, 

memorials  and  resolutions,  105,  108, 
111,  113,  114,  115,  116,  128,  129,  141, 
155,  157,  175,  178,  188,  190,  203,  223 ; 
Committee  on,  96,  179,  376 ;  Report 
No.  I,  264,  428 ;  No.  II,  273,  298. 
Leaders  and  Stewards, 

memorial,  131. 
Leonard,  A.  B., 
elected  Secretary  of  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 264,  441. 
Lexington  Conference, 
boundaries,  773  ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rials, 111,  203;  enabling  act,  111,  355. 
Liberia  Conference, 
boundaries,  773  ;  journal,  385  ;  proper 
schools  in  Liberia,  236. 
Library, 

invitation  to  visit  the  Cleveland,  97. 
Liebhart,  Henry, 

memoir,  556. 
Literature, 

in  Spanish,  173. 
Little  Rock  Conference, 
boundaries,  773 ;  memorials  and  res- 
olutions, 190,  215,  236. 
Little  Rock  University, 

memorial,  106. 
Liquor  Traffic, 
relating  to,  147  ;  certificates,  233,  242  ; 
in  the  Capitol,  262 ;  Antisaloon 
League,  248. 
Location, 
next  General  Conference,  report,  171, 
191,  247,  271,  294,  433. 
Louisiana  Conference, 
boundaries,  773 ;  memorials  and  reso- 
lutions, 144,  161,  215,  248,  256 ;  en- 
abling act,  111,  355. 

Madison  (Ind.^i  German  Church, 

transfer  of,  355. 


Mason,  M.  C.  B., 

elected  Secretary  of  Freedmen's  Aid 
and  Southern  Education  Society, 
282,  442. 

Maine  Conference, 

boundaries,  773  ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rials  and   resolutions  presented, 
240,  266. 
Mains,  G.  P., 

elected  Publishing  Agent,  263. 
Malaysia  Mission  Conference, 
boundaries,  779 ;  enabling  act,  355  ; 
journal,  385. 
Mallalieu,  Bishop  \V.  F., 

presides,  224,  289. 
Manual, 

of  General  Conference,  91. 
Marriage, 

(See  Unordained  Preachers.) 
MattheAv,  W.  S., 

elected  editor,  274,  443. 
McCabe,  C.  C, 
elected  Bishop,  240,  258;  presides, 
299. 

McCabe,  L.  D., 

invited  to  the  platform,  287. 
McKinley,  Hon.  William, 

introduced,  243. 
Mead,  O.  L., 

invited  to  the  platform,  229. 
Means  of  Grace, 

neglect  of,  140,  168. 
Membership, 

admission,  128,  149,  204,  221 ;  term  of, 
169 ;  removal  of,  109,  188,  387 ;  cer- 
tificates, change  in  form,  143,  171, 
201,  386  ;  more  power,  105  ;  of  pas- 
tor's family,  389 ;  record  of,  142, 
148 ;  neglecting  means  of  grace,  140; 
accused  members,  142 ;  withdrawal, 
159,  387  ;  contributions  of,  265  ;  sus- 
pension, 216,  247;  business  dis- 
agreements, 210. 
Memoirs, 

Committee  on,  88,  100,  377 ;  of  Sand- 
ford  Hunt,  244 ;  of  Henry  Liebhart, 
244 ;  of  J.  O.  Peck,  234  ;  of  B.  F. 
Crary,  244 ;  memorial  services,  131, 
234,  244  ;  of  J.  W.  Mendenhall,  234; 
report  adopted,  244,  533  to  560. 

Mendenhall,  J.  W., 

memoir  of,  234,  533. 

Merrill,  Bishop  S.  M., 

presides,  90,  266,  305 ;  invited  to  ad- 
dress the  Conference,  293. 

Methodist  Advocate  Journal. 

subsidy,  190,  397 ;  memorial,  219. 

Methodist  Magazine, 

memorial,  109. 

Methodist  Review, 

editor  elected,  273. 

Mexico  Christian  Advocate, 

memorials,  111,  190. 


1890. 


Index. 


Mexico  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rial, 111,  170,  190. 
Michigan  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385  ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  104,  111,  145, 
161,  170,  185,  190,  203,  250,  270  ;  en- 
abling act,  355. 

Ministers. 
(See  Preachers.) 

Minnesota  Conference, 
boundaries,  774  ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  145,  162,  170, 
203,  221,  241,  256,  266. 

Missionaries, 
introduced,  258  ;  superannuated,  99  ; 
laymen  as,  173. 

Missionary  Bishops* 

(See  Bishops,  Missionary.) 

Missionary  Society, 
amend  constitution,  129,  170,  175,  304; 
appropriations,  188,  212,  303  ;  appeal 
for,  297;  collections,  112,  113;  field 
agent,  186 ;  to  be  divided,  199 ;  de- 
tailed reports.  182, 242  :  organization 
of  Sunday  schools,  127,  400 ;  infor- 
mation to,  231, 400;  may  print  books, 
400 ;  managers,  434 ;  General  Com- 
mittee, 437;  report  of  committee, 
607;  among  the  French,  112 ;  appeal, 
297. 

Missions  and  Mission  Conferences, 

Superintendents  of,  275,  382  ;  in  South 
America,  116 ;  in  Utah,  251 ;  Swed- 
ish, 131 ;  among  the  Jews,  144 ;  in 
North  Carolina,  260;  Black  Hills,  260; 
powers  of  a  Mission  Conference, 
227  ;  representation  in  General  Con- 
ference, 227;  Central,  382:  memorial, 
170 ;  lay  missionaries  subject  to  ap- 
pointment, 400 ;  organized  in  Africa, 
400 ;  occupy  seats  in  an  Annual 
Conference,  400. 
Missions,  Committee  on, 

organization  of,  95,  368 ;  Report  No. 
I,  154,  398;  No.  II,  214,  224,  399; 
No.  Ill,  233,  387,  399  ;  No.  IV,  264. 
305,  400 ;  No.  VI,  305,  401. 
Mississippi  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  memorials  and  res- 
olutions, 139,  222,  237,  250. 
Missouri  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  111,  138, 
170,  203, 227. 

Mob  Violence, 

condemned,  180. 

Monroe,  D.  S., 

called  roll,  71 ;  elected  Secretary  pro 
tern.,  81 ;  elected  Secretary,  83. 

Montana  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  memorials  and  res- 
olutions, 185,  203,  271. 

Montrose  Church, 

transfer  of  title,  177. 


Moore,  D.  H., 

elected  Editor  of  Western  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, 273,  443 ;  death  of  mother  of, 
280 ;  granted  leave  of  absence,  275. 
Morris,  Dr.  J.  C, 

reception  of,  101.    (See  Fraternity.) 
Music, 
Committee  on,  237. 

Nagler,  F.  L., 

elected  Editor  of  Haus  und  Herd,  276, 
444. 
Nast,  A.  J., 

elected  Editor  of  Apologist,  276,  443. 
National  City  Evangelization 
Union, 

reference  of  Bishops,  45  ;  memorials, 
148,  240  ;  report  of,  689. 
National  Funds, 

not  for  denominational  purposes,  132. 
Navajo  Indian  Mission, 

boundaries,  778. 
Neal's  Statistical  Cards, 

relating  to,  192. 
Nebraska  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials, 145,  203. 
Nevada  Mission, 

boundaries,  778  ;  journal,  384. 
Newark  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  112,  129, 

145,  170,  204,  251,  270. 

New  England  Conference, 

boundaries,  774;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  112,  171, 
191,  228,  250. 
New  England  Southern  Confer- 
ence, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morial and  resolutions,  171,  185, 
216,  222. 

New  Hampshire  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  112,  171, 
204,  275. 
New  Jersey  Conference, 
boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  112,  139, 

146,  171,  204,  216,  222. 

Newman,  Bishop  J.  P., 

presides,  252,  304. 

New  Mexico  English  Mission, 

boundaries,  778. 

New  Mexico  Spanish  Mission  Con- 
ference, 

boundaries,  778. 

New  Orleans  University, 

relating  to,  190. 

New  York  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  171,  186, 
191,  222,  241,  250,  257. 


790 


Index. 


[1896. 


New  York  East  Conference, 

boundaries,  774 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  113,  130, 
17:3,  191,  237,  241,  250,  265. 
Ninde,  Bishop  W.  X., 

presides,  150,  283. 
North  Carolina  Conference, 

boundaries,  775. 
North  China  Conference, 
boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  113,  130, 
222,  251 ;  assigned  to  Fifth  District, 
86. 

North  Dakota  Conference, 

boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  113,  172, 
217. 

Northern  Christian  Advocate, 

editor  elected,  274. 
Northern  German  Conference, 

boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385. 

Northern  Minnesota  Conference, 

boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  105,  114, 
139,  147,  172,  186,  238,  241,  248. 
Northern  New  York  Conference, 

boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  114,  147, 
271. 

Northern  Pacific  Advocate, 

memorial,  271. 
Northern  Swedish  Mission  Confer- 
ence, 

boundaries,  779. 
North  Germany, 
boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385  ;  me- 
morial, 130 ;  union  of  Wesleyan 
with,  130,  398 ;  enabling  act,  356. 
North  India  Conference, 
boundaries,  775  ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials, 113,  146,  241,  251. 
North  Indiana  Conference, 
boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  384 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  113,  127, 
130,  162,  172,  192,  217,  241. 
North  Montana  Mission, 

boundaries,  778  ;  enabling  act,  356. 
North  Nebraska  Conference, 

boundaries,  775  ;  memorials  and  res- 
olutions, 105,  112,  114, 146,  172,  192  ; 
enabling  act,  356. 
North  Ohio  Conference, 
boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  114,  130, 
146,  172,  204,  222,  228,  257. 
North    Pacific   German  Mission 
Conference, 
boundaries,  779. 
Northwestern  Christian  Advocate, 

editor  elected,  273. 
Northwest  German  Conference, 
boundaries,  775. 

Northwest  India  Conference, 

boundaries,  775 ;  memorial,  204. 


Northwest  Indiana  Conference, 

boundaries,  775 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  114,  204, 
266,  271. 

Northwest  Iowa  Conference, 

boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  173,  204, 
241 ;  transfer  of  Clear  Lake,  173. 
Northwest  Kansas  Conference, 

boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  173,  186, 
218,  222. 

Northwest  Nebraska  Conference, 

boundaries,  776  ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials, 222,  241 :  enabling  act,  356. 
Northwest  Norwegian-Danish, 

journal,  385. 
Northwest  Swedish, 

journal,  385. 
Norway  Conference, 
boundaries,  776  ;  journal,  385  ;  paper 
for,  114. 

Norwegian  and   Danish  Confer- 
ence, 

boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials, 115,  275 ;  division  of,  115 ; 
paper,  114 ;  hymnal,  228 ;  enabling 
act,  356. 

Official  Boards, 

composition  of,  386  ;  memorials  relat- 
ing to,  147,  148 ;  name  of,  169 ;  on 
circuits,  386. 
Official  Papers, 
irresponsible,  205 ;  on  Pacific  Coast, 
205  ;  Swedish,  206 ;  magazine  on  be- 
nevolences, 205. 
Ohio  Conference, 
boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  115,  140, 
147,  163,  192,  218,  223,  241,  260. 
Oklahoma  Conference, 
boundaries,  776;  journal,  385;  as- 
signed to  Eleventh  District,  86 ;  me- 
morial, 115,  204,  251. 
Omaha  Christian  Advocate, 
made  a  Book  Concern  publication,  146, 
397;  report  of  commission,  172; 
memorials,  175,  201,  205;  subsidy 
to,  397  ;  publishing  committee,  438. 
Oregon  Conference, 
boundaries,  776;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials, 115,  148,  223,  271 ;  enabling 
act,  109. 
Ostra  Sandebudet, 
aid  for,  250. 

Pacific  Christian  Advocate, 

a  General  Conference  publication,  148, 
395 ;  General  Conference  to  elect 
editor,  395  ;  subsidy  to,  396 ;  memo- 
rials, 115,  201,  205,  223 ;  publishing 
committee,  438. 
Palmer,  A.  J., 

elected  Missionary  Secretary,  264,  441. 


1896.] 


Index. 


791 


Pastors, 

of  Cleveland,  introduced,  151,  181. 

Payne,  C.  H., 
elected  Secretary  of  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, 272,  442. 

Peck,  J.  O., 
memoir,  234,  539. 

Periodicals  and  Papers, 

to  be  furnished  schools,  194 ;  in  Bo- 
hemian, 260  ;  diminution  in  number 
of.  393 :  memorials,  117,  174,  183, 
189. 

Philadelphia  Conference, 

boundaries,  776;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  115,  148, 
163,  173,  223,  241,  265. 
Philander  Smith  College, 

election  of  faculties,  190. 

Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate, 

editor,  274;  publishing  committee,  438. 

Pittsburg  Conference, 

boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morial, 242. 
Preachers  and  Scientists, 

unordained,  111,  214  ;  examination  of 
candidates,  149,  150, 193;  support  of, 
108, 113;  to  attend  schools,  108  ;  non- 
effective, 170 ;  located,  383 ;  to  ad- 
minister sacraments,  103,  104,  110, 
111,  137, 140,159,187,260;  memorials, 
170,223;  location  of ,  382 ;  investiga- 
tion of  charges,  418;  holding  services, 
419. 

Preachers  in  Charge, 

trial  of.  127,  167,  208,  220  ;  relation  of 
family.  142  ;  salaries  of,  112, 174, 257, 
389 :  claim  of  suspended,  186 ;  to  con- 
trol religious  services,  199 ;  charges 
against,  418 ;  ceasing  to  do  work, 
419;  errors  of  judgment,  419;  sen- 
tence mitigated,  420.  (See  Report 
on  Judiciary,  pp.  419-422.) 
Preachers,  Local, 

examination,  107  ;  employment,  220  ; 
licensing,  162 ;  unordained,  214 ; 
compensation  to,  387 ;  not  to  use 
tobacco,  387 ;  relation  to  Quarterly 
Conference,  250 ;  trial  of,  420 ;  hold- 
ing services,  419;  reports,  149.  (See 
Report  on  Judiciary,  pp.  419-422.) 

Preachers,  Supernumerary  and  Su- 
perannuated, 

support  of,  91,  113,  130,  141,  390 ;  pe- 
tition of,  152,  171 ;  as  colporteurs, 
270 ;  memorial,  113 ;  use  of  word 
"noneffective,"  248;  sustentation 
fund,  390. 
Presiding  Elders, 

coordinate  powers,  110,  128 ;  election 
of,  128,  141,  148,  206;  nomination, 
149 ;  duties,  167 ;  increased  power, 
143;  relation  to,  175.  (See  Report 
on  Judiciary,  pp.  419-422.) 

Price,  C.  W., 

appeal,  173,  423. 


Probation  and  Probationers, 

shorter  term,  160;  privilege  386$ 
form  for  reception,  387  ;  memorials, 
107,  111,  114,  143,  145,  169,  170,  171. 
221,  222,  224,  240. 
Pronouns, 

"he,"  "his,"  "him,"  99,  158. 
Protests, 
on  lay  members  of  Conferences,  293  ; 
on  credentials  of  evangelists,  304. 
Public  Worship, 
form  of,  201,  389  ;  to  be  published,  302, 
389. 

Publishing  Agents, 

elected,  441 ;  to  consider  price  of 
periodicals,  396  ;  to  publish  in  Span- 
ish, 394 ;  to  publish  form  of  wor- 
ship, 302 ;  reports  of  committees, 
107.  (See  Book  Concern.) 
Puget  Sound  Conference, 

boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  186,  205,  223. 
Pullman,  Joseph, 

appeal,  284,  293,  424. 

Quarterly  Program, 

publication  of,  216. 

Ratio  of  Representation, 

relating  to,  145, 192 ;  vote  on  to  change, 
183,  351  to  353. 
Reception, 
to  Conference,  84,  87,  100,  443 ;  com- 
mittee, 378. 
Recess, 

ordered,  88,  96. 
Recognition  of  God, 

in  United  States  Constitution,  151, 175. 
Reid,  Dr.  J.  M., 
sickness,  88,  90 ;  death,  242  ;  Commit- 
tee on  Death  of,  242,  378 ;  minute, 
246. 

Restrictive  Rules, 

altering,  197,  232,  247. 
Revisals,  Committee  on, 

organization,  95,  97,  362  ;  Report  No. 
I,  198,  213,  385;  No.  II,  227,  252, 
386 ;  No.  Ill,  233,  253,  386 ;  No.  IV, 
233,  253,  387 ;  No.  V,  233,  253,  387 ; 
No.  VI,  233,  253,  388 ;  No.  VII,  258 ; 
No.  VIII,  258  ;  No.  IX,  258 ;  No.  X, 
302,  389 ;  Report  No.  XI  to  No.  XV, 
269 ;  No.  XVI,  278 ;  No.  XVII,  278. 
Ritual, 

revising,  113, 160, 169,  223  ;  use  of,  160 ; 
word  "  catholic,"  249. 
Rock  River  Conference, 
boundaries,  776;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials, 115,  148,  192,  205,  223,  242, 
257,  260,  271. 
Rules  of  Order, 
Committee  on,  87,  100,  377 ;  report  of, 
133 ;  as  adopted,  64 ;  amended,  212, 
224;  speeches  limited,  278;  resolu- 
tions in  triplicate,  88. 


792 


Index. 


[1896. 


Russell,  H., 

addressed  Conference,  289. 
Rust,  Dr.  R.  S., 

invited  to  the  platform,  133;  honorary 
secretary,  268. 
Rust  University, 

to  complete,  219. 

Sabbath  Observance, 

relating  to,  188,  265. 
Saint  John's  Church, 

relating  to,  145 ;  trustees,  273, 377,  438. 
Saint  John's  River  Conference, 
boundaries,  776;  journal,  385;  me- 
morial, 193. 
Saint  Louis  Conference, 
boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  149,  173, 
193,  205,  218. 
Saint  Louis  German  Conference, 
boundaries,  776;  journal,  385;  me- 
morial, 129. 
Sandebudet, 
relating  to,  167 ;  contract  with,  397 ; 
publishing  committee,  387. 
Savannah  Conference, 
boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morial, 223. 
Sawyer,  J.  E.  C, 
elected  Editor  of  Northern  Christian 
Advocate,  274,  443. 
Schools  in  the  South, 
not  to  duplicate  public  schools,  177 ; 
memorial,  220. 
Section  Helpers, 

appointment  of,  198. 
Scott,  I.  B., 
elected  Editor  of  Southwestern  Christian 
Advocate,  276,  443. 
Scott,  J.  F., 
death  of,  296. 
Seat  of  the  next  General  Confer- 
ence, 

memorial,  191,  204,  247,  271,  433.  (See 
Location.) 
Shuey,  Dr.  W.  J., 

introduced,  225. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Amanda, 

introduced,  198. 
Smith,  C.  W., 
elected  Editor  of  Pittsburg  Christian 
Advocate,  274,  443. 
Smith,  Dr.  D.  M., 

introduced,  245. 
Smith,  W.  T., 
elected  Secretary  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  268,  442. 
Social  Reform  and  Sociology, 

relating  to,  109,  128,  172,  287. 
South  America  Conference, 
boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  as- 
signed to  Fifth  District,  84 ;  division 
of,  113, 116 :  work  in,  257 ;  memorials, 
116,  173,  251,  257  ;  enabling  act,  356. 


South  Carolina  Conference, 

boundaries,  776;  journal,  384;  me- 
morial, 116. 
South  Dakota  Conference, 
journal,  385;   memorials,   174,  187; 
change  of  name,  174. 
Southeast  Indiana  Conference, 

journal,  385. 
Southern  California  Conference, 
boundaries,  776;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  105,  149, 
174,  224  ;  enabling  act,  355. 

Southern  German  Conference, 

boundaries,  776. 
Southern  Illinois  Conference, 

boundaries,  776 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  149,  218, 
266. 

South  Germany  Conference, 

boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morial, 116;  enabling  act,  356. 
South  India  Conference, 
boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials, 113,  192. 
South  Kansas  Conference, 
boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  140,  163, 
205,  219. 

Southwestern  Christian  Advocate, 

editor  elected,  276 ;  location  of,  116, 
150,  159 ;  memorials,  117,  215,  222 ; 
subsidy  to,  248,  396. 
Southwest  Kansas  Conference, 
boundaries,  777;  journal,  385;  memo- 
rials and  resolutions,  140,  149,  174, 
187,  192. 
Spencer,  W.  A., 
elected  Secretary  of  Board  of  Church 
Extension,  268,  442. 
State  of  the  Church,  Committee 
on, 

organization,  95,  97,  365  ;  Report  No. 
I,  213,  258,  391 ;  No.  II,  227,  263,  273, 
392  ;  No.  Ill,  227,  256,  392  ;  No.  IV 
to  No.  XII,  257 ;  No.  XIII,  273,  303, 
392;  No.  XIV  to  No.  No.  XVI,  273; 
No.  XVII,  281. 
Statistics, 

report  of,  130,  163,  203 ;  blanks  for, 
107,  167,  241 ;  secretary  for  church 
work,  273;  pastoral,  107*;  secretaries, 
146. 

Stewards,  Board  of, 

election  of,  115,  141,  145,  147, 149,  157, 
167,  168,  203,  204,  205,  222 ;  organ- 
ization, 171,  174 ;  duties,  250. 
Stowe,  W.  P., 

memorial  of,  131. 
Subsidies, 

relating  to  105,  211,  212,  396. 
Sunday  Schools, 
control  of,  168;  home  department, 
112;  Missionary  Society,  127,  266, 
399;  missionary  information,  231, 
399;  agents  to  organize,  162;  super- 


1896.] 


Index. 


793 


intendents,  175 ;  name,  224  ;  library 
books,  249;  general  superintendent, 
187 ;  form  of  reports,  405 ;  pastors 
to  report,  406  ;  Boards,  113. 
Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts,  Com- 
mittee on, 
organization,  95,  97,  371;  respecting 
editor  of  Sunday  school  books,  224 ; 
Report  No.  I,  178,  198,  405 ;  No.  II, 
214 ;  No.  Ill,  264,  292,  405 ;  No.  IV, 
273,  292,  406. 
Sunday  School  Union, 
change  in  constitution,  171 ;  treasurer 
of,  279  ;  managers  of,  435  ;  duty  of 
Secretary,  196,  274  ;  memorial,  171 ; 
report  of,  648. 
Sustentation, 

of  widows,  174,  192. 
Sweden  Conference, 
boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385  ;  me- 
morials,   131,   149,    260;  Swedish 
periodicals,  189  ;  to  divide,  224,  228. 
Switzerland  Conference, 
boundaries,  777  ;  journal,  385. 

Talsmand,  Der  Christilege, 

subsidy  to,  115,  397. 
Taylor,  Bishop  William, 

birthday,  88 ;  character  passed,  380. 
(See  Missionary  Bishops.) 
Tellers, 

appointed,  81. 
Temperance, 
in  Sunday  schools,  183 ;  unfermented 
wine,  107 ;  Sunday  to  be  observed, 
145,  183,  414,  and  citizenship,  143 ; 
position  of  the  Church,  413. 

Temperance  and  Prohibition  of 
the  Liquor  Traffic,  Committee 
on, 

organization,  95,  97,  366 ;  Report 
No.  I,  287,  413;  No.  II,  269,  287, 
415  :  No.  Ill,  269,  304  ;  No.  IV,  269  ; 
Permanent  Committee  on,  414  ;  re- 
port of,  699;  recommendations,  414. 
Temporal  Economy,  Committee 
on, 

organization,  95,  97,  364 ;  Report  No. 
I,  227,  253,  302  389  ;  Reports  Nos. 
II  and  III,  258 ;  Nos.  IV  and  V,  273 ; 
Nos.  VI  to  No.  VIII,  278 ;  No.  IX, 
278,  284,  391. 
Tennessee  Conference, 
boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  164, 174,271. 
Texas  Conference, 
boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials, 116,  193. 
Thoburn,  Bishop  J.  M., 
character  passed,  380.   (See  Mission- 
ary Bishops.) 
Theological  Students, 

examination  of,  150. 
Thompson,  Bev.  John, 
invited  to  the  platform,  253. 


Time  Limit, 

memorials,  106,  107,  108,  109,  110,  111, 
113,  114,  117,  118,  130,  137,  139,  141, 
142,  145,  149,  169,  172,  192,  221,  222, 
224,  228,  240,  249. 
Tobacco, 
use  of,  130,  150,  169,  174,  220;  pre- 
siding elders  not  to  use,  185 ;  min- 
isters not  to  use,  383,  387. 
Tract  Society, 
change  in  constitution,  171 ;  treasurer 
of,  279 ;  managers,  435 ;  report  of, 
659. 
Transfers, 
respecting,  148, 163 ;  Madison  Church, 
201. 
Treasurers, 

relating  to  church,  149. 
Trimble,  Miss  L.  A., 

withdraws,  125. 
Troy  Conference, 
boundaries,  777;  journal,  385;  me- 
morials, 116,  174,  193. 
Trustees,  Board  of, 
election,  145,  147, 157,  167, 171 ;  organ- 
ization, 174  ;  term,  169  ;  women  el- 
igible, 167 ;  reports,  271. 
Trustees  of  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church, 

Committee  on,  268,  273,  377 ;  report, 
277,  279,  284 ;  Boards  of,  438 ;  me- 
morials, 118, 

University  Senate, 

authorized.  404  ;  memorial,  215 ;  mem- 
bers of,  437. 
Upper  Iowa  Conference, 
boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  150,  165, 
193,  205,  228. 
Upper  Mississippi  Conference, 
boundaries,  777 ;  memorials  and  reso- 
lutions, 116,  175,  219,  275. 
Utah  Mission, 
boundaries,  779 ;  enabling  act,  356. 

Vermont  Conference, 

boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morial, 251. 
Vidnesbyrdet, 

subsidy  to,  397. 
Vincent,  Bishop  J.  H., 

presides,  206,  295. 
Virginia  Conference, 

boundaries,  777  ;  journal,  385. 

Walden,  Bishop  J.  M., 

presides,  176,  286. 
Warren,  Bishop  H.  W., 

presides,  98,   275;  reads  Episcopal 
Address,  89. 
Washington  Conference, 

boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  117,  131, 
150,  175,  193,  266. 


794 


Waugh,  Rev.  J.  W., 

introduced,  225. 
Welbourne,  Dr., 

invited  to  platform,  252. 
Western  Christian  Advocate, 

editor  elected,  273  ;  consolidation,  118. 

Western  Norwegian  and  Danish 
Conference, 

boundaries,  777 ;  memorials,  117,  150, 
251. 

Western  Reserve  University, 

invitation  to,  134. 
Western  Swedish  Conference, 

boundaries,  777 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials, 131,  206. 
West  China  Mission, 

boundaries,  779. 
West  German  Conference, 

boundaries,  777. 
West  Nebraska  Conference, 

boundaries,  778 ;  journal,  385  ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  175,  193, 
205,  228,  266. 
West  Texas  Conference, 

boundaries,  778  ;  journal,  385. 
West  Virginia  Conference, 

boundaries,  778 ;  journal,  385. 

West  Wisconsin  Conference, 

boundaries,  778  ;  memorials  and  reso- 
lutions, 117,  165,  175,  224,  265. 
Wilmington  Conference, 

boundaries,  778 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  117,  166, 
175,  228. 


ex.  [1896. 

Wisconsin  Conference, 

boundaries,  778  ;  memorials  and  reso- 
lutions, 118,  150,  176,  193,  206,  224. 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 

officers  introduced,  229;  greetings, 
285 ;  report  of,  663. 

Woman's  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 

memorials  in  behalf  of,  193,  240 ;  of- 
ficers introduced,  229;  report  of,  675. 
Women, 
challenge  to  delegates,  83 ;  withdrew, 
94  ;  as  evangelists;  201,  218  ;  admis- 
sion of,  106  ;  question  of  admission 
submitted,  122;  as  trustees,  167;  aid 
societies,  107. 
Women's    World's  Temperance 
Petition, 
indorsed,  181. 
Worship,  Form  of, 

order  of,  139,  241, 256. 
Wyoming  Conference, 
boundaries,  778 ;  journal,  385 ;  me- 
morials and  resolutions,  118,  141, 
166,  176,  251,  257,  259. 
Wyoming  Mission, 
boundaries,  779. 

Young,  J.  B., 

elected  Editor  of  Central  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, 274,  443. 
Young  People's  Societies, 
memorials,  109,  147, 169 ;  relation  to 
Epworth  League,  173,  266.  - 


